The NFL player who became a Minnesota Supreme Court justice is Alan Page, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears who earned his law degree while still playing, then won election to Minnesota’s highest court in 1992 and served more than 22 years as an associate justice.
Who Alan Page Was on the Field
Page was born on August 7, 1945, in Canton, Ohio. He played college football at Notre Dame, where he helped the Fighting Irish win the 1966 national championship, and the Minnesota Vikings drafted him 15th overall in 1967.
In Minnesota he anchored the defensive line nicknamed the Purple People Eaters alongside Jim Marshall, Carl Eller, and Gary Larsen. At roughly 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, he was undersized for a defensive tackle, but his quickness off the snap made him nearly impossible to block. In 1971 he became the first defensive player in NFL history to win the Associated Press Most Valuable Player award, a feat only Lawrence Taylor has matched since.1Pro Football Hall of Fame. Alan Page He also won the first-ever AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award that year and took it again in 1973, and he was voted to nine consecutive Pro Bowls.
Page played 11 seasons with the Vikings and reached four Super Bowls with the team, all losses. He was traded to the Chicago Bears during the 1978 season and retired after 1981.2Carleton College. Alan Page – Honorary Degrees The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him in 1988.3Pro Football Hall of Fame. Behind the Bronze: Alan Page
Law School During His Playing Career
Page didn’t wait for retirement to start his second career. While still an active player with the Vikings, he enrolled full time at the University of Minnesota Law School, attending classes during the season and studying year-round. He received his Juris Doctor in 1978, three seasons before he stopped playing.4National Football Foundation. Alan Cedric Page
Practice, Then the Attorney General’s Office
He joined the Minneapolis firm Lindquist and Vennum in 1979 and stayed through 1984, overlapping his final NFL seasons with private practice.5Minnesota State Law Library. Biographies of Minnesota Supreme Court Justices – Alan C. Page In 1985 he moved to the Minnesota Attorney General’s office as a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Employment Law Division, and in 1987 he was promoted to Assistant Attorney General. He held that role until 1993.6Minnesota State Law Library. Biography – Alan C. Page
Elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court
Most Minnesota Supreme Court justices arrive by gubernatorial appointment. Page did not. On November 3, 1992, he won election to an open seat, becoming the first African American to serve on the court. He was sworn in on January 4, 1993.7Carleton College. First African American Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page to Deliver Carleton Convocation
Voters returned him three more times, in 1998, 2004, and 2010.6Minnesota State Law Library. Biography – Alan C. Page His 1998 race drew the most votes of any candidate for that position in state history.7Carleton College. First African American Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page to Deliver Carleton Convocation
His tenure ended on August 31, 2015, when he reached Minnesota’s mandatory retirement age for judges. Under state law, a judge must retire on the last day of the month in which the judge turns 70.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 490 Page, born in August 1945, hit that threshold that month. He had served more than 22 years on the court.
His Record on the Bench
Justice Page authored 554 opinions during his tenure: 313 majority opinions, 154 dissents, 61 concurrences, and 26 opinions concurring in part and dissenting in part.9Minnesota State Law Library. Opinions – Alan C. Page, Associate Justice The dissent count stands out. Writing 154 dissenting opinions over 22 years means he put his disagreement with the majority on the record about seven times a year.
After the Court
In November 2018, Page received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of his work in professional sports and civic life.10University of Minnesota Law School. Former Justice Alan Page 78 Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom