This article contains an in-depth explanation of the history of the New England Patriots, a professional American football team that competes in the National Football League (NFL).
Earlier NFL experience
Boston had previously been home to several NFL teams. The first was the Boston Bulldogs, which lasted only one season (1929). They were followed by the Boston Braves/Redskins, from 1932 to 1936. They played first at Braves Field and then at Fenway Park. The team moved to Washington following the 1936 season. The Boston Yanks played from 1944 to 1948 before moving to New York to become the New York Yanks.
1960–1969: AFL beginnings
On November 16, 1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth and final franchise of the developing American Football League (AFL). In addition to William and Joseph Sullivan, other initial investors in the team were John Ames, a lawyer, Dean Boylan, president of Boston Sand & Gravel), George Sargent, an insurance executive, Dom DiMaggio, former Boston Red Sox center fielder, Dan Marr, president of Marr Scaffolding Co, Ed McMann, president of the Northeast Packing Co, Paul Sonnabend, vice president of Hotel Corporation of America, and Edgar Turner, president of the 7-Up Distributors Corp. Each of the founders invested $25,000 to capitalize the team.
The following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football team's official name. The most common one, and the one that Sullivan selected, was the "Boston Patriots," with "Patriots" referring to those colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution and in July 1776 declared the United States of America an independent nation. Immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell of The Boston Globe developed the "Pat Patriot" logo.
On July 30, 1960, the Boston Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills in the first AFL pre-season game. The Boston Patriots played in the first-ever game in the American Football League, against the Denver Broncos on September 9, 1960, which they lost by a score of 10–13. The Boston Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills in an AFL Eastern Division playoff game in 1963 and made it to the AFL Championship for the first time, but lost to the San Diego Chargers 51–10. During the 1963 season, nine Patriots made the AFL All-star team, including Gino Cappelletti, Nick Buoniconti, and Babe Parilli. In 1964, Linebacker Tom Addison, an original Patriot, founded and was selected President of the AFL Players Association. In the late-1960s, fullback Jim Nance became a top offensive player for the Patriots, gaining 1,458 yards during the 1966 season and 1,216 during the 1967 season. He was named the AFL MVP in 1966.
1970-1973: Post AFL-NFL merger
After the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the league required that all teams reside in stadiums with at least 50,000 seats. Prior to 1970, The Patriots did not have a regular home stadium. Nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium, served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. None of the four stadiums the Patriots had used up to that point qualified, and there was little room in Boston for a new stadium. Due to this, discussions about a possible relocation to Tampa, Florida occurred.
In 1971, the Patriots moved into a new stadium in suburban Foxborough, Massachusetts, built on land granted by the Bay State Raceway. The team was renamed the New England Patriots on March 22, 1971, to reflect its new location. The original choice, Bay State Patriots was rejected by the NFL. The stadium, to be known as Schaefer Stadium, was built at a cost of about $6.2 million in only 327 days. The stadium was one of the first stadiums in the country to be named after a corporate sponsor, as the Schaefer Brewing Company paid $1 million for naming rights.
The first event held at the new Schaefer Stadium was a preseason game against the New York Giants on August 15, 1971. A massive traffic jam on Route 1 prevented many fans from getting in until halftime.
In 1971, the Patriots had a new quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett. Plunkett, from Stanford University, was the first overall selection in the 1971 NFL Draft. The Patriots also signed free agent Randy Vataha, a wide receiver.