Longtime Vikings equipment manager earns Pro Football Hall of Fame award
Dennis Ryan, along with Tom Gray and George Luongo, were picked Tuesday as the equipment managers in the fourth class for the Awards of Excellence.
Ryan began his career as a teenager with Minnesota in 1975 as a part-time employee. In 1981, he became the NFL's youngest equipment manager at 21 years old. He stayed with the organization for 47 seasons, nine of 10 head coaches and worked in all of the Vikings home stadiums.
"Even to be considered, but then to be honored is amazing and humbling. It's a very high honor," Ryan said.
The Vikings say Ryan is credited as the developer of the first eye shield to be worn by a player in an NFL, began the use of baseball mud to prep game balls for quarterbacks and developed techniques for preparing kicking balls.
He won the Whitney Zimmerman Award, which honors the NFL's Equipment Manager of the Year, in 1996 and 2017.
By his retirement in April 2023, Ryan had worked 922 NFL games — 705 of which were consecutive until COVID-19 protocols kept him off the sideline.
In November 2023, the Vikings unveiled the Dennis Ryan Equipment Room in honor of his commitment to the organization.
Ryan also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the NFL Equipment Manager's Meeting last year.
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