Today in Patriots History
Other April 3rd events
April 3 also includes the birth date for PFW, a very short-lived stadium name sponsorship, a super bowl hero (for another team), and the player received in what turned out to be a very one-sided draft trade.
April 3, 1995
The Patriots publish the premiere issue of Patriots Football Weekly, the team's official newspaper.
http://www.pfwonline.com/public/index.cfm?ac=introduction
It is with mixed emotions that we must inform you that PFW will stop publishing at the completion of the 2018 season.
After 24 seasons of PFW, it was a difficult decision to stop printing the newspaper, but as you know, how most fans consume their content has changed. Let's face it, keeping up with the fast-paced news cycle isn't easy with a weekly newspaper! To that end, the staff of PFW will be providing you with even more content on the various Patriots platforms including Patriots.com, the Patriots app and all of the Patriots social media accounts.
Thank you for being a PFW subscriber and fan!
Sincerely,
The entire staff of Patriots Football Weekly
April 3, 2001
In celebration of a long-standing construction tradition, the final beam was hoisted into place at CMGI Field to signify the "topping off" of the structure's steel.
CMGI Field topped off | The Sun Chronicle
Another milestone was reached in the building of the new CMGI Field when the final steel beam was hoisted onto the facility's upper northwest corner Tuesday.
Adding a bit of drama to the “topping off” ceremony, a 12-foot long two-by-four that was holding in place a banner attached to the steel beam broke off once the almost 6,000-pound beam was near its final destination. The large piece of wood sailed down from the sky and landed in an area reserved for the media. Bryan Morry, editor of the Patriots Football Weekly, was slightly injured when the wood hit the top of his left leg, but he did not require hospitalization, according to Patriots' spokesman Stacey James.
Happy 77th birthday to Randy Beverly
Born April 3, 1944 in Wildwood, New Jersey
Patriot CB, 1970-1971; uniform #27
Signed as a free agent on Sept 22, 1970; cut on July 24, 1972
Beverly played in 21 games with 4 starts for the Pats, with two interceptions. He was primarily a special teams player, and later spent a season in the WFL.
He is best known for two plays in Super Bowl III.
From Wikipedia:
The Jets had managed a solid defense throughout the season, but going into Super Bowl III, the Jets passing defense was not considered particularly strong. With the Jets installed as an 18-point underdog, Beverly's small stature made him a main target of Colts' quarterback Earl Morrall. However, Beverly put together a remarkable performance, becoming the first player ever to record two interceptions in a Super Bowl.
In the first quarter, the Colts drove down the field, seemingly fulfilling the predictions about their offensive prowess. Reaching the Jets' 10-yard-line, Morrall threw a pass into the end zone, but the pass bounced off a Jets lineman, then hit the shoulder pads of Colts tight end Tom Mitchell. Beverly tracked the ball and caught it in the end zone, ending the Colts first drive.
The Jets defense continued to stymie the Colts for the rest of the first half, shutting them out and prompting the insertion of Colt legend Johnny Unitas at quarterback. Driving the Colts down the field and poised to score the team's first touchdown of the game, Unitas threw a crossing pattern to one of his wide receiver's in the end zone, but Beverly stepped in front and caught the ball in the end zone, downing it for a touchback. While the Colts managed to score a late touchdown, the Jets' 16-7 triumph is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in the history of professional sports in the United States.
From the 1971 Patriots Media Guide:
Came to Pats as free agent early last season ... star of first AFL victory in the Super Bowl as starting cornerback for the New York Jets ... picked off two big interceptions on Baltimore pass plays ... starter for Jets in '68 and '69 ... traded to San Diego Chargers in 1970 for receiver Richard Trapp ... eventually waived by Chargers and claimed by Pats ... played well on special teams last year ... going into fifth pro season ... signed with Jets as free agent in 1966 ... has 10 pro career pass interceptions ... lettered in basketball and track and won Junior College All-America honors at Trinidad (Colo.) J.C. ... state broad jump champion at Wildwood (N.J.) H.S. ... returned kickoff 99 yards at Colorado State ... adds good depth to Pats' speedy cornerback corps.
Happy 72nd birthday to Ralph Anderson
Born April 3, 1949 in Dallas, Texas
Died 12/20/2016 at the age of 67
Patriot free safety, 1973; uniform #49
Acquired in trade from Pittsburgh on Sept 3, 1973 in exchange for a 1974 4th round draft pick
Anderson played in 13 games for the Pats with 11 starts. He had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries in Chuck Fairbanks' first season as head coach for the Patriots.
The Pats acquired Anderson in a trade with Pittsburgh, two weeks prior to the start of the 1973 season. The Steelers used that 4th round draft pick on WR John Stallworth -
who they were initially going to select in the first round - but chose Lynn Swann instead.
Stallworth went on to play 14 seasons in Pittsburgh, and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A 1971 5th round draft pick from West Texas A&M, Anderson never played in the NFL again after that 1973 season; he ended up with the Fire (Chicago), Winds (Chicago) and Thunder (Portland) of the World Football League in 1974-75.
April 3, 2014: Patriots sign free agent safety
Patrick Chung
The Patriots had originally drafted the Oregon Duck in 2009, with a second round pick acquired in the Matt Cassel trade to the Chiefs. New England let him walk as a free agent in 2013, then re-signed him one year later when the Eagles cut quickly ties. Chung played in 141 regular season games plus 22 playoff games in ten seasons over those two stints in Foxborough.
April 3, 2006: New England signs free agent CB
Eric Warfield
Warfield had spent all eight of his NFL seasons in Kansas City, with 20 interceptions and 78 pass break ups and 393 tackles over 115 games. Perhaps he signed because he wanted to experience a postseason run; the Chiefs had played just one playoff game during his time in KC. That was not to be; the Pats released Eric on September 1, 2006.
April 3, 1973: Patriots sign free agent
John Sanders
The South Dakota State alum was with the Pats through the '76 season, starting at CB in '74 and FS in '75.