American football player, assistant attorney general and member of the state supreme justice system in Minnesota. Page was Minnesota’s first black Supreme Court Justice. He was elected to his six-year term in November 1992. As a football player, he became an All-American Defensive End at Notre Dame. He was a nine time All-Pro defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings (1967–1978) and also played for the Chicago Bears (1978–1981). In 1988, Page was inducted to the Football Hall of Fame.
Page idolized fictional lawyer TV’s Perry Mason and real-life judge, Thurgood Marshall. As a kid in Canton, Ohio, his parents encouraged him to strive for excellence in his education first and in sports second. He played football in high school and went on to play for Notre Dame University. He joined the Minnesota Vikings in 1967 and converted to the position of Defensive Tackle to reach stardom.
In 1974, he helped lead the Vikings to the Super Bowl. While playing at the height of his football career from 1975-78, Page was a student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities studying law. He refused to conform to the jock standards of his fellow players and set his goals on achieving a career in law after his football years were finished. The scholarly and well-spoken football player became the assistant attorney general in employment law division in Minnesota. In 1981, he was named on the list of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in America. He used his fame to draw attention to inner-city school kids. Page established a foundation to provide the college tuition for underprivileged students and co-sponsored a national essay-writing contest to promote literacy.
He married his wife Diane in 1974, and they raised three daughters and a son. At 48, Page runs 50 miles a week to stay in shape. His lean 6′ 4″ frame maintains a weight of 225 lbs. At work, he appears in his black judges’ robe bespectacled and bow-tied. In his office his does not display football mementos of his days in the NFL. He prefers his life on the judicial bench than on the gridiron. Page wants to be remembered for making the difference in the lives of underprivileged children, not football.
Link to Wikipedia biography