BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – There are 35 Vikings football players going back to the 1960s who hope their coach remembereed their video call a few days before his 93rd birthday. The memories were clear Saturday as the players were getting news that their coach had died. Back in May Grant had been told to expect an annual reunion call, but ruse was over when the 35-man chorus broke into “Happy Birthday.” A little gruff, as was is manner, Grant said: “What if I don’t make it to next week? “I don’t celebrate birthdays early.” At age 93 he still was his old self. He died Saturday at going on 95, going on 96. Other memories flooded sports pages and sportscasts and the web, Among them:
Ken Belson, York Times sports writer, remembered Bud Grant tis way: “A stoic, strait-laced, genial man who often appeared silent and aloof at work. Wiry and svelte, with a prematurely gray flattop haircut, he had the air of an ascetic field general in an era when many coaches were known for their hard-driving and often histrionic personalities.”
> Skolt Scott, a leader with the fan club Viking World Order: “He was Minnesota’s greatest grandfather. One of the biggest sports, if not the biggest sports legends of all figures across sports for Minnesota.”
> Rich Fenning, a fan from Mahtomedi, on Graht’s ban on the sideline benches: “All the players would be standing out there freezing. Always said gave us an advantage, being able to handle the cold weather.”
> Senator Amy Klobuchar, whose father Jim Klobuchar was the state’s leaading sportswriter and friend: “Bud Grant was a beloved coach and a dedicated outdoorsman. Even at age 88 he did the coin toss in a polo shirt in subzero temperatures at a Vikings playoff game! He gave us so many Minnesota memories. Today my heart is with all those who knew and loved Bud.”
Another memory: “As a young kid I would answer the phone, ‘Klobuchar residence, Amy speaking’ And there’d be silence on the phone, and then, this sort of a grunt — ‘Jim,’ After a while, I learned the drill. The minute I heard that silence and that voice, I ran and got my dad.”