Alan Page

Infobox NFLretired


position=Defensive Tackle
number=88
birthdate=birth date and age|1945|8|7
Canton, Ohio
debutyear=1967
finalyear=1981
draftyear=1967
draftround=1
draftpick=15
college=Notre Dame
teams=
* Minnesota Vikings (1967-1978)
* Chicago Bears (1978-1981)
stat1label=Sacks
stat1value=148.5
stat2label=Interceptions
stat2value=2
stat3label=Safeties
stat3value=3
nfl=PAG332232
highlights=
* 9x Pro Bowl selection (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977)
* 11x All-Pro selection (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980)
* NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
* 1970 NFC Defensive Player of the Year
* 1971 NFL MVP
* 1971 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year
* 1971 UPI NFC Player of the Year
* 1971 NFC Defensive Player of the Year
* 1973 NEA NFL Defensive Player of the Year
* Minnesota Vikings #88 Retired
HOF=171
CollegeHOF=60016

Alan Cedric Page (born August 7, 1945 in Canton, Ohio) is a jurist and former professional American football player. He graduated from Canton Central Catholic High School in 1964, received his B.A. in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1967, and received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1978. Justice Page is particularly notable for the fact that he is both a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and an Associate Justice with the Minnesota Supreme Court. Justice Page is married to Diane Sims Page and is the father of four children, Nina, Georgi, Justin and Kamie.

Biography

High school

Graduated from Central Catholic High School, Canton, OH, 1964. Starred in all sports, and excelled in football.Alan graduated in 1963.

College

Following high school, Page attended the University of Notre Dame, where he led the school’s storied football program to a national championship in 1966. That same year, Page was named a college football All-American for his achievements on the field.

He was presented with one of the 1992 Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA) for achieving personal distinction since his graduation. In 2005 he was awarded the National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award. In between he was inducted into College Football Hall of Fame (1993). In 1967, he participated in the East-West Shrine Game and 25 years later received the "Babe Hollingbery" Award for his outstanding and lasting performance as he was inducted to that game's Hall of Fame. Named to the Academic All-American Hall of Fame in 2001 and as such received the Dick Enberg Award. Also a winner of the Walter Camp Alumni of the Year in 1988. [http://www.waltercamp.org/newsrelease/release4.htm] . In 2002, he was inducted into International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame. 2004 winner of the Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA) which is awarded to a graduates from an NCAA institution who earned a varsity letter for athletics and who ultimately became a distinguished citizen of national reputation.

NFL

Following his graduation from Notre Dame, Page was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, for whom he played from 1967 until 1978. In 1978, Page joined the Chicago Bears, with whom he played through the 1981 season and where he amassed 40 of his career sacks.

During Page’s 15-year NFL-tenure, the Vikings won an impressive four conference titles. Page played in 218 consecutive games without an absence, during which he recovered 22 fumbles, made 173 sacks (Vikings-133, Bears-40), and scored three touchdowns (two on fumble recoveries and one on an interception return). He also had three safeties, the second most in NFL history. Set a career-high in sacks with 18 in 1976 and is unofficially credited with 5 other seasons with 10 sacks or more. [ [http://www.purplepride.org/vikings/yearsack.cfm purplepride.org] ] [ [http://assets.chicagobears.com/assets/tradition/AllTimeResults2006.pdf chicagobears.com] ]

While in the NFL, Page earned All-Pro honors six times and made second-team all-league three additional times. He was voted to nine consecutive Pro Bowls. Eleven times he was voted All-Conference, in 1968 and 1969 as All-Western Conference and 1970 through 77 and 1980 as an All-National Football Conference.

In 1971, Page was named both the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year (the first player to be named such) and the AP’s NFL Most Valuable Player. Page was only the second defensive player to be named MVP since the award’s inception. In addition, he was voted the NEA NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1973. Page was National Football League Players Association player representative, 1970-1974, 1976-1977 and a member of the NFLPA Association Executive Committee, 1972-1975. Named to the Vikings' 40th Anniversary Team in 2000. Along the way Page was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Week three times: Week 9, 1967; Week 8, 1968; Week 13, 1971.

After his playing career he dabbled in the media, first as a color commentator on Turner Broadcasting System covering the "College Football Game of the Week" series during the Fall of 1982 and then became a commentator on National Public Radio from 1982-1983.

In 1988, Page was further honored by his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was ranked number 34 on "The Sporting News"' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Viking player. Received the NFL Alumni Career Achievement Award in 1995 for attaining success in his post-NFL career.

Legal career

Long before Page’s football career came to a close, he was laying the groundwork for his future role as a justice with the Minnesota Supreme Court. While playing professional football full-time, Page attended the University of Minnesota Law School, from which he received his law degree in 1978. Following graduation, he worked with the law firm of Lindquist and Vennum in Minneapolis from 1979 to 1984. In 1985, Page was appointed Special Assistant Attorney General, and was soon thereafter promoted to Assistant Attorney General.

In 1992, Page was elected to an open seat as an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, becoming the first African-American to ever serve on that court. He was re-elected in 1998, becoming the biggest vote-getter in Minnesota history, and was again re-elected in 2004. If Page chooses to run for re-election in 2010 and wins, it will necessarily be his last term, as Minnesota has mandatory retirement for judges at age 70.

Community

Far surpassing both his impressive achievements on the playing field and in the courtroom are the philanthropic contributions Justice Page has made to those in need. In 1988, Page and his wife Diane founded the Page Education Foundation. That Foundation provides much-needed financial and mentoring assistance to minority college students, in exchange for those students’ commitment to further volunteer service in the community. As of today, the Page Foundation has awarded grants to 3,320 students, who in turn have given over 220,000 hours of their own time to young children. Upon his retirement from the bench, Justice Page hopes to become a public school teacher, so that he might make an even more personal impact on the children the Foundation has served for the past 20 years.

Justice Page’s contributions to the community have not gone unnoticed, and he has been the recipient of a number of awards recognizing the impact he has made on the lives of children throughout the nation. He has also received Honorary Doctorates in Humane Letters from the University of Notre Dame, Winston-Salem State University, and Gustavus Adolphus College, as well as Honorary Doctorates of Laws from the University of Notre Dame, St. John’s University, Westfield State College, Luther College, and the University of New Haven.

On a more personal note, Justice Page has a passion for running and runs on a regular basis. Notably, in 1979, Page became the first active NFL player to complete a marathon. In 1987, he completed the Edmund Fitzgerald 100k Road Race in Duluth, Minnesota.

Honorary degrees

Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters:
University of Notre Dame, 2004;
Winston-Salem State University, 2000;
Gustavus Adolphus College, 2003. Honorary Doctorate of Laws: University of Notre Dame, 1993;
St. John's University, 1994;
Westfield State College, 1994;
Luther College, 1995;
University of New Haven, 1999.

Post NFL awards

2007—The Bronko Nagurski Legends Award by Charlotte Touchdown Club.
2007—Council on Crime and Justice "Equal Justice Award"
2007—University of Minnesota African American "Read-In Program Award"
2007—Included in Minnesota’s Legal Hall of Fame, Minnesota Law & Politics.
2007—Trumpet Awards Foundation Honoree [http://www.trumpetfoundation.org/2007/bio_justice_page.htm]
2006—Receive the St. Paul Urban League "Willie Mae Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award"
2006—Minnesota MILE (Motivating & Inspiring Leadership and Excellence) "Extra Mile Award"
2005—National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award.
2004—Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA)
2003—Scholarship America President’s Award
2002—Inducted into International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame
2001—Minnesota Business Partnership “Connecting With Youth Lifetime Achievement Award”
2001—Academic All-American Hall of Fame, 2001 Dick Enberg Award
2001—University of Minnesota Distinguished Alumni Award
1999—Sports Illustrated's "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Ohio"
1999—Star Tribune's "100 Influential Minnesotans of the Century"
1999—Star Tribune's "100 Most Important Sports Figures of the Century"
1995—NFL Alumni Career Achievement Award.
1994—Aetna Voice of Conscience Arthur Ashe Jr. Achiever Award
1993—WCCO Radio Distinguished Good Neighbor Award
1993—Inducted into College Football Hall of Fame
1993—East-West Game “Babe Hollingbery” Award
1992—Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA)
1992—U.S. Sports Academy Theodore Roosevelt Meritorious Service Award
1992—Notre Dame Alumni "Reverend Edward Frederick Sorin, C.S.C." Award
1991—Inducted into Chicago's Inner City Sports Hall of Fame
1991—National Education Association "Friend of Education" Award
1990—Inducted into the Nike Walk of Fame
1989—Dedicated “Alan Page Drive” in Canton, Ohio
1988—Walter Camp Alumni of the Year Award
1988—Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio
1981—Selected by U.S. Jaycees as one of America's Ten Outstanding Young Men.

Professional organizations

*Member, American Law Institute, 1993-present
*Member, Minnesota State Bar Association, 1979-1985, 1990-present
*Member, Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers, 1980-present
*Member, National Bar Association, 1979-present
*Member, American Bar Association, 1979-present
*Member, Advisory Board, Mixed Blood Theater, 1984-present
*Founder, Page Education Foundation, 1988. Assists minority youth with post-secondary education.
*Member, Board of Regents, University of Minnesota, 1989-1993
*Helped establish Kodak/Alan Page Challenge, a nationwide essay contest encouraging urban youth to recognize the value of education.
*Member, Institute of Bill of Rights Law Task Force on Drug Testing in the Workplace, 1990-1991
*Board of Directors, Minneapolis Urban League, 1987-1990

Notes

*In 1979 Page became the first active NFL player to finish a marathon. His best marathon time was 3:27:50
*In 1987 he completed Edmund Fitzgerald 100-kilometer (62-mile) race

*As a result of his long distance running, Page played his last 5 NFL seasons at 225 pounds.
*He is the only person in NFL history to have both worked on the construction of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and inducted into the Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* [http://www.courts.state.mn.us/?page=31&ID=30009 Justice Alan Page's Minnesota Courts bio]
*
* [http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=60016 College Football Hall of Fame]
*
* [http://www.page-ed.org/ Page Education Foundation]
* [http://www.trumpetfoundation.org/home.htm 2007 Trumpet Awards]
* [http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/speakers.asp?1+EV+2490 Alan Page Biography]
* [http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/su2004/commence.html Notre Dame Magazine Article on Page's 2004 commencement address]
* [http://www.vikings.com/historyalumni_detail_objectname_AlanPage.html Viking webpage on Alan Page] ----