Dennis Ryan is exactly the kind of person the Pro Football Hall of Fame had in mind when it established an “Awards of Excellence” program in 2022 to honor significant contributors to the game in behind-the-scenes roles.
So come June 26, the former Vikings equipment manager will have his name added to the Hall’s exhibit as one of the best equipment managers in league history. He’ll be joined this year by fellow equipment managers Tom Gray (Bengals) and George Luongo (Patriots).
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have thought my name would be anywhere inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” said Ryan, who spent 48 seasons (1975-2022) working for the Vikings. “To think I’m even a small part of that place — somewhere down the hall from where all the great Vikings players and \[coach\] Bud \[Grant\] are — is very special, pretty moving and quite humbling.”
It was 1975 when Ryan, 16, a hard-working 98-pound sophomore wrestler at St. Paul Humboldt High, was working on the grounds crew at old Midway Stadium and caught the eye of Vikings equipment manager Jim “Stubby” Eason. Eason, who needed strong, cheap labor to help lug equipment to and from Mankato for training camp, took a liking to Ryan. So did Grant.
Ryan continued in this part-time role in 1976. When he graduated, he went to work for the Vikings, officially becoming a full-timer on June 1, 1979, when Eason marked the moment by handing him a can of paint to go paint the blocking sleds.
Eason was the team’s original equipment manager. He served from 1961 until his death from lung cancer in 1981. Ryan, then 21, was promoted and would hold the job 42 seasons before his retirement in 2023.
“I miss the people,” Ryan said.
He doesn’t miss not having a day off for seven months a year.