Today in Patriots History
David Viaene
Happy 56th birthday to David Viaene
Born July 14, 1965 in Appleton, Wisconsin
Patriot OL, 1989-1991; uniform #70
Signed as a free agent on March 30, 1989
David Viaene played in 20 games for the Patriots, with eight starts. He had originally been an 8th round draft pick by the Oilers in 1988 out of Division 2 University of Minnesota at Duluth; in 1992 he signed as a free agent with the Packers. He is now the owner-operator of a property management company in Wisconsin.
www.fvasports.net
Dave Viaene, Class: Induction: 2010 Sport(s): Football, Wrestling - Football Defensive Tackle (1986-1987) Wrestler (1985-1986) Packed quite a punch during his
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July 7, 2016:
David Viaene, owner of the Valley Inn, says he's open to putting more money into the property.
www.postcrescent.com
July 14, 2000:
The Patriots sign sixth round draft pick
Tom Brady to a three year rookie contract, valued at $864,000. The deal included a $38,400 signing bonus and first year salary of $193,000. It would be the first of seven contracts between the Pats and TB12 over twenty seasons.
Articles from the category: New England Patriots
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July 14, 1992:
Patriots re-sign free agent
Shawn McCarthy. A 12th round draft pick by Atlanta in 1990, McCarthy was released as part of final roster cuts by the Pats in 1991 after a poor performance in the final preseason game. He was re-signed three weeks later to replace
Bryan Wagner - who had a 29.1 yard net in three games and once punted into his teammates' back - as the team's punter. McCarthy had a 93 yard punt in a week ten game at Buffalo in '91, which to this day still the third longest in NFL history. Shawn owns the franchise record for most punts in a single season with 103 in 1992; that also ranks 22nd most in the NFL record books. And his 4,227 yards punting that season is a third Patriot record McCarthy owns - with those last two titles being due in large part to the ineptitude of
**** MacPherson's offense that season. McCarthy was released before the start of the 1993 season, succeeded by
Mike Saxon.
The Patriots have something no other NFL team can claim: two winners of the national punt, pass and kick contest, Hart Lee Dykes and Shawn McCarthy. McCarthy actually doubles as the answer to anoth…
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The 6-foot-6 Ohio native is one of the best punters in Purdue history who also played a little QB. Now, he's a golf pro.
purdue.rivals.com
July 14, 1974:
Kicker
Ian Sunter is signed as a free agent. Sunter was born in Dundee, Scotland and moved to Burlington, Ontario in 1966 at the age of 14. He knew nothing about north american football until a high school football coach saw how well he kicked on their soccer team, and recruited him to play football. The 21 year old had already played two seasons for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL; at the age of 19 he kicked the game winning field goal in the 1972 Grey Cup.
Sunter was competing for the placekicker job with another European rookie,
John Smith, to replace the 1973 kicking tandem of
Bill Bell and
Jeff White. Smith of course won the competition and Sunter was cut on August 25; he ended up playing in the CFL for seven seasons, as well as for the Lions in 1976 and Bengals in 1980.
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July 14, 1972:
New England trades WR
Ron Sellers to Dallas for a third round draft pick. Sellers was a two-time All-American at Florida State who was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 1969 draft. He was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie when he was second in the AFL with 26.1 yards per catch and six touchdowns. But injuries limited him to ten games in 1971, and with
Jim Plunkett throwing almost exclusively to
Randy Vataha his production plummeted. With the addition of Darryl Stingley in the 1972 draft, Sellers was deemed to be expendable by the new coaching staff. Sellers began the '72 season as a backup, then replaced
Bob Hayes in the Cowboys starting lineup; he later won a super bowl ring as a reserve with Miami. As for the draft pick they received, the Patriots used that on a running back from Alcorn A&M named
Charles Davis; he was waived at the end of training camp and never played a single down in the NFL.
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Other football players with New England area connections born on this date:
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Ed Lawrence (1905-1961); born and raised in Fitchburg, the back played a couple seasons in the early NFL, including for the Boston Bulldogs in 1929.
Hometeam football flashback: CMass schools stocked NFL teams | Worcester Telegram
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Lou Ghecas (1918-1997); the Danbury High School Hall of Famer was a halfback for the 1941 Philadelphia Eagles, but WWII interrupted his NFL career. He also played minor league baseball and after the war worked in the FBI for 26 years, until his retirement.
Lou Ghecas | Danbury Athletics Hall of Fame
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Riley Smith (1911-1999); second overall pick by the Redskins - in what was the first ever NFL draft in 1936 - in that team's final season of playing in Boston.
Alabama's Riley Smith | Remember the Rose Bowl
And lastly some of the other pro football players born on 7/14:
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Rosey Grier, 89 (7/14/32); All Pro DT played 11 seasons in the NFL. After retirement he worked as Bobby Kennedy's bodyguard, and was the person who subdued and took the gun away from Sirhan Sirhan when RFK was shot and killed. Grier was also one of the first former football players to transition to television acting, with 37 credits to his name.
Actor Rosey Grier, who also worked as a bodyguard for the Kennedy family, recalls the night Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated.
www.pbs.org
Known for: Half Nelson, The Thing with Two Heads, Quincy M.E.
www.imdb.com
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Ken Burrough, 73 (7/14/48); Double Zero was a Pro Bowl WR for the Houston Oilers, and led the NFL in receiving in 1975 - even though he was a college quarterback.
Jacksonville resident Ken Burrough, who was the first starting quarterback at Raines High in 1965 and went on to become a two-time Pro Bowl receiver with the Houston Oilers, will be inducted Saturday…
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Ken Willard, 78 (7/14/43); 49er RB scored 62 touchdowns in his career, and ranked 8th in NFL all time career rushing yardage when he retired in 1974.
The Boston Red Sox took him in the first round of the draft, but Willard declined their offer to play football and baseball at the University of North Carolina.
richmond.com
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W.K. Hicks, (1942-2020); CB had 40 career interceptions, including an AFL best nine in 1965.
A lot has changed in downtown Houston since W.K. Hicks first took his place under the...
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