1960 Boston Patriots season

1960 Boston Patriots season
Head coach Lou Saban
General manager Edward McKeever
Owner Billy Sullivan
Home field Nickerson Field
Results
Record 5–9
Division place 4th AFL Eastern
Playoff finish did not qualify
AFL All-Stars no game played
Uniform

The Boston Patriots finished the inaugural American Football League's 1960 season with a record of five wins and nine losses, under their head coach Lou Saban, and thus were last place in the AFL's Eastern Division. The team played their home games at Boston University's Nickerson Field (formerly the site of the Boston Braves' home ballpark Braves Field).

Staff

Boston Patriots 1960 staff
Front Office

Head Coaches

Offensive Coaches

  

Defensive Coaches

Season summary

In 1960, the inaugural season for both the Boston Patriots and the American Football League, the team played in several important "firsts". The first ever AFL exhibition pre-season game was played between the Patriots and the Bills, which the Patriots won. The Patriots also played in the inaugural regular season game, a loss to the Broncos on September 9, 1960, in a contest played at Boston University's Nickerson Field. The field ran from the third-base line to right field. The Patriots started the year going 2–2, before running into a three-game losing streak. They played a five-game home stand, winning three of them to return their record to 5–5, before ending the season on a four-game slide. They finished the year with a 5–9 record, worst in the AFL's Eastern Division. Butch Songin was the leading passer, and Alan Miller the leading rusher. Gino Cappelletti was a defensive back and placekicker the first year. Just before the final game, a receiver was slow getting back to the huddle, so Gino Cappelletti filled in. He was impressive, and would be a receiver for the rest of his career.

Season results

Week Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 Denver Broncos L 13–10 0–1 Nickerson Field
21,597
2 at New York Titans W 28–24 1–1 Polo Grounds
19,200
3 Buffalo Bills L 13–0 1–2 Nickerson Field
20,732
4 Bye
5 at Los Angeles Chargers W 35–0 2–2 L.A. Memorial Coliseum
18,226
6 at Oakland Raiders L 27–14 2–3 Kezar Stadium
11,500
7 at Denver Broncos L 31–24 2–4 Bears Stadium
12,683
8 Los Angeles Chargers L 45–16 2–5 Nickerson Field
13,988
9 Oakland Raiders W 34–28 3–5 Nickerson Field
8,446
10 New York Titans W 38–21 4–5 Nickerson Field
11,653
11 Dallas Texans W 42–14 5–5 Nickerson Field
14,721
12 Houston Oilers L 24–10 5–6 Nickerson Field
27,123
13 at Buffalo Bills L 38–14 5–7 War Memorial Stadium
14,335
14 at Dallas Texans L 34–0 5–8 Cotton Bowl
12,000
15 at Houston Oilers L 37–21 5–9 Jeppesen Stadium
22,352

Game 1: The Patriots lost to the Broncos 13–10 in the AFL season opener. The Patriots struck first, with a 34-yard field goal in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, Denver receiver Al Carmichael caught a pass in the flats and scampered 41 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Bronco Gene Mingo took a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. Later in the quarter Patriot receiver Jim Colclough lost a fumble on the Denver 38. However, two plays later, Patriot defensive back Chuck Shonta took an interception 60 yards to the Denver 10, setting up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Butch Songin to Colclough in the right side of the end zone. In the fourth quarter, the Patriots seemed to be on a game-winning drive until an interception at the Denver 2. The Broncos then ran 16 plays to run out the clock.

Game 2: The Patriots won a thriller at the Polo Grounds against the Titans, 28–24. The Patriots dug themselves into a hole, down 24 to 7 in the fourth quarter. They were down 24–21 on the last play of the game. The center, Mike Hudock, gave a low snap to the Titans punter, who fumbled and Patriot Chuck Shonta picked it up and raced 52 yards for the game-winning score.

Game 3: The Patriots were shut out 13–0 against the Bills, the highlight being a 58-yard touchdown pass from Tommy O'Connell to Carl Smith.

Game 4: The Patriots won their first decisive win of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers in Los Angeles. It began with an 11-play drive capped by a Gino Cappelletti field goal. On the following kickoff, Charger Don Norton fumbled, leading to a quick touchdown for Boston. The Patriots followed it up with a 19-yard touchdown pass. On the next drive, Jim Crawford scored a touchdown, set up by a 78-yard Billy Wells reception. A Harry Jacobs interception set up a Wells touchdown, and another Boston field goal wrapped up the day, as the Patriots rolled over the Chargers 35–0.

Game 5: The Patriots, after their terrific win over the Chargers, were given a rude awakening in Oakland. On just the third play of game, Jack Larscheid scored on an 87-yard run, and the Patriots never regained the lead. The Raiders quickly built up a 27–14 lead with 11:45 left to go in the first quarter. However, the Patriots twice drove deep into Oakland territory, both times winding up with Butch Songin throwing interceptions. The Patriots were sloppy throughout the game, with multiple unnecessary penalties and turnovers.

Game 6: The Patriots dropped a game that should have been theirs. Early in the third quarter, the Patriots led 24–0. Boston had dominated, with three Songin touchdown passes and a field goal. The Broncos were down but not out, and rallied back to stun the Patriots. In the last quarter and a half, the Broncos scored 31 unanswered points to win the game. Broncos quarterback Frank Tripucka lead the way, completing four touchdown passes to three different receivers. The game is still one of the largest deficits that a Patriot opponent has come back from to win.

Game 7: After an embarrassing loss several weeks before, the Chargers had revenge on their minds. They got it. The Chargers won the game by the time the first half arrived. When Paul Maguire fell on a fumble in the end zone early in the third quarter, they matched the 35-point lead the Patriots had in the previous game. Despite the Patriots' two following touchdowns, the Chargers ran over the Patriots 45–16.

Game 8: The Patriots faced the Raiders in a must-win game. The Patriots dominated throughout three quarters, aided by three Songin passing touchdowns. Boston held a 31 to 14 lead entering the fourth quarter, and seemed to be on the verge of their third win of season. The Raiders tried to pull off a similar comeback that the Broncos had two games earlier. The Raiders scored twice on running plays, and were soon driving for the game winning score. The Patriots managed to avoid a loss or tie, intercepting future Patriot quarterback Babe Parilli with just under two minutes to go. The Patriots had won just their third game of the season.

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Houston Oilers 1040.7145–1379285W2
New York Titans 770.5002–4382399L1
Buffalo Bills 581.3853–3296303L2
Boston Patriots 590.3572–4286349L4

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1960 Boston Patriots.[1]

Number Name Position Notes
53 Tom Addison LB
85 Jack Atchason E
26 Walter Beach DB/RB
52 Phil Bennett LB
34 Joe Biscaha E
54 Bill E. Brown LB
33 Fred Bruney DB
22 Ron Burton HB
20 Gino Cappelletti WR/K/DB Uniform number 20 retired by the New England Patriots
23 Richard Christy HB
23 Abe Cohen G
81 Jim Colclough WR
30 Jim Crawford FB/HB
77 Bobby Cross T/DT
34 Jake Crouthamel HB
72 Al Crow DT
56 Walt Cudzik C/LB
77 Bill Danenhauer DE
62 Jack Davis G
89 Bob Dee DE/DT Uniform number 89 retired by the New England Patriots
74 Gerry DeLucca T/DT
15 Tom Dimitroff QB
76 Tony Discenzo T
40 Larry Garron HB
45 Jerry Green E
14 Tom Greene QB/P
67 Art Hauser T/G
79 Jim Lee Hunt DT/DE Uniform number 79 retired by the New England Patriots
83 Harry Jacobs LB/DE
73 Harry Jagielski DT/T
24 Joe Johnson HB/E/WR
34 Bill Larson FB
60 Bob Lee G
63 Chuck Leo G
24 Walt Livingston HB
86 Oscar Lofton E
87 Mike Long E
85 Don McComb DE
75 George McGhee T
32 Alan Miller FB
25 Ross O'Hanley DB
79 Al Richardson DE
80 Jack Rudolph LB
64 Tony Sardisco G/LB
44 Gerhard Schwedes HB
34 Chuck Shonta DB
70 Hal Smith DT
42 Robert Soltis DB
11 Butch Songin QB
45 Thomas Stephens TE/DB
72 Bill Striegel G/T/LB
22 Clyde Washington DB/P
41 Billy Wells HB
10 Harvey White QB

Starters

The following players started the most games at their respective positions:[1]

Pos Offense Pos Defense Pos Special teams
QB Butch Songin LDE Bob Dee K Gino Cappelletti
HB Richard Christy LDT Harry Jagielski P Tom Greene
FB Alan Miller RDT Hal Smith PR Billy Wells
FL Jim Colclough RDE Tony Sardisco KR Dick Christy
SE Oscar Lofton LOLB Tom Addison
TE Thomas Stephens MLB Bill E. Brown
LT George McGee ROLB Jack Rudolph
LG Charley Leo LCB Clyde Washington
C Walt Cudzik RCB Gino Cappelletti
RG Jack Davis LS Fred Bruney
RT Jerry DeLucca RS Ross O'Hanley

References

General
Notes
  1. 1 2 "1960 Boston Patriots". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
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