When the Vikings finally do land Brett Favre as their newest quarterback, he’ll have to wrest the number 4 from rookie quarterback John David Booty‘s clutches. And if I’m Booty, I’d hold out for a pretty penny before selling the shirt off my back cause, you know, Booty may not be long for the Vikings roster if Favre moves to town and you might as well get when the gettin’s good.
But Booty is only the most recent to wear number 4 in Vikings history.
MinnPost‘s Pat Borzi lists the long-forgotten number fours:
- Doug Brien – K
- Dale Dawson – K
- Donald Igwebuike – K (fantastic kicker who, unfortunately, was busted for trafficking in heroin and later acquitted)
- Eddie Johnson – P
- Mike Saxon – P
The most famous wearer of the fourth digit is, of course, Archie Manning, father to sons Eli and Peyton.
The Manning patriarch had a 14 year career, spent primarily as the signal-caller for the hapless New Orleans Saints. Archie amassed impressive numbers during his career. He threw for nearly 24,000 yards, 125 touchdowns and 173 interceptions for a 67.1 quarterback rating playing for teams that were mostly awful.
He played for the Vikings in 1983 (8-8) and 1984 (3-13). In 1984, he suffered injuries from which he did not return and was forced to retire in 1985 due to a thyroid disease. Here’s a clip of Archie Manning quarterbacking the Vikings against the the 49ers: