Today in Patriots History
One of the JAG Pro Wrestlers
Happy 41st birthday to Quinn Ojinnaka
Born April 23, 1984 in Seabrook, Maryland
Patriot G/T, 2010; uniform #68
Traded from Atlanta to New England on August 23, 2010, for a 2011 7th round draft pick
Pats résumé: one season, eight games
The Pats picked up Ojinnaka near the end of the 2010 training camp from Atlanta, in exchange for a 2011 seventh round pick. He had previously been suspended for one week for an off season arrest, then replaced LB Marques Murrell on the Pats roster. The Patriots cut Ojinnaka on September 30 to make room for RB Thomas Clayton, and then re-signed Ojinnaka a week later. He appeared in eight regular season games and one playoff game with the Patriots. In seven NFL seasons Quinn played in 62 games with 20 starts.
Ojinnaka is one of at least three former Patriots (Brennan Williams, Monty Brown) that turned to pro wrestling after their NFL careers ended. He goes by the name of
Moose, and is a former two-time Impact Grand Champion.
Eight years ago in an
interview with Sports Illustrated, Ojinnaka had the following to say:
“I’d love to give Goodell a spear,” said Ojinnaka, who is known in Ring of Honor as Moose. “Free Tom Brady.”
The 6’5”, 300-pound former offensive lineman–who is about to become the biggest free agent in wrestling–is furious about Goodell’s treatment of the Brady suspension.
“Goodell lost the battle,” said Moose. “Tom Brady played last year, and he is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, so why would the NFL not want to see him play? They’re making a lot of money off the guy, and I really thought we ended this last year.”
“Playing under Bill Belichick helped me a lot with how I get ready for a match,” said Moose. “Bill Belichick got you better prepared than any other coach in the NFL, and that’s one of the reasons why I come so prepared to my matches. I watch tape of my opponent, I study my opponent and I go into the match knowing more about him than he knows about himself.”
Moose explained that Belichick treated him in the same manner that he treated every other player.
“On the field, Belichick was an ******* to everybody,” said Moose. “At the end of the day, all he cared about was winning.”
In memory of Jim Kelly, who would have turned 83 today
Born April 23, 1942 in McKeesport, PA
Died May 18, 2022 at the age of 80 in Southhapmpton, NJ
Pats 2nd round (13th overall) selection of the 1964 AFL draft, from Notre Dame
The Notre Dame tight end was also a second round pick by Pittsburgh, and he signed with his hometown Steelers rather than the Pats. Kelly only lasted three seasons in the NFL, totaling 31 receptions for 531 yards and five touchdowns. In
his post-NFL career he lived in New Jersey and went on to a successful career in the publishing industry covering the Tri-State area.
Other pro football players with New England connections born on this day:
Shawn Halloran turns 61 (born 4/23/1964)
Shawn Halloran was born in Gardner MA, grew up in Westminster and is an alumnus of Oakmont Regional High School in Ashburnham. He then went to Boston College and fared well in the unenviable role of following Doug Flutie as the quarterback at BC. The 1985 College Football preview issue of Sports Illustrated had this to say about Boston College’s quarterback: “
Shawn Halloran, a senior who must feel like Harry Truman just after the Roosevelt years, is 6-4, 212 lbs., strong of arm, cool of head and almost as slow as Doug Flutie is short.”
Halloran threw for 5,252 yards and 30 touchdowns and was the starting QB in '85 and '86 with the Eagles. In their 9-3 1986 season his touchdown pass in the final seconds of play gave BC a 27- 24 victory over Georgia in the 1986 Hall of Fame Bowl.
In 1987-88 Halloran backed up Neil Lomax with the Rams. He made only three NFL appearances, going 1-1 in his two starts. Since then he has moved around in various ranks as a college football assistant coach - with BC, WPI, Georgetown and Yale. He then became OC at penn and head coach at division III Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster PA, guiding his team to multiple playoff appearances. Halloran is now the athletic director at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas as well as an assistant high school football coach and teacher.
KINGWOOD, TX — The 1985 College Football preview issue of Sports Illustrated had this to say about Boston College’s quarterback: “Shawn Halloran, a senior who must feel like Harry Truman just after t…
www.thegardnernews.com
2020 photo of Shawn Halloran with his daughter Dylan
Tony Elliott, 4/23/1959 - 12/31/2007 (48)
Elliott was from Bridgeport CT, where he graduated from Harding High School. The nose tackle was drafted by New Orleans in the fifth round of the 1982 draft. Elliott played in 85 games with 61 starts for the
Saints from 1982 to 1988. He once said that he '
had three loves: football, cocaine and booze'. In 2000 he was shot and paralyzed by an alleged drug dealer. For more on his life, see this 2008 espn column:
Tony Elliott's life, death took tragic turns.
Scott Lutrus, 37 (4/23/1988)
This Brookfield CT native stayed local after high school, moving 65 miles to UConn. The linebacker was originally signed by Jacksonville, and then was part of the Rams practice squad. Indy signed him late in the 2011 season, and he appeared in four games for the Colts. He spent 2012 on IR and was waived/injured by the Colts in 2013. He later played in the short lived
Fall Experimental Football League, until it folded in 2015.
Kyle Juszczyk, 34 (4/23/1991)
"Juice" was a tight end at Harvard, and drafted in the fourth round (130th overall) by the Ravens in 2013. He has been a fullback since entering the NFL, and has been named to eight consecutive Pro Bowls; in 2023 he was a first team All pro with the 49ers. As a free agent Juszczyk signed a four year, $21 million contract with the Niners in 2017, making him the highest paid fullback in NFL history. Despite playing a position that takes a huge toll on the human body, Juszczyk has been remarkably resilient, missing just seven games in his 11-year NFL career.
For the first time, there will be an alum on both sides of pro football’s biggest game: the Chiefs’ Truman Jones and 49ers’ Kyle Juszczyk.
news.harvard.edu
Meet Kyle and Kristin Juszczyk: He's a Harvard grad and 49ers star. She designed a jacket for Taylor Swift. Read more on Boston.com.
www.boston.com
