A good friend of mine that is a Sioux Falls native is hopin’ to get some help in his quest to get Howard Wood Field permanently marked as a Historical Site due to it’s tie-in with the Minnesota Vikings. Believe it or not, that is the location of the very 1st Vikings game ever played!!! The following article explains it all better than I can…
By: Tom A. Savage, Contributing writer…
I’m always surprised when I ask someone, and they’re completely
unaware, where the Minnesota Vikings played their first game.
I’ve known the answer to that question since I was a little kid, and I’m
not entirely certain why. Someone told me once, and I’ve always hung onto
it. But I’m a trivia nerd, especially when it comes to sports. I will never
forget things like that.
If you don’t know, it might come as a bit of a shocker. The Minnesota
Vikings played their first game ever – a preseason game – against the
Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 5, 1961 … at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls.
If you’re headed to Howard Wood on Friday to watch the Lynx play
Sioux Falls Washington in the season-opener, I’d love to point you to the
spot where the Vikings’ first game is commemorated with a plague.
But I can’t.
Because there’s not one.
And that’s strange to me. It’s always been strange. That’s why I was glad
to hear a friend of mine made it his mission to get that very thing done, to
get a commemorative plaque noting the game between the Vikings and
Cowboys.
Lance Balk is the same age as me. We graduated from high school the
same year. He played football for O’Gorman and USF, but I never knew his
fandom for the Vikings.
And I was right. He’s not necessarily a Vikings fan. He’s just someone in
the community who saw a need to mark a historical site.
He’s raised the money, and has an artist picked out to design it. The
finances are all covered. So, it seems like a no-brainer that the plaque
should be placed, right?
But Lance has hit some surprising road blocks in his quest to get the
project completed. Howard Wood Field is owned and operated by the
Sioux Falls School District. Lance formally reached out to them to tell them
of the idea, and that there would be no cost to them to have such a
historical plaque erected.
The response was bristly, at best.
It read, in part: We know Howard Wood Field is rich in history and
tradittons as it has hosted many memorable events throughout the years. We
have decided not to move forward with placing a Minnehaha Historical
Marker at Howard Wood Field. Thank you for your understanding and thank
you again for your efforts to honor the history of Stoux Falls.
When Lance showed me that response, I’ll be honest, I was taken back. I
agree that Howard Wood Field has played host to many memorable events
over the years, but with all due respect to various high school football
teams, the Dakota Relays, and even an occasional SDSU, USD, Augustana
and USF regular season football games in the past, can there be a bigger
moment at Howard Wood Field than the Vikings’ first game – ever?
The Vikings are about to begin their 65th season of existence, and it all
started where the Lynx and Washington play this Friday.
I guess I don’t get it, but I hope my friend keeps banging on their doors.
He’s heard ‘no’, but he’s not discouraged.
I reached out to Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken about the issue. I told
him I understood it was a school district decision, and out of his control.
But I asked him anyway, what his thoughts were about the issue.
He gave me an appropriate name on his staff that handles “all things
historical for the city.” What surprised me most about his email, is that he,
too, had no idea the game was ever played.
Perhaps that might be reason enough to keep pursuing it.
Even if you’re not a Vikings fan, I think it’s fair to assume that most
football fans would like to see that piece of history commemorated.
Actually, if you’re not a Vikings fan, you might especially want a plaque
to commemorate the game.
The Cowboys won 38-13.
Comments