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Today in Patriots History
Doug Beaudoin
Doug Beaudoin
April 8, 1976:
Day Two of the 1976 Draft
Roosevelt Hotel in New York City; Rounds 8-17
At the time this was by far the latest date ever for an NFL draft to take place. A two-month delay was due to two expansion teams' (Seattle and Tampa Bay) concerns that the NFLPA would attempt to prevent the NFL expansion draft. The two new clubs filed a lawsuit, which delayed first the expansion draft, and then the annual college draft.
8.217 --- traded away previous year, for S Steve Freeman
8.235 --- RB Stu Betts, Northern Michigan
9.243 --- S Doug Beaudoin, Minnesota
10.270 -- WR Ricky Feacher, Mississippi Valley State
11.298 -- LB Donnie Thomas, Indiana
12.325 -- DT Nathaniel Bell, Tulane
13.352 -- S James Jones, Central Michigan
14.382 -- WR David Quehl, Holy Cross
15.409 -- WR Bernard Coleman, Bethune-Cookman
16.436 -- DT Clifford Brown, Tuskegee
17.466 -- C Todd Anderson, Stanford
The majority of day two picks back then were the equivalent to today's undrafted rookie free agent signings.
As a result, most never made it to an NFL roster.
Considering how well the Pats did on day one, it didn't matter.
The one notable draftee on the day was ninth rounder Doug Beaudoin, who played in 45 games with 20 starts over four seasons with the Patriots.
Doug finished his pro football career with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL in 1985. He remained in the area, first working for a brokerage, then working as the VP of Sales and Entertainment for the FX Marketing Group in Tampa until his retirement a couple years ago. FX was a sports marketing/management and publishing firm specializing in client & event management.
COMING HOME: Beaudoin one of 13 to enter JHS Athletic Hall of Fame | Jamestown Sun
Nobody was challenging Doug Beaudoin to a friendly game of anything back in 1971. Unless, of course, said challenger was up for a butt whooping. "I could beat just about anybody at anything," Beaudoin said. "Skiing, golf, pingpong. Whatever you w...
www.jamestownsun.com
Beaudoin played seven seasons in the NFL, five for New England and making stops in Miami and San Diego in '80 and '81, respectively. Beaudoin recorded four interceptions during his NFL run, but was hampered throughout his professional career by an injury suffered during his senior track season at Jamestown High.
"I'll never forget it," Beaudoin said. "We were running the 440 relay in Valley City and it was about 30 degrees and sleeting. I took the baton for the home stretch, probably ran about 30 yards, and my hamstring snapped. I was probably never the same after that."
The born athlete said his time in the 40-yard dash fell from approximately 4.40 to 4.60, and hamstring issues would cloud weeks of strong play on the gridiron even as Beaudoin ascended to the sport's highest level. His New England teammate in the secondary, Mike Haynes, brought up Beaudoin's injury-prone legs while the two shared a moment in Canton, Ohio, in 1987.
Haynes was getting his call to the NFL Hall of Fame.
"We were sitting there and I was congratulating him on his Hall of Fame career, and he said, "You know what, Doug? If not for your hamstrings, you'd probably be sitting here too," Beaudoin recalled.
June 19, 2021:
Doug Beaudoin to join nephew in N.D. Sports Hall of Fame
Jun. 19—Doug Beaudoin, who will be enshrined into the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in Jamestown next weekend, has had to put up with a few years of teasing from Brooks Bollinger. "Brooks Bollinger — my nephew — actually got inducted three years ago and I think that it's a great injustice...
sports.yahoo.com
During his two years at Jamestown High School, Beaudoin lettered in football, basketball, and track while a student-athlete for the Blue Jays. Beaudoin led the Eastern Dakota Conference (EDC) running backs in 1971 averaging 108.5 yards per game. Beaudoin also paced the East Region in points scored (90) with 15 touchdowns. The former Blue Jay led EDC punters averaging 37.7 yards over 18 kicks.
Just a couple of months later, Beaudoin helped lead the JHS basketball team to a 22-2 record en route to defeating the undefeated Ft. Yates Warriors. In the spring of his junior year, Beaudoin placed second in the long jump at the Class A State Track and Field Meet.
"I think I was born with a ball in my hand," Beaudoin said. "I don't care what kind of ball it was — baseball, basketball, football — that's what I was born to do. Back in those days, if you put a ball in my hand, whatever game it was, I think I would beat you."
Beaudoin was selected to the all-state football and basketball teams during both his junior and senior years. Beaudoin was inducted into the Jamestown High School Hall of Fame in 2018.
The standout's senior year, however, threw a bit of a wrench into post-high school dreams.
In the spring of 1972, Beaudoin was running the 4X440-yard relay in Valley City. The sleet and misting invoked a pop of Beaudoin's hamstring and the muscle eventually ended up in a ball at the base of his kneecap.
After the unfortunate mishap, Beaudoin said his athletic talent wasn't quite at the same level, but the persistence was still there.
On defense, Beaudoin was the second-leading tackler all three years and recorded four interceptions. Beaudoin was named to the 1975 All-Big Ten Football Team being only one of only a handful of players in Gophers' history with four touchdowns and four interceptions.
"From high school on, it was grit," Beaudoin said. "I was the first one in the training room, I was the last one on the field because it took so much just to try to stay healthy that I did whatever I needed to do to get back on the field."
The NFL noticed the Blue Jay alum's perseverance.
After his four seasons in Minnesota, Beaudoin was drafted by the New England Patriots as a safety in the ninth round of the 1976 NFL draft. Beaudoin remained on the Patriot roster for five years. During the 1976-77 season, he was a leading team player averaging over 25 yards per return on kickoffs and second-leading special team tackles.
In 1978, Beaudoin was the third leading tackler on defense and second in interceptions with three. Beaudoin made a pair of interceptions in the Patriots' 33-24 win over the Miami Dolphins that propelled the team into the playoffs. The Patriots qualified for the AFC Divisional Playoffs in the 1976 and 1978 seasons.
"As you get older you realize how much you miss it," Beaudoin said. "(The best part) was competing and the friendships you build through fighting the battles with these guys. Every Sunday you build some really special friendships that you will never lose."
In 1980, Beaudoin played for the Miami Dolphins, followed by the San Diego Chargers in 1981. He joined the Tampa Bay Bandits of the new USFL in 1982 and played until the league came to an end in 1985. He retired from football following the 1985 season.
January 28, 2014:
Deadspin | Former NFL Player: I Guarantee I Have CTE
Deadspin | Former NFL Player: I Guarantee I Have CTE
deadspin.com
You really can't believe anything the league says, anything Goodell says, but they're allegedly trying to make the game safer. Now would they have tried to make the game safer without a $785 million judgment? No. It's called cover your ass.
I feel pretty fortunate when I look around at 59 and see the damage that a lot of my peers are going through and have gone through over the last 10, 15, 20 years. Am I concerned? Hell yes. You know, your decision-making process is sketchy is best. My memory is not good. I do feel depressed more often than I should. So yeah, I'm really concerned. I did have an MRI where they came back and basically said they didn't see any problems with the MRI, but I guarantee you I have CTE. Unfortunately we're not going to know it until I'm dead.
I am at 59 years old, still gainfully employed. And I've been in sales, basically, since I got out of the league. Went from the brokerage business, which is basically glorified sales, to a marketing company here that is basically sales. I'm not nearly as good of a salesman as I was five years ago, 10 years, 15 years ago. I have cue cards all over my office reminding me what the hell I'm doing. I used to be able to sell a couple projects at one time. Now I can only sell one project at a time because I can't remember the other project and what exactly I need to know.
We're not looking for sympathy. I'm not looking for anybody to feel sorry for me because, as I said, I feel fortunate and I'd do it again. But am I concerned going forward, where five years from now it's going to be completely worse and it's going to be tougher and tougher to stay employed? Yeah. Yeah, I'm concerned about that.
I think it was a game against Earl Campbell where we've got 10-yard running head starts, so it's you and him, and you just go like a heat-seeking missile and hit whatever's moving and you take a knee. As his knee's coming up, to the crown of your head, it knocks you silly.
Now, the one that's the most memorable is one I suffered in the USFL. And I think I remember this because it was the last one. I played seven years in the NFL and three years in the USFL. I think we were playing Jim Kelly's team, Houston, and the tight end ran across the middle and, once again, we're both running full speed and we hit each other. And I remember lying on the field. This was my 10th year of professional football. Not much was moving. I was tingling all over. My head was ringing. And they went through about three commercials and I was still on the field, and I just remember lying there going, "I can't do this anymore." And it was toward the end of the season, 10th year, so your body's run down and beat up to begin with. And it took probably five to eight minutes to get the feeling in all your extremities: your legs and your neck and your arms. And I finally got up, got back to the locker room and said, "Enough's enough. Your body can only take so much."
