Minnesota Vikings coach Bud Grant

Through it all, Grant never seemed all that impressed with celebrity, including his own. He became instantly recognizable as the iconic coach of the Vikings but ...

“I was a rookie, and it was snowing and all of sudden he walks up to me and says, ‘Has anybody told you about the snow?’ ” White said. “He was 95 but it was still unexpected,’’ Page said. “I thought he was going to live forever. Page was bitter about the way he left Minnesota for a long time but eventually mended fences with Grant. Grant said it was an “honor” to be invited to a dinner in her honor, but I got the impression he might have been more comfortable out duck hunting. I asked him last September after Queen Elizabeth II died what it was like to have met her on a 1959 tour of Canada when he was coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Steve Jordan, a Minnesota star tight end from 1982-94, told me Grant at first was “almost like this icon who was unapproachable.” Eventually, players would see the rigid exterior start to melt. Even when it came to his beloved Vikings, Grant never was one to overdue it on praise. I remember calling Grant after Ali died in June 2016 and asking about the time he met the legendary boxer when he was training for a 1967 fight in Houston. I had the good fortune of talking to him in person and on the phone a number of times. “I didn’t like his boasting: ‘I’m the Greatest, I’m this and that,’ “Grant said. That wasn’t the type of athlete liked by Grant, who noted that growing up his “all-time hero” was the humble Joe Louis.

He was 95. Grant was a standout athlete for the Gophers, played professional basketball for the Minneapolis Lakers, and starred in the NFL, but made his mark in ...

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In both downtowns, and far beyond, many across sports paused to remember Bud Grant and his contributions in so many ways to Minnesota and Minnesota sports.

"Bud Grant was a giant. "The one memory I have of Bud is the Vikings playoff football game we had outdoors where he's about 100 years old and he showed up in a T-shirt," Edina boys hockey coach Curt Giles said before his Hornets played in the Class 2A title game. "We lost a legend in Bud Grant. "We send our thoughts to him and his family. It's a real sad day for our state and the Minnesota Vikings to lose him.'' — Gophers men's hockey coach Bob Motzko, who grew up in Austin, Minn., as a big Vikings fan and has followed the team closely throughout his life. Discipline was so important on his teams, and making sure the players were committed to staying together and winning games."

“While I am saddened by the loss of our dear coach Bud Grant, we must also celebrate his long and storied career. Even at age 88, Bud took to the football field ...

But above all, Bud was devoted to his family. The first few times it happened I would earnestly explain that my name wasn’t “Jim,” but after a while I got the drill, and I would just run to get my dad. “While I am saddened by the loss of our dear coach Bud Grant, we must also celebrate his long and storied career.