The year is 1963 and our BOSTON Patriots are starting off the season with a chip on their shoulder and a bounce to their step that rivals the famous BOSTON CELTIC "swagger." Head coach, Mike Holovak, has assembled a TEAM (just as Bill Belicheck has with Tom Brady and the rest of our gang.) ALL dedicated to winning the NFL CHAMPIONSHIP...as a TEAM.
BUT, the beginning of the training season starts out on a bad note as star running back, Ron Burton fractures his spine in preseason workouts. Burton had proclaimed, after the Pats had just gotten nosed out of the division title the year before, that he was going to come back in the best shape of his life and WIN the title in 1963. Now the doctors said he was through for the season and probably for good. BUT, Ron had other ideas and, always a man to try his best to be true to his word, worked daily at rehabbing that back, still hoping to rejoin his teammates before the season was over and having a part in bringing the AFL title to Boston...and all off us who knew RON BURTON really believed he would.
As the season neared its end the Patriots were battling it out with the BUFFALO BILLS for the EASTERN division title and the right to play for the championship of the AFL. With just a few games left Ron talked to his doctors and said he felt he was recovered enough to play. They all thought he was crazy BUT, after a very thorough physical of his injured back, which was reinforced with a steel rod in his spine, they said he had a chance to escape injury IF he only ran STRAIGHT ahead,,,no side stepping or veering in either direction. Ron agreed and went to coach Holovak asking permission to play. Coach called a team meeting and every man said, Don 't worry, they won't lay a hand on you."
Center Walt Cudzik and guards, Billy Neighbors and Charlie "Choo-Choo" Long told Burton..."You just run right behind us until you hit our butts and you'll win this game for us."
Defensive end, Larry Eisenhauer, affectionately known as "Crazy Larry" for his never stop, reckless abandon style of play, started banging lockers around and riling up his teammates so the Bills, in the next locker room could hear them. "He scared the hell out of you sometime," said 260 pound Bill's fullback Cookie Gilchrist (who only registered SEVEN total yards, on 8 carries in the game.
THEN, Larry, caught up in the moment yelled to his teammates, "Okay guys, now lets go out and slaughter those guys," as he put on his helmet and ran out on the field.....with only his jockstrap on.
NOTE:---That is a true story.....ask any of the old timers. Several years later, in a private interview with Mike Holovak, I asked him about that and some other escapades of these guys and Mike, with a lump in his throat and a tear in his eye said, wistfully, "These youngsters were hard working, high spirited young men and are among the greatest group I've ever known. I would do anything in the world for them....and they always looked out for each other."
The first play of the game was a run up the middle by Burton which gained EIGHT yards. The game plan, which worked to a "T" was to fake, occasionally to Burton then throw wide to The flanker, Larry Garron. The record book shows that Garron caught two touchdown passes, one of 59 yards and the other of 17 yeards. They were actually swing passes, off play action fakes to Burton and Garron ran the rest of the way. The Bills were so wary of Ron Burton up the middle that Garron always had plenty of running room down the sidelines. He totaled 120 yards on 4 receptions and Ron Burton contributed 3 receptions for 22 yards and all the inspiration any team ever needed.
Gino Cappelletti pitched in with 4 receptions for 109 yards as well as 4 field goals to bring the BOSTON PATRIOTS their very first playoff victory...their very first Eastern division championship.
NOTE:--- Gino belongs in the NFL Hall of Fame but is not...he has better stats than ANY player of his type (kicker/receiver) that IS there. The ONLY player to average over 100 points a year for an entire career. He never missed a game in his eleven years....He averaged 7.4 points per game over his entire career. The only player to be in the top five scoring performances of the year TWICE in NFL history....ALSO, won FOUR scoring championships out of six years in the AFL.
EPILOGUE:----(this is never really made public knowledge but....Mike Holovak, in preparing his guys for this championship game, told them, (I'll paraphrase) I want you to consider THIS game your championship game. Our goal is to win THIS game and, if all goes well, when we fly to California I'm giving you guys a 3 (or four?) day vacation from practice. Just come back in one piece. (which, I'm told brought all kinds of chuckles.) as they headed for Tijuana or Las Vegas and Reno.
I won't talk about the final score of the title game played against the San Diego Chargers BUT.....the Boston Patriots had a season that MOTION PICTURES are made of. I've been told that Hollywood DID consider it but then thought.....Naw, nobody would ever believe it......
NOW....This year's New England Patriots Super Bowl....NFL Commissioner, Roger "the Dodger"
embarrasses himself, at the expense of Tom Brady and the Patriots) by going to all types of expense in suspending Brady and ruining the Patriots chances at getting to the super bowl. BUT, Belichick and the players have other plans and DO get to the super bowl/
Are the Patriots, the fans, the players AND Tom Brady mad at him. Do they want to cause him the humiliation of having to present trophies to Brady for MVP and Kraft for winning the championship? In the words of Celtic's great, K.C. Jones...."Does a bear"sleep in the woods." (K.C. was always a gentleman but we know what he means.)
And, hoping this all comes to be....I KNOW, Brady will be gracious and not embarrass the commissioner any more than Roger has embarrassed himself. BUT, we'll all be thinking it, Roger.
FINAL SCORE---Patriots win, 34-28.