Max Winter (June 29, 1903 – July 26, 1996) was a

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

businessman and sport executive who helped found the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

Biography

Winter was born in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(modern day Czechia). He emigrated with his family and settled in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

. He graduated from North High School in Minneapolis in 1922 (see North High Polaris for 1922). He attended

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline ...

on a basketball scholarship. Winter opened The 620 Club in 1934 with his brother Henry and boxing manager/promoter Ernie Fliegel as equal partners. Located at 620 Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, the restaurant specialized in turkey. The club was sold in 1971 and revamped the same year to become Moby Dick's bar (aka "Moby's). In 1947, Winter became part owner with

Ben Berger Ben Berger (1897 – 1988) was a Minneapolis businessman, perhaps best known for being one of the original owners of the Detroit Gems National Basketball League team, which he helped move to Minneapolis and renamed the Minneapolis Lakers. Biogr ...

Sid Hartman Sidney Hartman (March 15, 1920October 18, 2020) was an American sports journalist for the Minneapolis ''Star Tribune'' and the WCCO 830 AM radio station. For 20 years, he was also a panelist on the weekly television program ''Sports Show with M ...

, and

Morris Chalfen Morris Chalfen (June 3, 1907 – November 4, 1979) was an international impresario and sports entertainment executive. He founded the Holiday On Ice show, and later purchased and relocated a near-extinct National Basketball League (NBL) franchise ...

and assumed the general manager duties of the new

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

in the National Basketball League. By the mid-1950s, Winter was interested in attracting a pro

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team to Minneapolis. He attempted to get an expansion team in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

; when that failed Winter and his partners joined with the newly created

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

in the fall of 1959. By 1960, with creation of the AFL, the NFL decided to expand to both

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Minnesota was granted an NFL franchise at the league owners' meetings in Miami on January 28, 1960. Winter and his group, out of the AFL and received an NFL expansion team that began in the 1961 season. The team was named the

on September 27, 1960. The founding group consisted of Max Winter, E. William Boyer, H.P Skoglund,

Ole Haugsrud Oluf Roy Haugsrud (May 13, 1899 – March 13, 1976) was an American sports executive. Haugsrud was born in Superior, Wisconsin. Haugsrud was owner of the Duluth Eskimos of the National Football League (NFL) in the late-1920s. His signing of Er ...

and Bernard H. Ridder, Jr. Winter remained on the Vikings board of directors until 1989. He served as team president from 1965-87. In 1985, Winter shocked and angered his fellow Vikings owners when he attempted to sell his share of the team to Irwin L. Jacobs and Carl Pohlad. The case went to the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

and finally was settled in Winter's favor. https://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/supreme-court/1987/c5-86-637-2.html

Legacy

When the Minnesota Vikings headquarters and training facility opened in

Eden Prairie Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the 16th-largest city in the State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,198. The city is adjacent to the north bank of th ...

, Minnesota, the Vikings had named it Winter Park, in honor of Max Winter. Their headquarters is now in

Eagan Eagan may refer to: People * Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress * Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player * Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman * James Eagan (1926-2000), American politician from Missouri * John ...

, Minnesota.

References

Hamline Pipers men's basketball players 1903 births 1996 deaths Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States American men's basketball players Jewish American sportspeople 20th-century American Jews Minnesota Vikings owners {{Austria-business-bio-stub