CANTON, Ohio -- It took Mick Tingelhoff to get Fran Tarkenton back to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tarkenton, the legendary Vikings quarterback, hadn't been there since he was inducted in 1986. But there he was Saturday afternoon with his four children and seven grandchildren at the Canton shrine walking through the room with the busts of enshrinees and giving a history lesson.
Tarkenton told his family Chuck Bednarik was the "toughest guy who ever played.'' He called Bobby Layne the 'greatest character ever.'' Then he saw Norm Van Brocklin, the first coach of the Vikings in 1961 after the previous year finishing up a hall of fame career as a quarterback.