after the team had been eliminated from the postseason in a 41–21 defeat to the Baltimore Colts, but came back 24 hours later. Two months after that brief departure, Van Brocklin signed a new contract that would keep him with the franchise through 1970, but then quit for good, abruptly announcing his departure on February 11, 1967, saying he had lost control of the team, and the Vikings once again pursued the services of Bud Grant, who was still with Winnipeg. This time, Grant accepted the Vikings' offer and became the new Vikings head coach on March 10, 1967. 1967–1978: The Purple People Eaters era On March 7, 1967, Fran Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants for first- and second-round selections in the 1967 draft, a first-round selection in 1968, and a second-round selection in 1969. With these picks, Minnesota selected Clinton Jones and Bob Grim in 1967, Ron Yary in 1968, and Ed White in 1969. During the late 1960s, the Vikings were building a powerful defense known as the Purple People Eaters, led by Alan Page, Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, and Jim Marshall. In 1968, that stingy defense earned the Vikings their first Central Division title and their first playoff berth. They lost to Baltimore 24–14 in the Western Conference championship game. In 1969 the Vikings earned a 12–2 record, the best in the NFL. An opening-game one-point loss to the New York Giants, quarterbacked by former Viking Fran Tarkenton, was followed by 12 consecutive wins. The Vikings played their first regular-season game in Minneapolis, when the October 5 game against the Packers was moved to Memorial Stadium. That game also saw a then-record home crowd of 60,740. The Vikings defeated the Cleveland Browns 27–7 in the NFL Championship Game on January 4, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium. Minnesota became the first modern NFL expansion team to win an NFL Championship Game, which earned the team a berth in Super Bowl IV. The heavily favored Vikings lost that game to the Kansas City Chiefs, 23–7, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. The team continued to shine in 1970 and 1971 as their "Purple People Eater" defense led them back to the playoffs. In 1971, the defense was so impressive that Alan Page became the first-ever defensive player to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). The first post-merger game was a rematch with Kansas City, which