By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Jim Christopherson grew up on a farm near Vining, the youngest of 10 children. His father, Edward, immigrated from Norway to the United States. Hard work on the farm paid off for Jim who was a star athlete at Henning High School.

By the time he graduated from high school, in 1956, Christopherson had attained 17 athletic letters, five in football and four each in basketball, baseball and track. He went on to play football at Concordia College in Moorhead as a fullback and linebacker. In 1959, his senior year, he was named MIAC (conference) most valuable player.

His stalwart performances on the football field caught the attention of the New York Giants football team. In the summer of 1960, Christopherson found himself at the Giants summer training camp in Vermont.

“I tried out as a free agent kicker and linebacker,” he said, “but quickly found out I was not very well prepared to play in the National Football League. However, I was able to get some good kicking tips from Giants kicker Pat Summerall who, after his football career, became an outstanding pro football TV analyst.”

After his return to Minnesota, Christopherson was able to land a teaching and coaching position in Brooten, southwest of Sauk Centre. The next summer, in 1961, the expansion team, Minnesota Vikings, came calling. Christopherson spent the season on the taxi squad, as a linebacker and kicker.

Christopherson was on the Vikings’ roster as a reserve in 1962. When starting kicker Mike Mercer faltered, coach Norm Van Brocklin called Christopherson into his office and said, “You are now my starting kicker.”

This was a thrill for a young man from Vining who had played 8-man football at the high school level in Henning. As a kicker, Christopherson led the Vikings in scoring in 1962 with 61 points, more than Vikings’ star running back Tommy Mason.

In those days, in the early 1960s, summer training camp for the Vikings was at Bemidji State College. Christopherson became a good friend of Vikings’ defensive star Jim Marshall, who died June 3 this year, and Minnesota rookie quarterback Fran Tarkenton. 

In 1963 Christopherson’s Viking football days ended when Minnesota made Fred Cox their starting kicker. Cox kicked for the Vikings until 1977 and Marshall ended his career with Minnesota in 1979. Christopherson played pro football one more year, in 1964, with the Toronto Argonauts.

Christopherson landed an assistant football coaching job with his alma mater, Concordia. He became head coach in 1969 and remained as head coach of the Cobbers until 2000. During that time frame he coached Concordia to two NAIA national titles, in 1978 and 1981. He coached Concordia to 11 MIAC (conference) titles. 

One of Christopherson’s players at Concordia, Henning native Randy Guse, became conference MVP just like Christopherson during his college days at Concordia.

“It was great to have two players from Henning, me and Randy, both win conference MVP awards,” Jim said. And today, both Christopherson and Guse have been selected to the Concordia College Athletic Hall of Fame, bringing more honor to their high school in Henning.

Other memories

Christopherson recalls the early 1960s Vikings training camp in Bemidji

when Minnesota hosted the Dallas Cowboys in a scrimmage. That year the Cowboys got away from the summer heat in Texas and trained in Wisconsin. The scrimmage at Bemidji State College attracted many fans, with additional bleachers brought in from Grand Forks.

The scrimmage featured two outstanding quarterbacks, Fran Tarkenton of the Minnesota Vikings and Don Meredith of the Dallas Cowboys. After his retirement, Meredith was part of the ABC Monday Night Football TV play-by-play trio.

Many Vikings players were known for their partying at night in Bemidi. Christopherson preferred to stay in the college dormitory during summer training camp and play cards with quarterback Tarkenton, the son of a minister, and other players.

Jim married Sandra Weispfenning in 1961. Their children are Reid and Heather. These days Jim and Sandra live mostly in Moorhead and reside at their lake home near Vining during the summer months. They enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren.

Christopherson, now 87, takes pride in having coached many athletes at Concordia where his head football coaching record was 217-102-7 over 32 seasons. 

“And it has been wonderful to see their many accomplishments during their adult lives,” he says.

In 2007, Christopherson received another prestigious lifetime award when he was selected to the National College Football Hall of Fame for his coaching achievements. In doing so, Christopherson matched his Concordia mentor, legendary coach Jake Christiansen who was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1964.