Hall of Famer Carl Eller spent 15 of his 16 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, where he appeared in all four of their Super Bowl appearances and was a member of the feared “Purple People Eaters” defense. The big defensive end recorded four-straight All-Pro and Pro Bowl seasons in the mid-1970s and finished his career with six Pro Bowl selections and five All-Pro selections. Eller was an All-American at the University of Minnesota and selected in the first round by the Vikings in the 1964 NFL Draft and made his debut with the Vikings in 1964.

Offered here is one of the first professional jerseys ever worn by Carl Eller. This white knit durene road Vikings jersey has been dated to Eller’s first two seasons with Minnesota (1964 and 1965) based on the style of the number font used in those two seasons that Eller would have been on the team. The jersey has “81” sewn on in purple and yellow tackle twill on the front, back and sleeves. The ¾ length sleeves have three purple stripes outlined in yellow and the bottom front tail has four buttons that connect to the back of the jersey. The jersey displays heavy game use and has toned with age giving it a cream-colored look. There are numerous team repairs and what appears to be faded blood stains. The tackle twill on the numbers are faded and frayed, but still intact. The sleeve ends have some runs and pulling. Eller has signed his name in black marker on the front of the jersey and inscribed “HOF 04” and “my jersey”. A tremendous rookie era jersey from one of the “Purple People Eaters” and it comes with a LOA from Mears, who have graded this museum quality jersey a near-perfect GU 9. Additionally, there is a Letter of Provenance from the recipient of this jersey, who states in his LOA that this was gift given to him by his father with the help of coach Bud Grant. There is also a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication for his signature.

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