Today In Patriots History June 2, 1995: Montreal Expos draft catcher Tom Brady

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Today in Patriots History
Montreal Expos draft Tom Brady​

May 30, 2012:
The Montreal Expos select Junipero Serra High School standout Tom Brady in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball Draft, the 507th player selected overall. Although he was drafted quite late, the Expos projected Brady as a potential All-Star, and offered him money typical of that offered to a late second-round or early third-round pick. Brady instead followed his passion and went on to attend the University of Michigan, determined to be a football player. In his senior year of high school, Brady was named an all-league catcher after making a transition from first baseman to catcher. Kevin Malone, a former baseball general manager for the Expos and Los Angeles Dodgers, said in an interview that Brady "could have been one of the greatest catchers ever." There was one catch. "His first love was football."

What would have happened if Brady had taken the money rather than go to Michigan? Perhaps there is still a baseball team in Montreal, winner of seven World Series championships? Would fans in New England be like those in Cleveland, Detroit and Arizona, still waiting for their first Lombardi Trophy?

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Tom Brady as a big league catcher? Meet the Expos scout who failed to lure the NFL superstar to baseball

John Hughes had little doubt Tom Brady would make it. Even as a high school kid, Brady was big, strong and had an unusual sense of self. The kid had a real presence no matter where he was or who he was around. From his years scouting the…

www.courant.com

John Hughes had little doubt Tom Brady would make it. Even as a high school kid, Brady was big, strong and had an unusual sense of self. The kid had a real presence no matter where he was or who he was around. From his years scouting the high schools of Northern California, Hughes could immediately tell that Brady was a special athlete.​

But for Hughes, then a scout with the Expos, Brady will always just be the “one that got away” – from him and baseball. Every time Brady, a future NFL Hall of Famer, has quarterbacked the Patriots to the Super Bowl, baseball scouts across the country get back in touch with him. He pulls out some of his hand-written notes about Brady and he has a good time thinking about that summer.​

And he never doubts that Brady would have been a big leaguer.​

“I never had as much fun scouting a player that we eventually didn’t sign,” chuckled Hughes, now an area scout with the Marlins. “We knew we didn’t have a good chance to sign him, because he had the scholarship (to play football for the University of) Michigan.​

Tom Brady becomes last active Montreal Expos draft pick to retire from professional playing career

The 18th-round pick in the 1995 MLB Draft seems to have made the right call in playing football over baseball

www.cbssports.com

How does Brady think things would have played out had he stuck to baseball? "I'd be selling insurance, man. Baseball was not my sport," he said on the Dan Patrick Show last June. There was definitely juice in Brady's bat though. He wrapped a home run around the Pesky Pole at Fenway Park in 2003:​

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Tom Brady was drafted by the Expos 22 years ago: Which Red Sox (and NFL?) stars were taken after him? - MassLive

Interesting list of athletes drafted after Tom Brady in this article, including:
* OF Lawyer Milloy (one round later , #19, by Cleveland)
* Red Sox C David Ross (19th round, Dodgers)
* Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell (20th round, Yankees)
* OF Daunte Culpepper (26th round, Yankees)
* OF/C Michael Bishop (28th round, Cleveland)
* Red Sox OF Pat Burrell (43rd round, Red Sox)
* Red Sox OF Gabe Kapler (57th round, Detroit)

Other NFL players selected in the 1995 MLB Draft:
* QB Chad Hutchinson (1st round, Atlanta)
* RB Ricky Williams (8th round, Philadelphia)
* QB Danny Kannell (25th round, Yankees)

 

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Today in Patriots History
Bill Bates​

June 2, 1961:
Boston Patriots hire William T "Bill" Bates as the team's trainer.

Bates had previously worked as a trainer in Philadelphia with both their NBA and NFL teams, and would later return to basketball and become the Milwaukee Bucks' trainer.

1964 Boston Patriots Media Guide

BOSTON PATRIOTS

There is a strong suspicion that the most valuable member of the Patriots last season was Bill Bates. Bates does not run, pass, kick, block or tackle. He

vault.si.com

Sports Illustrated Sept 12, 1966

There is a strong suspicion that the most valuable member of the Patriots last season was Bill Bates. Bates does not run, pass, kick, block or tackle. He tapes. As the team trainer, Bates taped the Patriots to a 4-8-2 record, worst in Boston history. But, in retrospect, it is difficult to understand how he and the team did that well.​

Due to injuries, Boston played much of the year without its only experienced running back (Larry Garron), its best pass receiver (Art Graham), an All-League linebacker (Tom Addison), a starting offensive guard (Charlie Long) and a starting corner back (Tom Hennessey). Graham had tendonitis, which is unusual enough. But Addison and Long were affected all year by early-season cases of mumps. Not even Bates had the answer to that.​

Sept 1, 1968: Bill Bates guides Larry Eisenhauer, Houston Antwine and Ed Philpott in a training exercise​

Jan 21, 1966:
Some Have No Regards For Players

For the past five years, Bill Bates has been the trainer of the Boston Patriots. He has seen dozens of rookies from every section of the country.​

His observations are extremely candid.​

"There are just some teams that have no regards for the players," said Bates. "And that means college and pro.​

"There's one eastern school that has sent us so many players with bad knees that we couldn't even take them to pre-season practice.​

"We had one ballplayer from this school who told me he accompanied his team on a road trip although his knee was actually in a cast. They sent him to a hospital, drained his knee, shot him with novocain and he played. He never made it with us, and the fact that he had knee trouble was a key factor.​

"The whole thing is really a personal matter for the trainers and teams involved. I'll tell you one thing though. I've been with the Patriots for five years now and in that time I've never indiscriminately shot a player.​

“When guys have bruises a lot of clubs will shoot the affected spot, but ’when it’s a serious, thing or something that might become serious, we just don’t do it at Boston.​

“Personally, I’m a physical therapist and I’m not going to jeopardize my career.​

“That goes for the pep pills, drugs- or anything of this nature.​

“Pep pills and other drugs are potentially harmful from the standpoint that a player might suffer an injury, say a head injury. If he is hurt badly, a trainer or doctor might not be able to diagnose the injury as quickly because the player has taken pills which obscure the usual symptoms.​

"On the Patriots, I do not give out pep pills. But the players, get them. They can be purchased by prescription.​

“The only thing I can do is warn them.’’​

But professional football players earn a living With their bodies.​

Collegians are just supposed to be earning an education—with "or without their bodies.​

Sept 22, 1970: Gino Cappelletti and Bill Bates try to beat the summer heat​

1969 Boston Patriots Media Guide