Great Story on Houston Antwine

[Ghost of Ben Dreith]

Even Borges gets it.....

'Twine tied early Patriots together - BostonHerald.com

When you look at the number of hits on the original thread on Houston Antwine's death and compare it to the number of hits on some of the other threads on this forum, it becomes apparent why he isn't in the Patriots hall of fame yet.

It also makes me somewhat sad that so much of the original Boston Patriot's history is unknown to so many current fans....and even sadder that I don't know if they will ever care about it. This isn't meant as judgement....people are people and I understand....I just wish it were not so.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

Kudos to Borges for writing this. I was really bummed out when Antwine
wasn't elected this past year. A great player for those of us who had the
privilege to watch him play, and a great person as well it sounds like. I never
met the man but watched him play many times.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The fan base back in the 60s was minuscule. Sadly, the Patriots were not very popular back then. 4th team in Boston, not even close. Worst of all, many of the adult fans from back then are dead; it's almost 50 years ago.

There's a disproportionate representation of Pats fans even here from (a) the Parcells-Bledsoe era and (b) the 2001 SuperBowl era.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

The fan base back in the 60s was minuscule. Sadly, the Patriots were not very popular back then. 4th team in Boston, not even close. Worst of all, many of the adult fans from back then are dead; it's almost 50 years ago.

Hey, watch yourself there Sonny. Average age lifetime expectancy for a
white male is 74. A lot of us still have a few years to go just yet.

There's a disproportionate representation of Pats fans even here from (a) the Parcells-Bledsoe era and (b) the 2001 SuperBowl era.

True, and Patriots history is not for the Nintendo ADHD generations I guess.

 

[Kasmir]

Perhaps the greatest DL Patriot's history. I remember watching him in training camp in Andover when I as a boy so many summers ago, what a great player. How is it possible he's still not in the Patriot's Hall of Fame when he's acknowledged as being all-time AFL? The team should fix this travesty and just appoint him to it.

Houston Antwine, Julius Adams, Richard Seymour, and Vince Wilfork, chronologically. Those of us who've watched the Patriots from their inception would probably agree that would be the all-time DLINE for the Patriots.

Rest in peace, Houston. You are still remembered.

 

[italian pat patriot]

great article and a very good read; thanks

 

[ALP]

i am from the bledsoe era, and when i heard this name, it didn't mean much....i just ignored it

but after seeing today that this guy was so important, i looked him up, and read the article as well

anything patriots interests me, but its completely different when you only hear and read about a player, and when you watch him play yourself

that is an non breechable gap

 

[AQPE]

Perhaps the greatest DL Patriot's history. I remember watching him in training camp in Andover when I as a boy so many summers ago, what a great player. How is it possible he's still not in the Patriot's Hall of Fame when he's acknowledged as being all-time AFL? The team should fix this travesty and just appoint him to it.

Houston Antwine, Julius Adams, Richard Seymour, and Vince Wilfork, chronologically. Those of us who've watched the Patriots from their inception would probably agree that would be the all-time DLINE for the Patriots.

Rest in peace, Houston. You are still remembered.

Amen to this, I couldn't agree more.

I grew up in Lexington, MA in the 1960s and 70s, the Antwines lived on the next street over, in the mid to late 60s. Every so often us kids would be out playing a little football and he'd ride by, he would always stop and throw the ball around with us, teach us a thing or two about the game, and a bit more about the world outside our Lexington "bubble" and life in general. He was as kind-hearted as he was big, which is saying quite a bit from the perspective of a 7 or 8 year old kid. I can say with all honesty that this is one of the things that got me real excited about the game as a young guy, which led to my Dad surprising me with Pats tickets in 1970 (at Harvard Stadium), and in turn my lifetime love for the game in general and the Pats in particular. So for me this passing really strikes a deep chord. Rest in peace, Mr. and Mrs. Antwine.

 

[UK_Pat37]

I read this and asked myself the exact same thing..how is he not in there? A player so involved in the foundations of this franchise and with such great accomplishments.

Sadly, you can relate this to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's treatment of AFL players across the board also...if you look at our very own Gino Cappelletti ...some wonder why on earth a guy like him hasn't made it...the have the AFL Hall of Fame but it's not recognised....guys like him deserve as much as anyone to be in Canton, but in today's era Canton and a lot of fans forget about the guys that built the foundation of the NFL we know and love today.

 

[Wax Frog]

Fate decreed that I not even know of the Pats' existence until Dec. 1985, though dwell in NH my heart might have done... I still have all the respect in the world for the generations that have gone before.

 

[RayClay]

Amen to this, I couldn't agree more.

I grew up in Lexington, MA in the 1960s and 70s, the Antwines lived on the next street over, in the mid to late 60s. Every so often us kids would be out playing a little football and he'd ride by, he would always stop and throw the ball around with us, teach us a thing or two about the game, and a bit more about the world outside our Lexington "bubble" and life in general. He was as kind-hearted as he was big, which is saying quite a bit from the perspective of a 7 or 8 year old kid. I can say with all honesty that this is one of the things that got me real excited about the game as a young guy, which led to my Dad surprising me with Pats tickets in 1970 (at Harvard Stadium), and in turn my lifetime love for the game in general and the Pats in particular. So for me this passing really strikes a deep chord. Rest in peace, Mr. and Mrs. Antwine.

Very nice. Nice article by Borges too. He's about the only one left, the rest of the writers are pups.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Great memory from AQPE and a nice article from Ron Borges (*washes mouth with soap*).

 

[Seacoast Fan]

Perhaps the greatest DL Patriot's history. I remember watching him in training camp in Andover when I as a boy so many summers ago, what a great player. How is it possible he's still not in the Patriot's Hall of Fame when he's acknowledged as being all-time AFL? The team should fix this travesty and just appoint him to it.

Houston Antwine, Julius Adams, Richard Seymour, and Vince Wilfork, chronologically. Those of us who've watched the Patriots from their inception would probably agree that would be the all-time DLINE for the Patriots.

Rest in peace, Houston. You are still remembered.

I started following the Pats right around 1970, when I was all of 12 years old, and I am not sure I ever saw Antwine play, certainly can't recall it if I did.
But I know him by reputation, and I have seen the others you mention play many times.
to a certain extent, I think Julius Adams suffers from the same problem. My guess is, many in this forum never saw him play and dont really know much about him...not being critical, thats just the way it is.
But, that is one helluva DL you have there. :rocker:

 

[everlong]

I started watching the Pats in 76 at the age of 8. Never got to watch Antwine play but I've known of his impact and legacy from older relatives who were fans. I don't know why they didn't put him in in 93 with the four others who went in.