Page: Big Rush for Court Seat

The gray marble columns of the Minnesota State House represent a far more majestic tableau than blustery Metropolitan Stadium. The uniform has changed from pads and helmet to an austere gray suit and red bow tie. His teammates are no longer the Purple People Eaters; instead, he is flanked by Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III and other top Minnesota attorneys.

As he announced new endorsements a week ago in his race for a seat on the Minnesota Supreme Court, it was clear that Alan Page, perhaps the greatest defensive tackle of his generation, has ascended to a world that few of his former teammates on the Minnesota Vikings would even dream about.

“I never thought of myself as a football player,” said Page, 47, whose only visible scar from 15 years in pro football is a permanently disfigured left pinky. “Football was something that I did, not who I was. I recognized early on that you had to prepare beyond the athletic field.”

But there’s little doubt the influence of football looms large for Page, known in his day as an unorthodox lineman who relied more on quickness and smarts than size and brawn. In an era in which players largely did what the owners said and shut their mouths, Page spoke out, clashed with coaches and management and became one of the early advocates for players’ rights.

The same streak has characterized his current campaign to become the first African American on the seven-person Minnesota Supreme Court. Page, an assistant Minnesota attorney general, almost literally had to kick the door in on a cozy old-boy backroom to get on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election.

Supreme Court elections are typically uncontested in Minnesota. Governors usually appoint political allies to vacant seats, and then those appointees stand for re-election without competition. Page first tried to run in 1990 for a court seat held by a justice who had become disabled, but the election was canceled after the judge resigned, enabling then-Gov. Rudy Perpich to appoint a replacement.

This year, after Page filed once again to challenge another sitting justice, Gov. Arne Carlson gave the justice a special two-year extension. But Page challenged the move as unconstitutional, won in court and coasted to victory in the September primary. He is now favored in the general election against Hennepin County prosecutor Kevin Johnson.

“Politically and tactically, it was brilliant,” said D.J. Leery, editor of a newsletter on Minnesota politics. “It took guts to go knock down the law the governor and the sitting justice tried to hide behind, and he won.”

Now Page must cope with yet another hurdle--repeated charges from his opponent that he lacks qualifications. Johnson points out Page has never tried a case before a judge. “If it weren’t for his fame as a football player, I believe he would just be another obscure member of the attorney general’s staff,” said Johnson.

It’s true Page has had a relatively short career in the legal profession, finishing law school at the University of Minnesota in his latter years with the Vikings. He practiced with a Minneapolis firm -- the one that represents the NFL Players Association -- before joining the attorney general’s office in 1985.

But several lawyers who know Page describe the Hall of Fame lineman as a meticulous attorney with wide-ranging experience in labor and employment law and a reputation for sober reflection. As much as anything, they say, his football fame actually has been a double-edged sword.

“People don’t necessarily think of a professional football player as someone you’d vote for on the Supreme Court,” said Jack Tunheim, Minnesota’s deputy attorney general. “Alan Page is a fine lawyer. He would be a better judge at the appellate level than at the trial level. What you want at that level is someone who takes the time to reflect and think through matters carefully.”

Page is a gentle, friendly man who talks eloquently of football experiences that shaped his later life. When he first came into the league as a first-round draft choice out of Notre Dame in 1967, it was the year after the AFL-NFL merger.

Page and other top draft choices were given lower salaries, with a take-it-or-leave it attitude from top management. Page said he quickly gained some much-needed perspective about professional sports.

Page eventually wore out his welcome in Minnesota, despite a stellar career that included his being the first defensive player ever named most valuable player. While with the Vikings, Page took up distance running -- he still runs 50 or 60 miles a week -- and by 1978, the once self-described tank of 280 pounds had dropped to a svelte 225 pounds.

Then-Vikings coach Bud Grant tried to talk him out of his running, to no avail. Six games into the 1978 season, Minnesota released its greatest defensive star.

Today Page still is svelte and claims he harbors no bitterness over his treatment, noting it gave him the chance to end his career with four good years with the Chicago Bears.

“In all honesty, it’s one of the best things that ever happened to me,” he said. “I had been with the Vikings too long, and I needed a change. But because of the nature of the game, as long as they wanted me around, I had no choice. Talk about something that’s frustrating.”