Vikings Legend · Running Back · No. 44
Chuck Foreman
Minnesota Vikings, 1973–1979 · 1973 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
Seven seasons in purple, a Pro Bowl in each of his first five, three Super Bowl defeats and the strangest line on any running back's résumé: in 1975 he caught more passes than anyone else in the National Football League.
- 5,887Rushing yards for the Vikings
- 73Catches in 1975, most in the NFL
- 5Consecutive Pro Bowls, 1973–77
- 2007Inducted into the Ring of Honor
The Rookie Who Arrived Ready
Walter Eugene Foreman was born in Frederick, Maryland on 26 October 1950, played his high school football in the same town and went on to the University of Miami. The Minnesota Vikings took him with the twelfth pick of the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft, and he started ten of the twelve games he played as a rookie.
That first season produced 801 rushing yards on 182 carries with four rushing touchdowns, plus 37 receptions for 362 yards and two more scores — 1,163 yards from scrimmage in twelve appearances. The Associated Press voted him the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and he was named to the Pro Bowl, the first of five in a row.
It was also the season Minnesota reached Super Bowl VIII. Foreman would play in three Super Bowls in four years for a team quarterbacked by Fran Tarkenton. The Vikings lost all three.
1975: A Running Back Led the League in Catches
Running backs are not supposed to lead the National Football League in receptions. In 1975 Chuck Foreman did exactly that, catching 73 passes for 691 yards and nine touchdowns while also carrying the ball 280 times for 1,070 yards and thirteen more scores.
The combined figure was 1,761 yards from scrimmage and 22 total touchdowns in fourteen games. The Associated Press named him first-team All-Pro, the only season in which it did so; he was an AP second-team selection in 1974 and again in 1976.
The receiving title was not a one-year accident of usage. Foreman also led the NFL in total touchdowns from scrimmage in 1974, with fifteen, and in 1976, with fourteen. Across 1975, 1976 and 1977 he rushed for more than a thousand yards each year.
Seven Vikings seasons: 8,944 yards from scrimmage and 75 touchdowns.
Pro Football Reference, career totals
- 73Receptions in 1975, first in the NFL
- 1,761Yards from scrimmage in 1975
- 22Total touchdowns in 1975
- 1,155Rushing yards in 1976, his career high
Season by Season
| Season | Team | G | GS | Att | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD | Scrimmage yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | MIN | 12 | 10 | 182 | 801 | 4 | 37 | 362 | 2 | 1,163 |
| 1974 | MIN | 13 | 13 | 199 | 777 | 9 | 53 | 586 | 6 | 1,363 |
| 1975 | MIN | 14 | 12 | 280 | 1,070 | 13 | 73 | 691 | 9 | 1,761 |
| 1976 | MIN | 14 | 14 | 278 | 1,155 | 13 | 55 | 567 | 1 | 1,722 |
| 1977 | MIN | 14 | 14 | 270 | 1,112 | 6 | 38 | 308 | 3 | 1,420 |
| 1978 | MIN | 14 | 14 | 237 | 749 | 5 | 61 | 396 | 2 | 1,145 |
| 1979 | MIN | 12 | 7 | 87 | 223 | 2 | 19 | 147 | 0 | 370 |
| 1980 | NE | 16 | 0 | 23 | 63 | 1 | 14 | 99 | 0 | 162 |
| Vikings, 7 yrs | MIN | 93 | 84 | 1,533 | 5,887 | 52 | 336 | 3,057 | 23 | 8,944 |
| NFL career | — | 109 | 84 | 1,556 | 5,950 | 53 | 350 | 3,156 | 23 | 9,106 |
Led the NFL: total touchdowns from scrimmage in 1974 (15) and 1976 (14); receptions in 1975 (73). Career totals are 76 touchdowns from scrimmage, 75 of them for Minnesota. Figures from Pro Football Reference. The Vikings' own legends page lists his franchise rushing total as 5,879 rather than 5,887; both figures are reproduced here rather than reconciled.
Three Super Bowls, Three Defeats
Foreman joined a team that had already lost Super Bowl IV and was about to lose three more. He played in all three of those, in a four-season span. The Minnesota Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.
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Super Bowl VIII
1973 season · Foreman's rookie year Miami Dolphins 24, Vikings 7 DefeatMinnesota's second Super Bowl appearance, and the second of Miami's back-to-back titles.
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Super Bowl IX
1974 season Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Vikings 6 DefeatPlayed at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans on 12 January 1975, and the first championship of the Steelers' 1970s run.
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Super Bowl XI
1976 season Oakland Raiders 32, Vikings 14 DefeatPlayed on 9 January 1977. It remains the most recent Super Bowl the franchise has reached.
Honours, and the Hall
Awards and selections
- AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, 1973
- Pro Bowl, five consecutive seasons, 1973 to 1977
- AP first-team All-Pro, 1975
- AP second-team All-Pro, 1974 and 1976
- NFL receptions leader, 1975, with 73
- NFL leader in touchdowns from scrimmage, 1974 and 1976
- Vikings Ring of Honor, inducted 30 September 2007
Where he stands in Minnesota
- Third on the Vikings' all-time rushing list, behind Adrian Peterson and Robert Smith
- 52 rushing touchdowns as a Viking, and 75 touchdowns from scrimmage in seven seasons
- Three 1,000-yard rushing seasons: 1975, 1976 and 1977
- His No. 44 has not been retired. The six numbers the Vikings have retired are 10 (Fran Tarkenton), 53 (Mick Tingelhoff), 70 (Jim Marshall), 77 (Korey Stringer), 80 (Cris Carter) and 88 (Alan Page)
He is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Chuck Foreman has not been enshrined in Canton. There is no player page for him at profootballhof.com, and he does not appear among the Hall's list of Vikings enshrinees. Ahead of the Class of 2025 he was one of 31 names forwarded to the Blue Ribbon Senior Committee, but he was not among the nine semifinalists it selected, and he has never been a Hall of Fame finalist.
The Vikings Ring of Honor is a club honour and is separate from the Hall of Fame.
After the Vikings
Foreman's Minnesota career ended after the 1979 season. He spent 1980 with the New England Patriots, where he carried 23 times for 63 yards in sixteen appearances without a start, and that was the end of his playing career at the age of 30.
He remains a visible figure around the club. In 2026 he has appeared on local broadcast and podcast coverage of the Vikings' quarterback competition, and he continues to be discussed as a senior Hall of Fame candidate. His son, Jay Foreman, also played in the NFL.
Sources
Every date, figure and award on this page was checked against the following published sources. Anything that could not be verified has been left out.
- Pro Football Reference — Chuck Foreman career statistics (season-by-season and career totals, birth date and place, high school, listed size, draft position, uniform numbers, Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections, league-leading seasons)
- Minnesota Vikings — Vikings Legends: Chuck Foreman (Ring of Honor induction date of 30 September 2007, draft position, franchise rushing total of 5,879)
- Minnesota Vikings — Vikings Ring of Honor
- Pro Football Hall of Fame — Minnesota Vikings team greats and profootballhof.com (checked for induction status; Foreman is not an enshrinee and has no player page there)
- Sports Illustrated — Ex-Viking Chuck Foreman disappointed to not make cut as Hall of Fame finalist (Class of 2025 senior screening, Vikings totals of 8,944 scrimmage yards and 75 touchdowns)
- Wikipedia — Chuck Foreman and Minnesota Vikings (full name, Super Bowl scores and dates, Vikings retired numbers, Ring of Honor table)
- FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul — Vikings training camp: Chuck Foreman previews top storylines (2026 media appearances)
Number 44, in the Ring of Honor
Seven seasons, 8,944 yards from scrimmage, 75 touchdowns and a season spent leading the NFL in receptions from the backfield. The Ring of Honor followed on 30 September 2007. Canton has not.
Vikings running backs