31 Facts About Alan Page

1.

Alan Page gained national recognition as a defensive tackle in the National Football League during 15 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, and then embarked on a legal career.

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2.

Alan Page served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1993 until he reached the court's mandatory retirement age of 70 in 2015.

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3.

Alan Page was the first defensive player in NFL history to win the MVP Award and only Lawrence Taylor has done it since.

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4.

Alan Page is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is considered one of the greatest defensive linemen ever to play the game.

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5.

Alan Page's parents stressed the importance of education and of doing his best regardless of what others did.

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6.

Alan Page said he wanted to become a lawyer when he was a child.

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7.

Alan Page graduated from Canton Central Catholic High School in 1963, where he starred in several sports and excelled in football.

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8.

Alan Page worked on a construction team that erected the Pro Football Hall of Fame, laying the groundwork for the building in which he would one day be enshrined.

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9.

Alan Page was presented with one of the 1992 Silver Anniversary Awards for achieving personal distinction since his graduation.

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10.

In 1967, Alan Page participated in the East-West Shrine Game and 25 years later received the "Babe Hollingbery" Award for his performance as he was inducted to that game's Hall of Fame.

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11.

Alan Page won the Walter Camp Alumni of the Year award in 1988.

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12.

Alan Page was a first round selection in the by the Minnesota Vikings, for whom he played for 11 seasons, through 1977.

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13.

Alan Page is one of 11 Vikings to have played in all four Super Bowls in which the team appeared.

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14.

Alan Page joined the Chicago Bears in 1978 and played there for four seasons and amassed an additional 40 sacks.

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15.

Alan Page was a member of the Vikings' "Purple People Eaters, " a defensive line adept at sacking or hurrying the quarterback.

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16.

Alan Page played in 218 consecutive games without an absence, during which he recovered 22 fumbles, made 148½ sacks, and scored three touchdowns .

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17.

Alan Page set a career-high with 18 sacks in 1976 and is unofficially credited with five other seasons of 10 sacks or more.

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18.

Alan Page was voted All-Conference 10 times, in 1968 and 1969 as All-Western Conference and in 1970 through 1977 and 1980 as an All-National Football Conference.

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19.

In 1971 Alan Page was named both the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year and the AP's NFL Most Valuable Player.

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20.

Alan Page was the first defensive player to be named MVP since the award's inception.

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21.

Alan Page was voted the NEA NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1973.

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22.

In 2019 Alan Page was chosen as a member of the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

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23.

Alan Page was named to the Vikings' 40th Anniversary Team in 2000.

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24.

In 1988 Alan Page was further honored by his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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25.

Alan Page received the NFL Alumni Career Achievement Award in 1995 for attaining success in his post-NFL career.

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26.

Alan Page was appointed Special Assistant Attorney General in 1985, and soon thereafter promoted to Assistant Attorney General.

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27.

In 1992, Alan Page was elected to an open seat as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, becoming the first African-American to serve on that court.

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28.

Alan Page was reelected in 1998, again in 2004, and for a final time in 2010: Minnesota has mandatory retirement for judges at the end of the month in which they turn 70.

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29.

Alan Page has a passion for running and runs on a regular basis.

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30.

Alan Page's running routine, which he took up while helping his wife quit smoking, is believed to have contributed to his dismissal from the Minnesota Vikings.

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31.

Alan Page appeared in a 2012 Minnesota-filmed episode of PBS's Antiques Roadshow with an 1865 banner mourning the death of Abraham Lincoln.

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