Today in Patriots History
More June 17 tidbits
Happy 37th birthday to David Herron
Born June 17, 1984 in Warren, Ohio
Patriot LB, 2007
Claimed off waivers from Minnesota on September 3, 2007
Every year one or two undrafted rookies overcome tall odds and make the week one 53-man. In 2007 there were two players to achieve this feat. One was quarterback Matt Gutierrez, who had signed with the Patriots right after the draft. The other was David Herron, a linebacker from Michigan State. Herron had spent the summer with Minnesota, and was allegedly a pawn in a battle between Bill Belichick and Viking coach Brad Childress.
Sep 6, 2007:
Brad Childress opened up on a radio interview last weekend. And Childress revealed an apparently tense conversation he had with Bill Belichick about a couple of players each team wanted to pass through waivers and put on the practice squad.
www.espn.com
Vikings coach Brad Childress is the typical tight-lipped NFL coach, but he opened up on a radio interview last weekend. And Childress revealed an apparently tense conversation he had with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick about a couple players each team wanted to pass through waivers and put on the practice squad.
Childress said Belichick called to ask him not to claim tight end Garrett Mills, offering to avoid picking up a player the Vikings cut as a reward. Childress declined.
"He didn't really care for that," Childress said Sunday morning on WCCO-AM. "He was trying to leverage, but you always find out who is honest and straightforward."
So the Vikings claimed Mills, the Patriots claimed linebacker David Herron, and Childress later realized he said too much.
"That's a case of me being a little too colorful," he said at his Wednesday news conference. "You guys wonder why I stand up here and go, 'Yep, no, and maybe so.' Bill's and my conversation should stay between Bill and myself."
While Herron did survive cutdown day - he took a roster spot made available with the release of WR Reche Caldwell - he never did play a single down for the Pats. Herron was waived on September 11, eight days after being claimed off waivers, to make room for Chad Brown. Herron re-signed with Minnesota to their practice squad a day later and the following year did start three games with the Vikings. He later played with the Chiefs and Chargers, appearing in 28 games over four seasons. A few years later his brother Dan also made it to the NFL as a running back with the Colts.
As for Brad Childress? He and Minnesota fans took a premature victory lap when the Patriots traded Randy Moss to the Vikings in 2010 for a third round pick, gloating that the Pats had just handed their team the super bowl, and that he had totally swindled Bill Belichick with that trade. Instead the Vikes fell from 12-4 to 6-10, including a humbling 28-18 loss at Gillette that dropped their record to 2-5. Childress waived Moss after a mere four weeks in Minnesota, and Childress was fired three weeks after the loss to the Patriots.
Other pro football players born today with New England connections:
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Alec Anderson (6/17/94-11/14/53);
Somerville native who went to Boston College and Holy Cross.
Anderson was a guard who played briefly for the 1921 Washington (football) Senators.
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Jon Jenkins (6/17/26 - 6/30/99);
Dartmouth alum was a tackle with the Colts and New York Yanks in 1949 (AAFC) and 1950 (NFL, after the two leagues merged).
Dartmouth's 1948 football season was a beginning and an end. The restoration of traditional college campus life after the turmoil of World War II was virtually complete.
www.dartmouthsports.com
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Ed Smith (6/17/13-1/29/98);
The man with a very generic name was a FB/QB/DB for the 1936
Boston Redskins.
Some of the notable NFL players born on this date:
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Kyle Boller, 40 (June 17, 1981); the Ravens were so desperate for a QB they traded their second round 2003 pick and 2004 first for the Pats first round (19th overall) pick of the 2003 draft, and used it on Boller. The Pats used the 2003 pick in a trade with Houston that allowed them to draft Eugene Wilson, and then selected Vince Wilfork with the Ravens' first rounder in 2004. Boller went 20-27 as a starting QB, and led to Brain Billick's being replaced as head coach in Baltimore.
When I decided to start to write this semi-weekly segment I thought about the opportunity to not only bring up some of the more classic players or moments in Ravens history but also explore and present some that are a bit more obscure. Today is not that day. It seems only fitting with the NFL...
www.baltimoregridironreport.com
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Elroy 'Crazy Legs' Hirsch (6/17/23-1/28/04); Hall of Fame end/halfback had an absolutely unheard of at that time season in 1951, catching 66 passes for 1,495 yards, averaging 22.7 yards per receptions and scoring 17 receiving touchdowns - in just 12 games.
www.profootballhof.com
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Bobby Bell, 81 (6/17/40); Nine-time Pro Bowl, Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chiefs played in 168 games, with 26 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries and nine touchdowns - including one on a kick return!
www.profootballhof.com
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Dermontti Dawson, 56 (6/17/65); Hall of Fame center was a six-time All Pro anchor for the Steelers in the nineties.
www.profootballhof.com
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Jason Hanson, 51 (6/17/70); kicker played in 333 games for the Lions and scored 2,150 points, which ranks as fourth most in NFL history.
Longtime Detroit placekicker’s eligibility for Canton approaching: ‘Honestly, I don’t think about that stuff’
www.freep.com
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Wayne Hawkins, 83 (6/17/38); the Raider guard was named to five consecutive All Star teams but sadly now suffers from dementia[/URL] and CTE.
There is a feeling among AFL fans that the American Football League players are consistently overlooked for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In truth there are many players, the bulk of whose careers were spent in the AFL, that deserve serious consideration, if not outright...
talesfromtheamericanfootballleague.com
