Mini Mack Herron...

[DSal]

Anyone that rembers him remembers he was the shiftiest little s.o.b. on the field...what a player!

http://www.bostonsportsreview.com/200608_story_patriots.asp

 

[Pats726]

Great artucle..always wondered what happened...after the drugs..WOW..58...sad..sad..he could have been really something special..and not a quick footnote to the early 70s Patriot teams.

 

[shmessy]

Incredible. Only 35 games. He was ELECTRIC and it seemed like he was with the Pats for much more than that. I was 9 in '74 and there was no one like him. The only RB with that electricity and shiftability would be Barry Sanders.

It's very hard to describe to adequately him on the field to someone who didn't actually see him play. But those were the days before the Pats were "important" and NFL Films was a much smaller outfit centering on the Dolphins, Cowboys, Steelers, etc.

If not for the drugs...what could have been.

 

[Patti37]

Great but sad article. Thanks for posting it. I always wondered what happened to Mack Herron. He was an electrifying player when the Pats needed one.

 

[DarrylS]

A good player from a different era, I know someone who used to party with him, the standards of the NFL and our society were much different then.

 

[wistahpatsfan]

I was a 10 year-old rabid Pats fan in 74. When we played at the park (every day, it seemed), whoever was tailback called themselves "Mini-Mack" because we could imagine ourselves the smallest guy on the field and slipping through the low holes like he did. He and Sam Bam were everybody's favorites.

 

[Bostonian1962]

Such a fan favorite. The sky was the limit for him, but he wasted it, just like Jonathan Sullivan IMO.

Thanks for posting.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Gawd, I loved to watch the guy play. The Pats were a serious running force back then. The press at the time told us little about his departure. Sports reporting was very different back then, like political reporting in JFK's day when the news of bimbo after bimbo was held from the public by a sympathetic press.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Anyone that rembers him remembers he was the shiftiest little s.o.b. on the field...what a player!

http://www.bostonsportsreview.com/200608_story_patriots.asp

Sad story. Everytime he returned a KO or punt, he was a thrat to go to the house.....He was an inspiration to 'little guys' everywhere...
It would be interesting to compare his stas to Steve Owens to see if he deserved the Heisman.....

 

[patsfan13]

Mini Mac running behind Hannah, Gray, Cunningham, Francis...Awesome sweep play. It very sad to see how he let it get away. I hope he has been able to find peace and deal with his demons. Amazing considering his size.

Reminds me in an odd way of Marvin Barnes another athlete with great skills who threw his talent away.

 

[mac]

The article tells only half the story. The other half? The Patriots burned Herron out. Like fools, they used him as the regular tailback, to catch passes out of the backfield, and to return punts and kicks--all in the same game. That is the why of the all-purpose yeardage came from. He could have been a weapon for several years-drugs notwithstanding--if the Pats had had the sense to give him a reasonable workload. The Pats were dumb--just f--in' dumb.

 

[PATSNUTme]

I don't believe that the Patriots 'burned him out". He didn't get very many touches as a running back.

I loved the guy and enjoyed everytime he touched the ball. But, it would be unususal for drugs not to take it's toll on a player. The exception to that was LT, but he may have had a couple of good years left if he wasn't a heavy drug user.

 

[zoostation]

It was an absolute pleasure to watch him grab hog Hannah’s shirt, wait for an open and then hit it. He had that spin move coming off the block.

Probably the most exciting Patriot back ever.

I'd love to see the Mini Mack of 1975 on the 2006 team. What a weapon on the screen he would be ith this team!

 

[TruthSeeker]

Mack Herron was the reason I became a Patriots fan. Watching the little runningback that can, on NFL Films This Week in the NFL is the reason I became a Pats fan.

 

[DSal]

Mack Herron was the reason I became a Patriots fan. Watching the little runningback that can, on NFL Films This Week in the NFL is the reason I became a Pats fan.

Watching him stand in the huddle was a riot. He'd stand there next to the offensive linemen, especially Shelby Jordan, and look like a dwarf.

The team had a couple of other guys that suffered from drug issues during that era - Shelby Jordan and Rod Shoate. I remeber reading a story about Shoate robbing a convenience store and the police finding him trying to hide in the mud on a river bank. I'm pretty sure he's since passed on. I wonder what happened to Shelby Jordan?

 

[shmessy]

The article tells only half the story. The other half? The Patriots burned Herron out. Like fools, they used him as the regular tailback, to catch passes out of the backfield, and to return punts and kicks--all in the same game. That is the why of the all-purpose yeardage came from. He could have been a weapon for several years-drugs notwithstanding--if the Pats had had the sense to give him a reasonable workload. The Pats were dumb--just f--in' dumb.

What are you talking about "burn out"? - - Sam Bam was the mule on 1st, 2nd and short 3rds. Mini Mack's workload was not much greater than Kevin Faulk's. He was just more spectacular.

 

[mac]

What are you talking about "burn out"? - - Sam Bam was the mule on 1st, 2nd and short 3rds. Mini Mack's workload was not much greater than Kevin Faulk's. He was just more spectacular.

!974 stats:

rushing: 231 attempts 824 yards
receiving: 38 receptions 474 yards
punt returns: 35 returns 517 yards
kickoff returns: 28 returns 629 yards

Quite a load for someone 5'5" 175

http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=HERROMAC01

 

[Patriotic]

!974 stats:

rushing: 231 attempts 824 yards
receiving: 38 receptions 474 yards
punt returns: 35 returns 517 yards
kickoff returns: 28 returns 629 yards

Quite a load for someone 5'5" 175

http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=HERROMAC01

Mini Mack did wear down in 1974 . . . but it wasn't all the Pats fault. They started out 6-1 but ended up 7-7 with a boatload of injuries in the second half of the season.

A funny side note . . . in the article Herron says he was not a vocal guy. I do recall a 1973 game in Chicago where **** Butkas has tried to twist a Pats players ankle while in the pile. After the Pats huddled up, Herron steps out of the huddle and yells "Butkas . . . you're an ass****"

Number 42 was a special player . . . unfortunately for a short time.