Alan Page Alan Cedric Page ( born August 7 , 1945 ) is an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame . He graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1963 and received a B . A . in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1967 and a J . D . from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1978 . Page is married to Diane Sims Page and is the father of four children , Nina , Georgi , Justin and Kamie . Biography . High school life . Page graduated from Central Catholic High School , in Canton , Ohio , in 1964 . He starred in several sports and excelled in football . Page also worked on a construction team that erected the Pro Football Hall of Fame , laying the groundwork for the building where he would one day be immortalized . College . After high school , Page attended the University of Notre Dame , where he led the school ’ s football program to a national championship in 1966 . That same year , Page was named a college football All - American . Page was presented with one of the 1992 Silver Anniversary Awards ( NCAA ) for achieving personal distinction since his graduation . In 1993 he was inducted into College Football Hall of Fame . In 2005 , he was awarded the National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award . In 1967 , Page participated in the East - West Shrine Game and 25 years later received the " Babe Hollingbery " Award for his 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 . In 2002 , he was inducted into International Scholar - Athlete Hall of Fame . He was the 2004 winner of the Theodore Roosevelt Award ( NCAA ) , which is awarded to graduates from an NCAA institution who earn a varsity letter for athletics and who ultimately become distinguished citizens of national reputation . A bronze of Page is on the just - completed Pro Football Hall of Fame - themed gate at Notre Dame Stadium ( Gate C ) . NFL player . " The lessons that I learned from professional football were many : hard work , discipline , focus , the ability to analyze a problem and work through it . To accept that you don ' t always win and when you do win that doesn ' t change who you are . " Alan C . Page , 2005 After graduating 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 . As a right defensive tackle , he had an unusual 3 - point stance , placing his left rather than his right hand on the ground . During Page ’ s 15 - year NFL tenure , the Vikings won an impressive four conference titles and one league championship . Page was a member of the Vikings ' " Purple People Eaters , " a defensive line adept at sacking or hurrying the quarterback . Page played in 218 consecutive games without an absence ( 215 consecutive in the starting line - up ) , during which he recovered 22 fumbles , made 148½ sacks ( Vikings - 108½ , 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 . He set a career high with 18 sacks in 1976 and is unofficially credited with five other seasons of 10 sacks or more . 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 . He was voted All - Conference 11 times , in 1968 and 1969 as All - Western Conference and in 1970 through 1977 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 the first defensive player to be named MVP since the award ’ s inception . Only one other defensive player has ever received the award . In addition , he was voted the NEA NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1973 . NFL player representative . Page was National Football League Players Association player representative , from 1970 to 1974 and in 1976 – 1977 , and a member of the NFLPA Association Executive Committee from 1972 to 1975 . He was 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 . 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 . He received the NFL Alumni Career Achievement Award in 1995 for attaining success in his post - NFL career . Broadcasting . 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 as a commentator on National Public Radio in 1982 - 83 . Legal career . Long before Page ’ s football career came to a close , he was laying the groundwork for his future role as a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court . While still playing for the Vikings , Page attended the University of Minnesota Law School , from which he received a Juris Doctor in 1978 . Following graduation , he worked with the law firm Lindquist and Vennum in Minneapolis from 1979 to 1984 outside the football season . 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 reelected in 1998 ( becoming the biggest vote - getter in Minnesota history ) , again in 2004 , and for a final time in 2010 : Minnesota has mandatory retirement for judges at age 70 . On January 7 , 2009 , Page was appointed by Chief Justice Eric Magnuson to select the three - judge panel that heard the election contest brought by Norm Coleman in the 2008 U . S . Senate election . Community . In 1988 , Page and his wife Diane founded the Page Education Foundation . That Foundation provides much - needed financial and mentoring assistance to students of color in exchange for those students ’ commitment to further volunteer service in the community . As of May 2012 the Page Foundation has awarded grants to 5 , 000 students , who in turn have given over 350 , 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 . Since 1996 , Page has volunteered to be a " reading buddy " in the Everybody Wins reading program at a local elementary school . 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 . Page has a passion for running and runs on a regular basis . In 1979 he became the first active NFL player to complete a marathon . His running routine , which he took up while helping his wife quit smoking , is believed to have contributed to his dismissal from the Minnesota Vikings . His running schedule of 35 – 40 miles per week during the season , and 55 miles per week in the offseason , caused his weight to drop below that dictated by the Vikings . He ran the Ultimate Runner ( mile , 10K , 100 , 400 , 800 , marathon all in one day ) . In 1987 , he completed the Edmund Fitzgerald 100k Road Race in Duluth , Minnesota . Page is a regular spectator at the Twin Cities Marathon , famous for playing the sousaphone near mile 3 . In 2010 , Bill McGrane wrote a biography of Page titled " All Rise , The Remarkable Journey of Alan Page . " In 2013 , Page and his daughter Kamie Page wrote a children ' s book , " Alan and His Perfectly Pointy Impossibly Perpendicular Pinky " . Proceeds from the sale of this book help support the Page Education Foundation . Hobbies . Page owns an extensive collection of Jim Crow - related memorabilia , which was described in detail in a Minneapolis Star Tribune article . Honorary degrees . Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters : Winston - Salem State University , 2000 ; Gustavus Adolphus College , 2003 ; University of Notre Dame , 2004 ; Duke University , 2011 . 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 . 2013 — Pursuit of Justice Award , Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section , American Bar Association < br > 2011 — Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award , General Practice , Solo and Small Firm Division , American Bar Association < br > 2011 — James V . Day " Good Guy " Award , The American Legion < br > 2011 — Legacy Award , The Pan African Community Endowment < br > 2010 — # 43 in the NFL ' s Top 100 Greatest Players < br > 2010 — Player of the Franchise , Minnesota Vikings , St . Paul Pioneer Press < br > 2009 — Reatha Clark King Award for Excellence and Youth Motivation through the Cultural Arts < br > 2007 — The Bronko Nagurski Legends Award by Charlotte Touchdown Club < br > 2007 — Council on Crime and Justice " Equal Justice Award " < br > 2007 — University of Minnesota African American " Read - In Program Award " < br > 2007 — Included in Minnesota ’ s Legal Hall of Fame , Minnesota Law & Politics < br > 2007 — Trumpet Awards Foundation Honoree < br > 2006 — Receive the St . Paul Urban League " Willie Mae Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award " < br > 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 " < br > 1999 — Star Tribune ' s " 100 Influential Minnesotans of the Century " < br > 1999 — Star Tribune ' s " 100 Most Important Sports Figures of the Century " < br > 1995 — NFL Alumni Career Achievement Award . 1994 — Aetna Voice of Conscience Arthur Ashe Jr . Achiever Award < br > 1993 — WCCO Radio Distinguished Good Neighbor Award < br > 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 < br > 1992 — Notre Dame Alumni " Reverend Edward Frederick Sorin , C . S . C . " Award < br > 1991 — Inducted into Chicago ' s Inner City Sports Hall of Fame < br > 1991 — National Education Association " Friend of Education " Award < br > 1990 — Inducted into the Nike Walk of Fame < br > 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 . See also . Most consecutive starts ( NFL )