TARKENTON

Number One NFL passer, Fran Tarkenton is a top quarterback whose Vikings have lost the Super Bowl three years running--a pattern in his career (no championships) that sportswriters have seized on to question his team spirit. Klobuchar and Tarkenton work hard to dispel that image in a story told in two voices: the slightly awed writer and the confident superstar himself, both impressed by his four NFL records (outshining Unitas) and his even more substantial financial assets. Third-round draft choice for the expansion Vikings (1961), he joined the ""loosely maintained wildlife preserve"" of Norm Van Brocklin and promptly captured the starting QB position. His unrehearsed ""scrambling"" was legendary if not always successful but continual friction with the coach led to a change of scene in 1967. With the New York Giants for several years, he had a homebody style that contrasted sharply with Broadway Joe's worldly image, but Tarkenton managed his share of off-season offers--he made sure of life after football. Returned to Minnesota in 1972, he found more attention than even he desired and--at last--a coach he could respect. He has his quota of hairy-chested humor, opinions on many of the bigger names and five admired coaches, and recollections of several touching moments. The usual Monday morning quarterbacking from a fifteen-year veteran with definite drawing power who could be a hot property this season as he tackles his fifth NFL record.