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Long-time Vikings scout Frank Gilliam passes away

A long-time member of the Minnesota Vikings organization and one of the pioneers in his field is no longer with us.

Frank Gilliam, who was a member of the Vikings’ organization for nearly four decades and was one of the first black scouts in the National Football League, passed away on Sunday at the age of 89.

After a successful college football career at the University of Iowa and a stint in the Canadian Football League, Gilliam went back to the Hawkeyes as a member of Jerry Burns’ coaching staff. Burns would, of course, go on to become the fourth coach in Vikings history in 1986.