Surrounded by laughter at his expense, Minnesota Vikings tight end Joe Senser was given a title no player would ever want: ‘Worst Player to Ever Make an All-Star Game in Any Sport.’ It was 1981. What would be an embarrassing moment for anyone else turned out to be one of vulnerability and self-awareness for Senser. “Well,” he said during the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl postgame press conference, “I also knit.”

In reality, he was barely the bad player many considered him to be. In reality, he is the only TE in franchise history to have more than 1,000 yards in a season. Plus, for decades, his 79 catches in 1981 stood as a lasting piece of Vikings history. It survived generation after generation of tight ends who chased the mark but couldn’t quite reach it. It wasn’t until 2016 that Kyle Rudolph finally surpassed it with 83 receptions, and years later, T.J. Hockenson raised the standard again with 95 catches for 960 yards in 2023.

As Senser started gaining recognition across the North Star State back in the 80s, he never let fame pull him away from who he was. Quotes from that season showed a man who stayed grounded, still carrying the memory of a hard childhood in Philadelphia, where even getting to school meant navigating dangerous streets. But the man who, anyway, walked those alleys and made his way to the NFL passed away at the age of 69.

“The Vikings family is saddened by the loss of Joe Senser,” Vikings owner and President Mark Wilf, as well as owner and Chairman Zygi Wilf, issued a statement. “Joe was a Pro Bowler on the field, but his impact on the organization and in the community was felt long after his playing days. Joe was a generous soul with countless charitable endeavors. He brought his positive personality to every interaction he had, whether it be with former teammates, Vikings staff, or our family when we became stewards of this franchise. Joe’s warmth and welcoming spirit will last in the memories of those who knew him.”

He died on Thursday. The cause of death has not been revealed, but he had undergone a massive health scare back in 2016.

He had collapsed in the bathroom. What followed was devastating: doctors discovered two blood clots and a massive stroke. “The report was… might not make it,” his friend Brad Anderson said back then. But Senser not only fought through it but also underwent three months of intense therapy in hospitals. He had to learn to walk again, one step at a time.

St Therese’s in New Hope (a rehab facility in Minnesota) had become his new home, away from home, as he started to walk and talk again. His wife Amy, was a constant source of support.

But in the end, it was the NFL player in him that motivated him the most. After all, he had dealt with injuries during his short professional football career.

Senser played only four seasons in the NFL. The reason was a knee injury.

It was towards the end of the 1981 season. During a Week 13 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, he absorbed a low hit on a crossing route after making the catch, suffering major damage to his knee. Even with the injury, the man kept playing through the pain and closed out the season with eight additional receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. That offseason marked the beginning of multiple surgeries aimed at repairing the knee, but despite those efforts, the injury ultimately cut his career short.

Then, in 1982, he was also hospitalized for an elbow injury after Minnesota’s 22-14 loss at Miami. But owing to his contributions, many who had the pleasure to spend time around him remembered the TE.

Punter Greg ‘Touch’ Coleman remembered a rough start with Senser at a 1979 training camp that blossomed into a lifelong friendship. Coleman recalled Senser’s rookie year, when Coleman was running the scout-team defense with a dummy bag, only for Senser to power through and push Coleman down.

“Rookie, if you ever hit me again during walk-throughs, I am gonna kick your a**,” Coleman had fired off. But Senser’s reply stopped him cold.

“Touch, you don’t understand,” Senser said. “I gotta do everything I can to make this team.”

That forged a bond which never faded away. And it wasn’t just his teammates who were impacted by Senser’s presence. So, when the Vikings shared the news, the entire NFL community lined up to pay their respects to the legend.

The NFL community remembers Joe Senser’s legacy

The old teammates were the first to lead the charge when the news of Senser’s passing broke. Former Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer, who played with Senser for five seasons, took to X to share his own tribute for his tight end.

“It wasn’t about the money, it wasn’t about fame, it was about playing the game we loved and winning,” Kramer wrote. “Most of all, it was about the fans. Joe was one of the best. Rest easy, my friend, until we meet again.”

Paul Allen, who spent years in the Vikings Radio Network booth alongside Senser as the play-by-play voice, remembered a mentor and a friend. After all, Senser ventured into color commentating for the Vikings Radio Network in 1993-94 and from 2001-06.

“So saddened by the loss of former @vikings TE Joe Senser, one of the classiest, most loving people I’ve ever known,” Allen wrote on X. “Had the privilege of spending my first five years calling Vikes games with Joe & he taught me so much, so fast. This hurts. May God rest your soul, ‘Uncle Joe.’”

That “Uncle Joe” line says something. Allen was a young broadcaster who learned his craft from Senser at the start of his career. That relationship came through every time the two were on air together. But Senser’s impact wasn’t just limited to the Vikings community.

Aside from a career in radio, Senser also ran restaurants in Minnesota and the Chicago area. A Chicago Bears fan wrote that they remembered Senser’s restaurants, specifically the Schaumburg, Illinois location, while showing respect.

“RIP from a Bears fan,” the person wrote. “I didn’t know him too well, except that he played for the Vikings & some unfortunate issues that happened in recent years. I remember going to all his restaurants & they even opened up one in Schaumburg, Ill in the early 90’s for a while. The food was real great, especially their barbecue chicken sandwich & wings.”

Even a Packers fan mourned “the most goated waffle fry sauce ever.” That’s Senser, too; a man who built something real enough that people who rooted against him still showed up.

A Vikings fan who met Senser in person wrote, “One of the nicest and kindest human beings I ever met. Loved him as a player and announcer.”

One fan even described pretending to be Senser as a kid, catching passes in the backyard, the kind of thing you only say about players who meant something beyond the stat line.

“I remember playing football in the backyard as a kid and pretending I was Joe Senser catching passes and evading would-be tacklers,” they wrote. “RIP Joe.”

Joe Senser spent four seasons on the field, eight years in the broadcast booth, and three decades feeding people at his restaurants across the Twin Cities. The community will miss his steady presence.