Larry Garron went to Western Illinois, leading the Leathernecks to three consecutive NAIA Conference championships. He intended to go to medical school, but his college coach - Lou Saban - invited Garron to tryout for his new team in the inaugural American Football League season. After battling tonsillitis and injuries Garron did not initially make the roster, but did proceed to get in on four games in the 1960 season.
Alumni Spotlight: Larry Garron | Patriots.com
“We were the last team in the league to develop,” said Garron. “[The other teams] said we were a rag-a-muffin team, not knowing that in our minds we wanted to be as good as anyone out there.”
Another of the original AFL teams was the Buffalo Bills, and the Patriots-Bills rivalry was born immediately.
“It was always rough,” said Garron, recalling the early AFL matchups between the two teams. “Not only on the field but off the field. I remember the locker room; we always got nervous when we went there, because kids would break into the locker room and take things.”
The fans in the stands weren’t any warmer to the upstart Patriots, who beat the Bills in Buffalo in the first-ever AFL preseason exhibition.
“Sitting on the bench on the field, the spectators were right behind you,” said Garron. “Lou Saban told us to keep our helmets on, but we didn’t know why.”
“All of the sudden we had beer bottles flying out of the stands at us, and we were going ‘Ok. Now we know what he was talking about.’”
As mentioned in a comment above, Garron was a rock - but he wasn't always that way. He worked at adding weight to his frame in the offseason and it paid dividends. In 1961 Garron shared rushing duties with Billy Lott and Ron Burton, averaged 5.6 yards per carry, scored five touchdowns and was named to his first All-Star team.
In the Patriots 1961 home meeting with the Bills, Garron raced 85 yards for a touchdown on a draw play. That dash remains the longest rushing play in Patriots history. He totaled 116 yards on 10 carries in that game, forging an 11.6-yard rushing average that was a Patriots single-game record when he retired. And that average didn’t even include his 80-plus-yard kickoff return that day.
For an encore Garron averaged 5.9 yards per carry in 1962, and scored the second touchdown of his career on a kickoff return. His all-purpose yardage increased from 1,168 yards to 1,314, despite missing three games due to injury.
In 1963 Garron's workload increased. He averaged 16.1 yards on 26 receptions with two touchdowns, while also more than doubling his amount of carries. Garron had a career-high 1,168 yards from scrimmage, and led the AFL with 1,884 all-purpose yards. He was a major factor in the AFL East title game. Twice his receptions (59 yards and 17 yards) set up field goals, as the Patriots won their first playoff game in team history, 26-8 at Buffalo.
In 99 games with the Patriots, Garron scored 42 touchdowns (8th most in team history) and totaled 5,483 yards from scrimmage (10th most in team history). After all these years Garron still ranks ninth all-time in team history with 2,981 yards rushing. When he retired he held the team record for yards per rush in a single game (11.6), which occured on the same day he ran a kickoff back 80 yards. Larry Garron still holds the Patriot record for longest rush (85 yards).
Larry Garron was a four-time AFL All-Star, the team MVP in 1963, member of the Patriots All-AFL, All-Decade Team of the 1960s, and a member of the American Football League Hall of Fame. His 5.9 yards per carry in '62 is still a franchise record. Garron ranks third among all-time AFL players in career all-purpose yards gained (7,805), third on average kickoff return yardage (25.8), and second for career kickoff return touchdowns.
For more, check out these articles:
Two former Patriots recall the team's first season | The Boston Globe
Former Patriot player tells Clinton students of mid-'60s boycott over racism | Worcester Telegram
Larry Garron: From offense to self-defense | boston.com
Larry Garron: Patriots Alumni
