Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is a former American football player, TV personality, and computer software executive.
He is probably best known for his years with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, as well as a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!.
Tarkenton also founded Tarkenton Software, a computer-program generator company, and he toured the U.S. promoting CASE (computer-aided software engineering) with Albert F. Case, Jr. of Nastec Corporation. Tarkenton Software later merged with KnowledgeWare (with Tarkenton as president), until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.

Pro Football Reference
DatabaseFootball Early life
The Minnesota Vikings drafted him in 1961 in the third round. Tarkenton came into his first National Football League game (also the first game for the Vikings) against the Chicago Bears and led the Vikings to a victory by passing for 250 yards as the upstarts stunned the Bears 37-13.
Tarkenton played for the Vikings from 1961 to 1966, during this time he developed the nickname "Fran the Scrambler" as he ran around the backfield to avoid being sacked by the opposition (this behavior also led to the nickname "Frantic Fran" and the "Wee One"). Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants in 1967 and played there until 1972 when he was traded back to Minnesota. He led the Vikings to three Super Bowls in the 1970s, but lost them all.
Tarkenton won the NFL's MVP award after the 1975 season, capturing All-Pro honors in the process. Tarkenton was also 2nd Team All-Pro in 1973 and earned All-NFC selection in 1972 & 1976. Fran was named 2nd Team All-NFC in 1970 and 1974. Tarkenton was selected to play in nine Pro Bowls.
In his 18 NFL seasons, Tarkenton completed 3,686 of 6,467 passes for 47,003 yards and 342 touchdowns, with 266 interceptions. He also used his impressive scrambling ability to rack up 3,674 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns on 675 carries. During his career, Tarkenton ran for a touchdown in 15 different seasons, an NFL record among quarterbacks. He ranks fourth in career rushing yards among QB's, behind Randall Cunningham, Steve Young and Michael Vick. He is also one of two NFL quarterbacks ever to rush for at least 300 yards in seven different seasons; the other is Tobin Rote. Voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, Tarkenton is widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time due to his running and passing ability.
However, Tarkenton's poor performance in three Super Bowls and his inability to win a championship ring in 18 seasons prevents many people from considering him as great as other famous quarterbacks. Despite not winning a championship, in 1999, he was ranked number 59 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
The worst loss of Tarkenton's career occurred during the 1975 NFC Divisional Playoffs. With what was widely considered the best team of their Purple People Eater era, the Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys 17-14 on a controversial touchdown pass from Dallas' Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson. The controversy sprung from the appearance that Pearson interfered with defender Nate Wright while running his route. The call so incensed fans that one fan fired a whiskey bottle from the stands, striking official Armen Terzian in the head. This was partially responsible for the banning of glass bottles at arenas around the country. Tarkenton also lost his father while he was watching that infamous playoff game. It had been rumored that the "Hail Mary Pass" caused the cardiac arrest, but in fact, Mr. Tarkenton died during the middle of the fourth quarter. It was a disappointing end to a spectacular season for the Vikings. They had finished the season with an NFC best 12-2 record and Tarkenton had won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award.

For more details on this topic, see The Hail Mary (American football game). Pro football career
Fran Tarkenton was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1977, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Tarkenton later appeared on the television show That's Incredible! and also worked part time on Monday Night Football.
Tarkenton wrote a book titled Better Scramble than Lose in 1969. The book is autobiographical and seeks to dispel a lot of pervading myths about himself and pro football at the time.
Tarkenton also wrote a book titled "BROKEN PATTERNS: The Education of a Quarterback," as told to Brock Yates. It is a chronicle of the 1969 preseason and the 14 game regular season with the NY Giants.
It is not widely known that Tarkenton was also a pioneer in computer software, and founder of Tarkenton Software, a program generator company. He toured the United States promoting CASE or "computer-aided software engineering" with Albert F. Case, Jr. of Nastec Corporation, but ultimately merged his software firm with James Martin's KnowledgeWare, of which Fran was president until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.
Since then, Tarkenton has been seen promoting various products and services including Tony Robbins and 1-800-BAR-NONE. He also founded GoSmallBiz.com[1], a small business consulting website, which also offers its services through Pre-paid Legal Services, Inc. His most current company is an annuity marketing firm called Tarkenton Financial[2].
Tarkenton, his wife Linda, and daughter Hayley currently reside in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia

See also

Olsen, Jack (1969). Better Scramble Than Lose. Four Winds Press.  Book-length biography of Fran Tarkenton.