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Post by muzwell on Jun 14, 2020 6:55:45 GMT -5
Also I think the John Lennon game was in Miami. Orange Bowl.
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Post by Shelly on Jun 14, 2020 7:10:06 GMT -5
Grew up overseas in the late sixties/early seventies, half the company was from Texas, half from New England...hard to be a fan then..Cowboys were 'America's team'. and we were the doormat of the league for forty years, so I have no sympathy for those who complain about the current dynasty...thirty years of pain, 20 years of incredible memories...will never forget when the Pats opened up in 76 or 77 with a 6-1 start and then went 1-6...Sam Bam Cunningham and Little Mac Heron...Plunkett was another memory, traded to Oakland where he won the Super Bowl...good grief... ...but look at what we got because of that trade! In the 1976 offseason, the Patriots began engaging in trade talks with the San Francisco 49ers, who came of a 5-9 season in which the team started three quarterbacks. On April 5, the two teams reached an agreement. The 49ers would receive Plunkett – if he was willing to sign a contract with the team, which he was – and the Patriots would get the following in return: Two 1976 first round draft picks (#12 and #21) One 1977 first round draft pick (#16) One 1977 second round draft pick (#44) Quarterback Tom Owen Due to the trade, the Patriots held three first rounder selections in 1976. After drafting future Hall of Fame cornerback Mike Hayes with their own pick, the team selected center Pete Brock and safety Tim Fox with San Francisco’s. Brock spent his entire 12-year career in New England and became the team’s starting center in 1981. Overall, he appeared in 154 games – only 17 Patriots have played more – and helped the franchise reach its first Super Bowl. Fox, on the other hand, played six years for the Patriots, started all 91 of his games and earned a Pro Bowl selection in his fifth season. His 17 interceptions are the 15th most in franchise history. The following year, after the Patriots went 11-3 in 1976, the team selected cornerback Raymond Clayborn with the 49ers’ first round draft pick. Clayborn started 179 of 191 games (sixth most appearances in team history) over his 13 years in New England, was voted to three Pro Bowls and started on the Patriots’ first conference championship team. His 36 interceptions are tied with Ty Law for most in franchise history. With San Francisco’s second round selection, the Patriots picked running back Horace Ivory. Ivory was with the Patriots for five seasons and worked as a rotational running back and kick returner, amassed 2,960 all-purpose yards and scored 17 touchdowns. The final piece of the trade, quarterback Tom Owen, spent four years in Foxboro as Grogan’s backup. He started one of the 12 games he appeared in and threw three touchdowns and nine interceptions.
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Post by mthurl on Jun 14, 2020 7:21:59 GMT -5
Well all my life really, but I really started watching football in 1990. That’s when I found myself loving watching the Patriots, and they were terrible. But I just found it so fun to watch - that’s when I really started appreciating the game. Then they got Parcells and drafted Bledsoe. I became a little nuts. I’ve watched every single game from then till now. I’ve watched games in the Bahamas (at Atlantis). I’ve watched games in Mexico Punta Cana (a great unbelievable come back win circa 1999). Aruba in a casino against Tennessee with Robert Edwards running (a win).
I also became a draft junkie around 1994ish. Started paying all this money for monthly draft reports and publications. At one point I probably could have erected a wing on my house to hold all of the stacks of books, papers and scouting reports I paid for...I’m actually kind of glad I’ve grown out of that phase, no one understood why I was doing that (I probably don’t understand it myself) and plus the internet has made it so much easier. And I must say...Belichick has kind of taken some of the “joy” out of the draft for me. He’s so unpredictable, he trades back and out, he reaches, he confuses (and I’m in no way saying he’s bad or wrong, he’s right, but when you spend all this time studying and you find out that YOU’RE wrong, or that you’re looking at totally different players than you thought they’d select?? I don’t know, it kind of tired me or something.
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Post by pauldeba on Jun 14, 2020 8:42:27 GMT -5
They had MNF games but not in Foxboro. Not until the Kraft era. I know I'm old but I think the Dallas game in the early 80's was the impetus for them losing home MNF games. Were they at home or on the road when Howard Cossell broke the news of John Lennons death on MNF? They were definitely in Miami, that was 1980. I was working selling hot dogs and they wouldn’t let me do the Dallas game in 1981 because I was a week short of 16. Apparently, that was the last MNF at Foxborough, because the fans were too drunk. Interestingly, if the Patriots had made the Field Goal right after Lennon’s death was announced, they would have been the #1 seed in the playoffs. They missed the playoffs entirely because of the miss and loss in OT. John Lennon was rolling over in his grave!!!
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Post by muzwell on Jun 14, 2020 10:27:37 GMT -5
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Post by texaspat on Jun 14, 2020 12:28:15 GMT -5
From the beginning. Playing at Fenway. So glad to not have the Giants force fed every Sunday, though I did enjoy YA and Shofner, Rosie Grier, Spider Lockhart. OMG Gotta stop it! OK think Nance, Gino, that’s better. Wow! That takes me back, to when the Giants were New England's team. Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli, Jim Katcavage, Alex Webster, Joe Morrison, and those you have previously mentioned. I loved the Giants as a kid. But then, the AFL came along, and I was introduced to the Boston Patriots, and a more exciting brand of football. Quarterback Babe Parilli, RB Larry Garron, WR Gino Cappeletti on offense, and Houston Antwine, Larry Eisenhauer, and Nick Buoniconti on defense. I used to love those high scoring AFL games. Loved watching players that were, relatively speaking, new to me. Back then, I even found the Jets to be both entertaining, and likable...with Joe Namath, WR Don Maynard, RBs Matt Snell and Emerson Boozer, linebacker Grantham, DB Johnny Sample, and humungous OT, Sherman Plunkett. I also liked the Chiefs, with quarterback Lenny Dawson, RBs Abner Haynes and Mike Garrett, WR Otis Taylor, TE Fred Arbanez, DT Buck Buccanon, and linebacker Bobby Bell. I joyfully devoured their rivalry with the Oakland Raiders of quarterback Daryl Lamonica, reserve QB and PK George Blanda, WR Warren Wells, OC Jim Otto, DE Ben Davidson, and some of the other characters and pirates that they had playing for them. What glorious gridiron battles! But, I digress. I started to follow and root for both the Giants and Patriots in the 60s, up until Bill Parcells jeft the Giants. Since the teams never met in any meaningful games until the turn of the century, that worked out just fine. But, post Parcells, I lost most of my interest in the G-men, especially after Parcells took over the Patriots. Of course, any remnants of my love for the Giants permanently disintegrated after SB 42...for obvious reasons.
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Post by portfolio1 on Jun 14, 2020 18:11:39 GMT -5
This is year 61 for the Pats and I have been a fan since the start.
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Post by portfolio1 on Jun 14, 2020 18:16:46 GMT -5
1963 for me. Babe Parilli was my favorite player then in '65 Jim Nance became my favorite. Though Gino was always right up there with both of them. THe days of Jim Lee Hunt, Houston Antoine, Nick Buoniconti, Larry Garron... Nance would have been a HOF had he either not been injured and so diminished his ability and shortened his career or had he been on a good team. I have seen them play in every home stadium they have had except I have been reminded that they had one home game in Atlanta I think. Saw them play against Johnny Unitas in Harvard Stadium. Saw at the first game ever played in Foxboro (preseason against NY Giants... we won in spite of a Rocky THompson KO return for a TD for the Giants).
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Post by prairiemike on Jun 15, 2020 0:00:45 GMT -5
My first memory of the New England Patriots was "Squish the Fish"... I was 7. Nobody ... but nobody ... believed those Patriots (0-30 at the Orange Bowl) could hang with the Dolphins ... much less crush them, and they did crush them. If people want to joke about how bad the Bears beat our Pats in the Super Bowl a couple weeks later ... that's okay. We squished them fish. And for my money, to this day, it's the greatest victory in Pats history (some may disagree). As for me ... my first memory is of leaving early because it was raining and the Jets were kicking the snot out of the Pats in what was then Schaeffer Stadium. On the way home we heard on the radio that the Pats came back in the second half and whupped the Jets -- shades of things to come. I honestly don't remember what year that was, but it was before Jim Plunkett. At a guess I'd say I've been rooting for the Pats for about 50 of my 59 years. I love the Pats. They're awesome!
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Post by elvissurfs on Jun 15, 2020 16:05:15 GMT -5
Grew up overseas in the late sixties/early seventies, half the company was from Texas, half from New England...hard to be a fan then..Cowboys were 'America's team'. and we were the doormat of the league for forty years, so I have no sympathy for those who complain about the current dynasty...thirty years of pain, 20 years of incredible memories...will never forget when the Pats opened up in 76 or 77 with a 6-1 start and then went 1-6...Sam Bam Cunningham and Little Mac Heron...Plunkett was another memory, traded to Oakland where he won the Super Bowl...good grief... ...but look at what we got because of that trade! In the 1976 offseason, the Patriots began engaging in trade talks with the San Francisco 49ers, who came of a 5-9 season in which the team started three quarterbacks. On April 5, the two teams reached an agreement. The 49ers would receive Plunkett – if he was willing to sign a contract with the team, which he was – and the Patriots would get the following in return: Two 1976 first round draft picks (#12 and #21) One 1977 first round draft pick (#16) One 1977 second round draft pick (#44) Quarterback Tom Owen Due to the trade, the Patriots held three first rounder selections in 1976. After drafting future Hall of Fame cornerback Mike Hayes with their own pick, the team selected center Pete Brock and safety Tim Fox with San Francisco’s. Brock spent his entire 12-year career in New England and became the team’s starting center in 1981. Overall, he appeared in 154 games – only 17 Patriots have played more – and helped the franchise reach its first Super Bowl. Fox, on the other hand, played six years for the Patriots, started all 91 of his games and earned a Pro Bowl selection in his fifth season. His 17 interceptions are the 15th most in franchise history. The following year, after the Patriots went 11-3 in 1976, the team selected cornerback Raymond Clayborn with the 49ers’ first round draft pick. Clayborn started 179 of 191 games (sixth most appearances in team history) over his 13 years in New England, was voted to three Pro Bowls and started on the Patriots’ first conference championship team. His 36 interceptions are tied with Ty Law for most in franchise history. With San Francisco’s second round selection, the Patriots picked running back Horace Ivory. Ivory was with the Patriots for five seasons and worked as a rotational running back and kick returner, amassed 2,960 all-purpose yards and scored 17 touchdowns. The final piece of the trade, quarterback Tom Owen, spent four years in Foxboro as Grogan’s backup. He started one of the 12 games he appeared in and threw three touchdowns and nine interceptions. Wow, I had no idea...thanks for the education...I just remember Plunkett leading the Raiders to victory over the Redskins where I happened to be living at the time...Skins had won the year before, and Theisman seemed distracted, working on his future media career...
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gardnerhey
3rd String but playing on Special Teams
Posts: 841
Likes: 482
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Post by gardnerhey on Jun 15, 2020 23:14:52 GMT -5
1963 for me. Babe Parilli was my favorite player then in '65 Jim Nance became my favorite. Though Gino was always right up there with both of them. THe days of Jim Lee Hunt, Houston Antoine, Nick Buoniconti, Larry Garron... Nance would have been a HOF had he either not been injured and so diminished his ability and shortened his career or had he been on a good team. I have seen them play in every home stadium they have had except I have been reminded that they had one home game in Atlanta I think. Saw them play against Johnny Unitas in Harvard Stadium. Saw at the first game ever played in Foxboro (preseason against NY Giants... we won in spite of a Rocky THompson KO return for a TD for the Giants). You got that right!
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Post by prairiemike on Jun 16, 2020 0:07:04 GMT -5
I really love this thread.
I'm just gonna mention Andy Johnson for no particular reason.
Remember Andy Johnson?
One of my first favorite players.
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Post by portfolio1 on Jun 16, 2020 12:20:16 GMT -5
I really love this thread. I'm just gonna mention Andy Johnson for no particular reason. Remember Andy Johnson? One of my first favorite players. Mosi Tatupu
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mikeod
3rd String but playing on Special Teams
Posts: 765
Likes: 697
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Post by mikeod on Jun 16, 2020 20:07:40 GMT -5
I really love this thread. I'm just gonna mention Andy Johnson for no particular reason. Remember Andy Johnson? One of my first favorite players. Me, too. Got me thinking of a game I saw them play in Harvard Stadium. Forgot to bring cushions and it got real cold sitting there. What stands out was a punt by the opponent (can’t remember who) and Mike “Cat” Ballou just crushed the punter as the punter started to run toward the returner. Just annihilated him. 15 yards, personal foul. First down. But it got an enormous cheer. Was that the Joe Kapp era? Damn. I just checked and it was Kapp I saw. Also, noted they signed him as a free agent after playing without a contract in Minnesota and Rozelle took two #1 draft picks to compensate them. Must have passed that tactic along to Goodell.
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ncpatsfan1971
3rd String but playing on Special Teams
Posts: 992
Likes: 1,188
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Post by ncpatsfan1971 on Jun 18, 2020 16:24:32 GMT -5
My first memory of the New England Patriots was "Squish the Fish"... I was 7. Nobody ... but nobody ... believed those Patriots (0-30 at the Orange Bowl) could hang with the Dolphins ... much less crush them, and they did crush them. If people want to joke about how bad the Bears beat our Pats in the Super Bowl a couple weeks later ... that's okay. We squished them fish. And for my money, to this day, it's the greatest victory in Pats history (some may disagree). As for me ... my first memory is of leaving early because it was raining and the Jets were kicking the snot out of the Pats in what was then Schaeffer Stadium. On the way home we heard on the radio that the Pats came back in the second half and whupped the Jets -- shades of things to come. I honestly don't remember what year that was, but it was before Jim Plunkett. At a guess I'd say I've been rooting for the Pats for about 50 of my 59 years. I love the Pats. They're awesome! The victory against the fish was awesome but let's not forget the wildcard round that year against the Jets in NY that was the Pats first playoff victory since 1963. I can still remember Tackle Brian Holloway crying in the locker room after that game. The victory against the Jets broke a 22 year drought of post season wins. Then they still had to go to Oakland and win there to have the right to play the fish in Miami for the Conference Championship. BTW, it's been 50 years for me and counting. I hope. LOL
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ncpatsfan1971
3rd String but playing on Special Teams
Posts: 992
Likes: 1,188
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Post by ncpatsfan1971 on Jun 18, 2020 16:30:06 GMT -5
I really love this thread. I'm just gonna mention Andy Johnson for no particular reason. Remember Andy Johnson? One of my first favorite players. Mosi Tatupu Here's one for ya. How about returner "Away McQuay". He wasn't one of my favorite players but the team was so bad back in the early 70's that a player just having a cool name was good. LOL
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