![]() He was admired at all levels throughout the league for his integrity, his ability, and his creed of, ''do the right thing.'' He was tough and fair and believed that building a football organization was the secret to success on the field. ![]() If a head coach needed a line coach Jim’s phone might very well ring. If an owner needed a coach, he might very well call Jim. Deeply as important as his presence and service to the teams that employed him was his impact on the entire National Football League. After seven years with the Steelers, Jim went on to amazing success with the Vikings, Bears, and the Saints. Might have been the best quarterback I ever saw. I said, Art that big picture of Jim Finks on the wall looks like he looking right at you. One day I was loafing in his office in Pittsburgh. During the latter years of his life I spent as much time as possible with him. And he always called Paul the, "wily mentor.”Īrt Rooney was a great and dear friend of mine. Jim had penchant for giving people nicknames. My face bars are for the Cleveland Browns. Paul said, for whom do you play? Jim said the Steelers. So, Jim went to see Paul and asked for one of the face bars. Jim heard that Paul Brown had designed a face bar to protect Otto Graham. In the game he had his jaw broke, of course he had it wired. One-time he told me about playing for the Steelers. Jim Fink spent forty-five years in the National Football League. And a special greeting to Maxine, David, Dan, Torn, Jim Finks Jr. Congratulations to these great athletes who today enter the Hall of Fame. A long-time member of the NFL’s competition committee, Finks also played quarterback and defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, 1949-1955. Then, in 1991, the team captured its first-ever division crown. In his second season at the helm, the Saints became winners for the first time in their 19-season history. In 1986, Finks signed on with the Saints. The Bears, under Finks’ leadership, were a playoff team again in 19. The Bears, who had not won a championship since 1963, hired Finks as general manager and executive vice-president just before the 1974 season. And when Van Brocklin resigned a few months later, Finks tapped an obscure CFL coach, Bud Grant, to lead the Vikings. Finks traded Tarkenton to the New York Giants. The Vikings leader was not afraid to make controversial decisions and he proved that in 1966 when coach Norm Van Brocklin and quarterback Fran Tarkenton feuded. The Vikings also advanced to the Super Bowl twice during Finks’ tenure in Minnesota that ended following the 1973 season. His program began paying dividends four years later when Minnesota won its first of five divisional titles. Not a quick-fix artist, his moves were tailored for the long haul. Finks was named the general manager of the Vikings in 1964. Finks drafted nineteen of the Bears’ 22 starters in the Super Bowl XX win over New England. All three franchises flourished with players developed by Finks. He placed indelible stamps upon the Vikings, Bears and Saints. Finks built perennial losers into playoff and Super Bowl teams in a stellar career as one of football's most respected executives. New Orleans partisans salute Finks as the savior who brought the Saints their first winning season. Chicagoans recall him as the executive who restored the Bears' winning tradition. Minnesota fans remember Jim Finks as the man who elevated the struggling expansion Vikings to championship status.
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