- Joined
- Aug 13, 2005
- Messages
- 19,365
- Reaction score
- 13,049
It's that point in mid-week where the talk of the previous game has died down, but talk of the next game has not yet heated up. So I figured I'd pass this along for anybody that like early Pats history.
Before last Sunday's game I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with a member of the original Patriots team thanks to a mutual acquaintance. His name is Jack Davis and he was a starting guard on the 1960 team. Here are a few of the things he mentioned.
Anyways, he seems like a really nice guy and hope to talk to him more in the future. He was with a group of several other friends of his when I met him so I didn't want to infringe and let him get back to them, but hopefully I can get a chance to speak to him again soon. He's 78 now and his health is failing a bit - he's been in a wheelchair for about a month or so now after taking a fall the he is still recovering from - but I'd like to hear more; I'm fascinated by the early history of the Pats and the AFL. If or when that happens I'll pass that along if people are interested.
Before last Sunday's game I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with a member of the original Patriots team thanks to a mutual acquaintance. His name is Jack Davis and he was a starting guard on the 1960 team. Here are a few of the things he mentioned.
- When he first played at The University of Maryland he wore a helmet with one of those single face guards - think of what Joe Theisman used to wear. He lined up opposite a defensive lineman on his team for a drill and the DL asked him why he was wearing that style of face guard. Jack had barely responded 'that's the kind a like' when the whistle blew; a millisecond later he was on the receiving end of a forearm shiver to his face. From that day on wore a helmet with the full face guard.
- He was drafted by the Redskins in 1958. In that training camp he met Bob Dee, and they became lifelong friends; in fact Jack was a keynote speaker at Dee's funeral service. Dee was the first person Jack mentioned when we spoke and he obviously had a lot of respect for him and felt very highly about him.
- Jack didn't think much of Lou Saban, the Pats first coach at the time. I would be more specific, but the profanity filter would prevent you from seeing his exact words.
- On the other hand he thought very highly of Mike Holovak. He said Holovak was a very intelligent guy who really understood the game of football, and did a very good job coaching and teaching the players. It's probably no coincidence that the Pats were 5-9 and then 2-3 under Saban, then turned it around with a 7-1-1 record for the remainder of the '61 season under Holovak.
- Jack brought up Gino Cappelletti and I said that I felt it was a huge oversight that he was not in the NFL Hall of Fame. Jack responded that 'once they had the merger all the old AFL players were forgotten, as if they never existed', shaking his head. He says he and Gino have remained friends; they speak with one another about once every three weeks.
- He also talked a little bit about the early games; I sensed that he was proud to have played in the very first game in AFL history.
- Jack also told me that he met and talked quite a bit about Bob Kraft. He said Kraft brought him up for the anniversary (I don't recall if it was the 40th or 50th) and everything was first class. He said not only did Kraft pay for everything - he said he didn't have to spend any of his own money at all the entire time he was there - but Bob also took a lot of time to talk to him (and everyone else) individually and really get to know him. He said he thought Kraft seemed to be genuinely interested in the old players as individuals; it wasn't like a 'shake your hand, nice to meet you and move on' type of thing.
Anyways, he seems like a really nice guy and hope to talk to him more in the future. He was with a group of several other friends of his when I met him so I didn't want to infringe and let him get back to them, but hopefully I can get a chance to speak to him again soon. He's 78 now and his health is failing a bit - he's been in a wheelchair for about a month or so now after taking a fall the he is still recovering from - but I'd like to hear more; I'm fascinated by the early history of the Pats and the AFL. If or when that happens I'll pass that along if people are interested.
Last edited: