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Today in Patriots History
Billy Sullivan lands
big-name local & national star
Billy Sullivan lands
big-name local & national star
June 29, 1965:
The Boston Patriots sign 1960 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino, after his completion of a four-year commitment to the Navy. Bellino was one of the greatest high school athletes in New England sports history, leading Winchester High School to two state basketball championships, batting over .400 on their baseball team (he was also offered a major league baseball contract), as well as being an outstanding back on their football team.
Joe Bellino was nicknamed the "Winchester Rifle" – a reference to his hometown and high school, as well as his explosive running style. He was a fast and agile back who specialized in finding daylight in the smallest of holes.
"My first step was at top speed," explained Bellino. "I could hit the hole as fast as anyone, then quickly get outside."
He starred at Navy from 1958-60 under College Football Hall of Fame head coach Wayne Hardin, rushing for 1,664 yards on 330 carries and scoring 31 touchdowns during his three-year career, while also serving as a dangerous return man.
In 1960, Bellino rushed for 834 yards and an incredible 17 touchdowns. He added 17 receptions for another 280 yards, while leading Navy to a 9-2 record. After beating archrival Army 17-12, Navy earned an invitation to the prestigious Orange Bowl – losing 21-14 to Missouri on Jan. 2 in Miami. Bellino also inspired a 14-7 win over Notre Dame, and had four touchdowns and a 90-yard run against Virginia that season.
A unanimous All-America selection, Joe Bellino was awarded both the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award in 1960. Playing both ways, he was also a defensive back, recording an end zone interception to preserve Navy's narrow victory over Army that year.
In 1958, Bellino scored the Middies' only touchdown in a 22-6 loss to Army. He avenged the loss to the Cadets by gaining 115 yards and scoring three touchdowns in a 43-12 victory the following season.
Bellino, who also played baseball for the Midshipmen, capped his senior year by winning Navy's top two athletic awards – the Thompson Trophy Cup and the Naval Academy Athletic Association Sword, marking the first time in 41 years that one midshipman received both honors. His No. 27 jersey was retired following the 1960 season.
Due to his four-year unavailability, Bellino was not an early draft pick. He was selected late in both the NFL Draft (17th round by the Washington Redskins) and AFL Draft (19th round by the Boston Patriots) in 1961. He chose the Patriots, but would not suit up for the team until 1965 due to his Naval commitment. Bellino spent three seasons with the Pats, primarily as a kick returner. He is the only Heisman Trophy winning running back to play for the Patriots. (The Pats have had five other Heisman winners play, all quarterbacks: John Huarte (1964), Jim Plunkett (1970), Doug Flutie (1984), Vinny Testaverde (1986) and Cam Newton (2010). There is also Tim Tebow (2007), but he was strictly a preseason side show.) Joe was also the lowest drafted Heisman winner in NFL history due to the military commitment, though it should also be noted that three recipients went undrafted. Pete Dawkins (1958) went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar after graduating from Army, and Charlie Ward (1993) chose the NBA over the NFL.
Joe Bellino served 28 years in the Navy and Naval Reserve, retiring with the rank of captain. He also spent four decades working in the auto leasing and auction industry.
Since 2007 the Navy annually presents the Joe Bellino Award to the varsity football player whose inspiring on-field performance made a significant impact on the team and contributed to its overall success during the season.
Bill Belichick can draw up a play from 1959 from memory because of course he can
Belichick sat down with Leslie Visser and Joe Bellino to talk about his father and Navy football
www.cbssports.com
In a segment for CBS Sports Network produced ahead of this weekend's Army-Navy football game, Belichick sat down with Leslie Visser and former Navy halfback (and Heisman Trophy winner) Joe Bellino, and Belichick drew up the exact diagram for Navy's 27 F Trap, from memory, complete with the route Bellino would usually take -- through the seven hole, then to the outside, then up the field -- when running the play.
June 16, 2004: Bill Belichick with Navy Heisman Trophy winners Joe Bellino and Roger Staubach
Joe Bellino and Jim Plunkett, two former Heisman trophy winners, talk with newly retired Pats receiver and placekicker, Gino Cappelletti
USNA Class of 1963 -- memories
Half a century ago, few players caught the nation's fancy like Bellino, a modest little plugger who, at 5-feet-9, looked like anything but America's best. Yet there he was, the nation's No. 2 scorer (110 points), darting here and feinting there and scuttling for touchdowns with a spontaneity that drove opponents nuts.
"He runs like a berserk butterfly," Sports Illustrated wrote of its cover boy on the eve of the 1960 Army-Navy game.
Red Smith, sports columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, wrote that Bellino "wriggles like a brook trout through congested traffic."
"All I know is that I was quick," Bellino said. "I wasn't big in the shoulders or waist, but my legs were stocky and I was built low to the ground. I could run straight, or sideways, without losing any speed, and I had lateral movement that let me bounce in and out (of jams)."
Bellino appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Two days later, he won the Heisman Trophy in a landslide vote over college stars like Mike Ditka (Pitt), Tom Matte (Ohio State) and Billy Kilmer (UCLA).
"I was in engineering class when I got the news," Bellino said. "Someone said the (Naval Academy) Superintendent wanted to speak to me. I thought, 'Geez, I'm in trouble academically.' "
Afterward, a reporter asked Bellino what else he hoped to accomplish.
"Well," the All-American said, "another guy from Massachusetts did pretty good this year and I'd like to meet him."
Within days, Bellino found himself having lunch with that "other guy," - President elect John F Kennedy - in Georgetown. Kennedy, a former Navy Lieutenant who served in World War II, attended the Orange Bowl, where the Midshipmen fell to No. 5 Missouri, 21-14. Playing with a broken collarbone, Bellino made a diving, 28-yard TD catch that he still calls "the best play I ever made."
He and Kennedy stayed friends.
"In June of 1961, I was picked to deliver our class yearbook to the President," Bellino said. "He invited me into the Oval Office, where we sat for an hour, just two guys with Boston accents talking football."
Ten Questions: Joe Bellino
Editor’s Note: Our January 2014 issue featured an interview with Pete Dawkins, West Point’s soldier-scholar-athlete who won the 1958 Heisman Trophy. This
historynet.com
What can you tell us about playing pro football with the Boston Patriots?
BELLINO: That was the summer of ’65, and I accepted a contract at Patriot camp, resigned my active commission from the Navy, but stayed in the Reserves.
I played with the Patriots for three years; but unfortunately, the first two years I had a broken ankle. My last year, I was healthy and did very well on punt returns and was also a wide receiver and running back. In my third year, I was picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals in the expansion draft, but at age 30 I was not keen on moving my young family to Cincinnati.
Joe Bellino - Heisman
Joe Bellino, the “Winchester Rifle” is the first Naval Academy football player to win the Heisman Trophy. Born and raised in Winchester, Mass., Bellino was a three-sport star for Winchester High. He was good enough in baseball to be offered a contract out of high school by the Pittsburgh...
www.heisman.com
Joe Bellino, the “Winchester Rifle” is the first Naval Academy football player to win the Heisman Trophy.
Born and raised in Winchester, Mass., Bellino was a three-sport star for Winchester High. He was good enough in baseball to be offered a contract out of high school by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he chose to play football for Navy despite offers from Notre Dame and several Big Ten schools.
After a year in prep school, Bellino became an instant star for the Midshipmen. In his three years at Navy, he scored 31 touchdowns, rushed for 1,664 yards on 330 carries, returned 37 kicks for 833 more yards and altogether set 15 Naval Academy football records.
In 1960, Bellino rushed for 834 yards and 15 touchdowns and scored another three TDs via pass receptions. He was a unanimous All-America selection and also the winner of the Maxwell Award. He won the Heisman handily over Richie Lucas of Penn State, totaling 1,929 points to Lucas’ 613.
In addition to his football exploits, Bellino was an outstanding catcher and outfielder on Navy baseball teams. He hit .428 in 22 games in 1959 and led the Eastern Intercollegiate League in stolen bases. He had a .320 average in 1960 and was the baseball team captain in 1961.
Boston Patriots players Joe Bellino (Winchester); Ed Toner (Lynn); Bobby Nichols (South Boston); Ray Ilg (Wellesley) pose for a portrait together on July 25, 1967
July 2, 1965: Joe Bellino and Boston Patriots president Bill Sullivan pose for a photo after Bellino signed with the team.
Oct 8, 1960, Norfolk, VA; Navy vs SMU in the Oyster Bowl: Navy HB Joe Bellino, #27, vaults the SMU line in the third quarter for a 6 yard gain.
1965 Wire Photo: Joe Bellino reported to Boston Patriot's coach Mike Holovak
You grew up in Winchester and can be considered a townie:
You grew up in Winchester and can be considered a townie: (This is obviously my limited list. Please add your own). - if you remember the W...
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