Today in Patriots History
May 27 Transactions
May 27, 1964:
This trade is a bit convoluted, so bear with me.
The 1964 American Football League draft took place on November 30, 1963. The early date was not unusual then; the upstart AFL wanted to get a jump on the old school NFL in order to sign players for their new league.
Denver had the first pick of the draft, and the Patriots held the fourth. The Pats swapped places with the Broncos for 'future considerations', a term that was not uncommon with trades back then.
Billy Sullivan coveted a good catholic Irish Dorchester lad and local phenom quarterback from Matignon High School and Boston College,
Jack Concannon. With that trade Sullivan got the guy he was sure would pack the stands, drafting Concannon with the first overall pick.
Seven months later it was time to pay the bill.
Walt Cudkik had manned the center position for every game in the first five years of the Boston Patriots existence. He was sent to Denver as compensation for the Patriots trading up, but never played for the Broncos. Denver immediately traded him to Buffalo for LB Marvin Matusazk, and a S Billy Atkins.
In typical Billy Sullivan/Boston Patriots fashion, the decision did not work out as planned. Concannon was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round, 16th overall, of the NFL draft. Sullivan never considered that he would opt for the NFL over the Patriots, but that is exactly what Jack did.
Concannon signed a $50,000 contract with Philly - big bucks at the time. However, the Eagles had
Norm Snead entrenched as their starter and
King Hill as the backup QB. Concannon barely ever saw the playing field as the third stringer.
Philadelphia traded Concannon and a fourth round draft pick to the Chicago for TE
Mike Ditka. The Bears had a great running back (
Gale Sayers), but no QB, so it made sense to them at the time. Jack was so-so on a mediocre team and eventually lost his job as a starter when the Bears bottomed out with a 1-13 record in 1969. Ditka was a five-time Pro Bowler for the Bears, but was not the same player he was early in his career. Instead of a win-win the trade was more of a meh-meh.
Jack Concannon did play in the NFL for ten years though. His best season was in 1970, regaining his starting job and throwing for 16 touchdowns and 2,130 yards. Cudzik spent one season with Buffalo before retiring at the age of 33.
For more on Jack Concannon, check out these articles:
Nov. 29, 2005 John J. "Jack" Concannon, Jr., a Boston College football standout in the early 1960s and retired National Football League quarterback, died sud...
bceagles.com
Jack Concannon, whom the Bears obtained in a 1967 trade for Mike Ditka, is remembered by former teammates as the fun-loving but frustrated quarterback who embodied the struggles of the last team George Halas coached and the four years of…
www.chicagotribune.com
View Walter Jacob "Walt" Cudzik's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.
obits.al.com
May 27, 1970:
The Patriots sign two free agents who did not make a regular season NFL roster:
George Little and
Pete Schmidt.
September 29, 2000 Pete Schmidt, a former Division III National Coach of the Year, Dies in Bloomington Hospital Bloomington, Ind. -- Indiana assistant head c...
iuhoosiers.com
May 27, 1972:
Patriots sign G
Steve Beyrle, an 8th round draft pick from Kansas State, and undrafted rookie free agent LB
Henry Adolfi from Amherst.
Beyrle did not make the Pats roster and played briefly in the CFL for the BC Lions. The 1972 Pats media guide said this of Adolfi: "Three year veteran at Amherst College . . . also filled in as center . . . good speed and mobility with excellent quickness . . . had six interceptions and
five blocked punts to his credit.
May 27, 1979:
New England signed rookie free agent
Rich Rodenberger and veteran free agent WR
Larry Dorsey
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Richard Lee “Rody” Rodenberger, 70, of East Greenville, passed away on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Born in Bucks County, he was the son of the late Richard W. and Nancy (Schantz) Rodenberger.
Rody was a 1971 graduate of Upper Perkiomen High School and then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from East Stroudsburg University in 1977. He also excelled in football at East Stroudsburg, setting a record for most interceptions from a safety. His athleticism, earned him a short stint with the New England Patriots in the 1970’s.
He worked construction at many different locations operating an excavator. An avid outdoorsman, he loved to hunt, fish and cut firewood.
Larry Dorsey had 27 receptions in three seasons for the Chargers and Chiefs before coming to New England. He was the head coach at Mississippi Valley state from 1990-1998, at Prarie View A&M from 2000-2002, and at Greenville-Weston Mississippi High School from 2008-2010.
May 27, 1980:
Patriots sign former North Carolina State kicker
Jay Sherrill, RB
Mark Loftus, who played semi-pro football in upstate New York, and
Mike Hanna, a player I couldn't find anything about thanks to a punter by the same name.
May 11—A crucial component of the 1980 Empire Football League champion Watertown Red and Black team and a consistent member of the R&B's defense during the 1970s have been selected as part of the American Football Association's Minor League Football Hall of Fame induction class for 2022. Mark...
sports.yahoo.com
May 27, 1982:
First year head coach
Ron Meyer makes some changes, cutting eight players: Frank Rocco, Gary Puetz, John Vella, Peter Corrigan, Robert Intemann, Tom St. Jacques, Vince Coby and Edwin Rakus.
Former University of Washington running back showed His greatness, but it didn't last long enough.
www.si.com
Vince Coby had NFL written all over him.
A third-stringer and a junior from Tacoma, he took over as the Huskies' top tailback when the players ahead of him, Joe Steele and Kyle Stevens, went down on consecutive Saturdays in 1979 with knee injuries. He made the most of his opportunity.
Coby came off the bench at California and provided 97 yards and 3 touchdowns. He made his first career start against USC and ran for 103 yards, dazzling the Husky Stadium crowd with a 52-yard run. He churned out 112 yards and a score against Washington State in the Apple Cup. He was the starter against Texas in the Sun Bowl. In his abbreviated stint, he finished with 422 yards and 6 TDs rushing.
"I could go 50 at any time," he said. "I just didn't get a chance to show that to the world."
At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, he was a good-sized runner. A third-place state finisher in the 100-meter dash as a high school sprinter, he could get out and go.
He was competitive and impatient, too. As a sophomore, he met with coach Don James to discuss limited playing time, warned beforehand to not to use the word "I" during their conversation, rather "we." Coby slipped up and his short-statured but highly imposing coach let him know it.
"By the time he was finished with me, he was 7-foot-1 and I was 3 years old," he said.
Forty years ago, Coby entered spring football as the Huskies' No. 1 running back. He felt confident, in total control with the ball in his hands, that pro football wasn't far off.
Yet similar to Steele and Stevens before him, Coby was not immune to football's unforgiving side. In a Tuesday practice in 1980, his world changed as a running back.
On a pitch play called 28 sweep, he was running behind a wall of blockers when he took a hit from Huskies defensive back Ken Gardner that destroyed his left knee and required immediate surgery.
"I didn't see Kenny coming and the next thing I knew I was lying on the carpet," Coby said. "I didn't think I could get hurt because the game had slowed down so much for me."
He sat out the following season in recovery, missing a Washington-Michigan Rose Bowl. He came back in 1981 as one of four co-captains and became the starting fullback and mostly a blocker for another Pasadena trip. All along, he struggled with that knee.
"My senior year was a not a fun year for me," Coby said. "My knee swelled up every week. I'd have it drained every Thursday or Friday. I'd feel good for a half and it would blow back up."
In the 1982 Rose Bowl against Iowa, where a little-known UW freshman named Jacque Robinson ran for 142 yards and two scores in a 28-0 victory, Coby received a final football reward.
With the Huskies ahead 7-0 and halftime approaching, he scored on a 1-yard run with 19 seconds left to provide his team with a cushion. It felt good to reach the end zone on a big platform.
"It was one of those triumphant moments for me with all that I'd overcome," he said.
Coby gave pro football a shot with the New England Patriots, but he was waived in training camp. He worked for Marriott in sales and for Boeing as a supply chain analyst, and he retired last year from the aerospace company.
Like so many others in his position, he can't help but wonder what might have been for him as a pro football player had he stayed healthy.
"Life changes on a dime and you have to adapt," Coby said. "You don't see it coming. I wanted that dream career."
May 27, 1987:
The Patriots sign
Joe Peterson, a safety from Nevada. Peterson was one of the dozens of football players who were cut, then re-signed when the NFLPA went on strike, appearing in three "replacement" games from October 4 to October 18 in 1987.
May 27, 2007:
Marquise Hill passes away at the age of 24.
May 27, 2009:
The Patriots have addressed their depth concerns at inside linebacker, reaching an agreement Wednesday morning with unrestricted free agent Paris Lenon.
www.espn.com
Linebacker Paris Lenon agrees to contract terms with the Patriots, adds depth after injury to Tyrone McKenzie.
www.boston.com
Linebacker
Paris Lenon has agreed to contract terms to join the Patriots, his agent said.
“Paris is excited to finally be a part of a winning organization and eager to contribute in whatever way Coach Belichick and his staff see fit. Now, quite simply, he’s eager to go to work,” Jon Persch of Allegiant Management told the Globe this morning.
Lenon (6-2, 235) adds depth to the Patriots’ inside linebacker corps. The unit was thinned after third-round draft choice
Tyrone McKenzie tore his ACL in rookie minicamp, which will sideline him for the season. The Patriots had also waived 2008 sixth-round draft choice
Bo Ruud earlier in the offseason.
Lenon enters his eighth NFL season and leaves the NFC North for the first time, as he’s played for the Packers (2002-2005) and Lions (2006-2008). He was the leading tackler on last year’s winless Lions squad, playing middle linebacker in a 4-3 alignment.
In New England, the 31-year-old Lenon will be making a switch to a 3-4 scheme. His performance on special teams also figures to be a factor in earning a roster spot.
The Patriots return
Jerod Mayo (2nd year) and
Tedy Bruschi (14th year) as starters at inside linebacker, with
Gary Guyton (2nd year) the top backup.
Antonio Appleby,
Eric Alexander and
Vinny Ciurciu round out the depth chart. Lenon could challenge for playing time next to Mayo, pushing Bruschi and Guyton.
The agreement with Lenon likely takes the Patriots out of the mix for
Pisa Tinoisamoa, a free agent who visited with the club Tuesday. Lenon was one of the top inside linebackers available on the free-agent market.
May 27, 2010:
Patriots waive WR
Isaiah Stanback and LB
Bruce Davis, and re-sign LB
Derrick Burgess
PATRIOTS RE-SIGN LB DERRICK BURGESS; RELEASE LB BRUCE DAVIS AND WR ISAIAH STANBACK FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots re-signed unrestricted free agent LB Derrick Burgess today. Terms of the contract were not announced. In addition, the Patriots announced that LB Bruce Davis...
www.abc6.com
Burgess, 6-2, 260 pounds, is a veteran of nine NFL seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (2001-2004), Oakland Raiders (2005-2008) and the Patriots (2009). The Patriots acquired Burgess in a trade with the Oakland Raiders on Aug. 6, 2009.
Last season, Burgess played in 16 games with six starts and finished with 35 total tackles, 5.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Burgess originally joined the NFL as a third-round draft pick by Philadelphia (63rd overall) out of Mississippi in 2001. He has accumulated 262 total tackles, 52 sacks, seven forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries during his career. After a four-year career in Philadelphia, Burgess joined Oakland as an unrestricted free agent in 2005 and earned Pro Bowl honors in his first two seasons with the Raiders, registering 16 sacks in 2005 and 11 sacks in 2006.
Davis, 6-3, 252 pounds, joined the New England practice squad on Oct. 7, 2009. He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round in 2008 out of UCLA. As a rookie, he played in five games, seeing action mainly on special teams. Davis was waived by Pittsburgh prior to the start of the 2009 regular season.
Stanback, 6-2, 208 pounds, joined the New England practice squad on Sept 7, 2009. He was signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Nov. 14, 2009 and played in six games with two starts. Stanback finished the 2009 season with three receptions for 22 yards and one kickoff return for 22 yards. He originally joined the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick by Dallas in 2007 out of Washington. A quarterback in college, he was converted to a wide receiver with the Cowboys. Stanback was waived by Dallas prior to the start of the 2009 season.
Quick-hit thoughts from around the NFL and with the Patriots:1. One reason the Patriots might have waived receiver Isaiah Stanback last Thursday was economics.
www.espn.com
One reason the Patriots might have waived receiver Isaiah Stanback last Thursday was economics. He was due a $25,000 roster bonus in mid-June and the Patriots might have figured it was too much to pay for a player who was a long shot for a roster spot at an already-crowded position.
May 27, 2021:
May 27, 2024:
