Minicamps were a concept a couple of decades in the future. Any football player that mentioned “OTA,’’ teammates would have figured his family was buying an appliance from Sears “on time.’’
Getting ready for an NFL season in 1961 was based 100% on what took place in training camp. The 60th Vikings team was forced into an abbreviated camp by the coronavirus this year, but the expansion Vikings started practices in Bemidji on July 8 and did not pack up everything and bus the 240 miles back to the Twin Cities until Sept. 1.
The first five camps for the Vikings were held in Bemidji from 1961 to ‘65, and the time frame was similar each year, with brief departures for exhibitions.