Today in Patriots History
Pats trade Nick Buoniconti to Miami
In one single day in 1969 the Boston Patriots made three trades.
They ranged from spectacularly awful, to bad, to not good.
March 24, 1969:
Boston Patriots trade MLB
Nick Buoniconti to Miami for OLB
John Bramlett, QB
Kim Hammond, and a 1970 fifth round draft pick
Undrafted out of Memphis State, John Cameron "Bull" Bramlett was the runner-up to Joe Namath as the rookie of the year in 1965. He was a two-time American Football League All-Star before being part of one of the most infamous trades in Patriots history. A few weeks after the 1969 AFL draft the Dolphins traded Bramlett, backup QB Kim Hammond and a 1970 fifth round draft pick to the Pats in exchange for future Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti. It wasn't as if the move was an attempt to make the aging Patriots roster younger; Nick was only a year older than his linebacker counterpart. And while Bramlett had been a second team All-AFL (equivalent of second team All-Pro) in 1966 and 1967, Buoniconti had been a
first team All-AFL from '64 through '67. Perhaps the Patriots were concerned he was coming off a season where he missed six games due to injury. Or maybe the fact that Buoniconti was already prepping for a post-football life by having completed night classes at Suffolk University and earning his law degree in '68 had them worried that he would soon simply walk away from playing football.
Bramlett had a reputation for
reckless behavior and disdain for authority, which had already ended his professional baseball career. In his fifth year of pro football he was already on his third team, despite being a starter all four years: two seasons in Denver and two in Miami. Bull played in 24 games with 23 starts in two seasons with the Pats, and was out of football a year later. The Pats traded him to Green Bay at the end of the 1971 training camp, but he refused to report to the Packers. He later signed with the Falcons in '71, and retired on May 23, 1972. Two years later his days as a drinker and brawler ended, and he became a minister.
Clive Rush talked Hammond up as being the Pats next great quarterback, a worthy heir to Babe Parilli.
Hammond couldn't even claim the starting position over the immortal Mike Taliaferro. His stat line with the Patriots reads three games played, 2-6 passing. He was released in 1971 after not getting on the field once in 1970. Ironically it was Hammond, not Buoniconti who left football for a legal career: for 31 years he was a Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida.
The draft pick was used a year later on
Bob Olson, a linebacker from Notre Dame. Olson was a two-time captain at Notre Dame and defensive MVP in the 1970 Cotton Bowl national championship game versus Texas. He suffered a fractured elbow during preseason, on August 10, 1970. Piecing together the tea leaves, the fracture probably did not heal properly; the Pats released Olson on July 19, 1971, which would have been about the time that veterans returned to camp 11 months later and take their physicals. Olson was never re-signed or picked up by any other NFL team. He never played a single down for the Patriots, or any other NFL team.
As for the guy the Patriots traded? All
Nick Buoniconti did in his first season in Miami was proceed to become a first team All Pro. He continued playing with the Dolphins through the 1976 season, winning two super bowls as a main part of their undefeated team's defense, and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
March 24, 1969:
Patriots trade
Leroy Mitchell to the Houston Oilers
Leroy Mitchell started all 28 games in his two seasons with the Boston Patriots, and was an AFL All-Star in 1968. On March 24, 1969 the Pats traded Mitchell AND a 1970 second round draft pick to the Houston Oilers for
Larry Carwell,
Charley Frazier,
Sid Blanks and
Ronnie Caveness.
The Patriots of that time were rebuilding and in need of upgrades everywhere. In 1966 they seemed destined to win the AFL East and possibly represent the American Football League in the first super bowl. But the Pats were upset on the final game of the season - and the entire roster seemed to age and get slow at the same time, resulting in back-to-back ten-loss seasons.
Boston was willing to give up a high draft pick plus a budding star for four players, but the plan did not come remotely close to working out. Blanks was an all star as a rookie in 1964, but then he was injured and missed the entire 1965 season. He had done next to nothing with the Oilers since then; he arrived in Boston and rarely saw any action behind Jim Nance and Carl Garrett. Frazier did score seven touchdowns in '69, but he was over the hill and had only nine receptions the following year. (If you are rebuilding aren't you trying to get younger, not older?) Caveness never played a single down for the Pats.
Larry Carwell was the only one of the four that made the trade somewhat worthwhile. He was a four-year starter for the Patriots at left corner, from '69-'72 in a period of time when there was not much support from either the pass rush or from the offense. Carwell had ten interceptions (with one touchdown) for the Pats, and also contributed on special teams with 13 punt returns and two kickoff returns.
March 24, 1969:
Patriots trade a 1970 fifth round draft pick to the Jets for OT
Ezell Jones
Ezell Jones was the 104th overall pick by the Jets in 1969, out of Minnesota. He played in 18 games over two seasons with the Patriots, with one fumble recovery, plus a safety.
The Jete used that draft pick on
Cliff McClain, from South Carolina State. McClain lasted a bit longer than Jones - 46 games over four seasons as a backup running back (596 yards from scrimmage, two TD), core special teamer and occasional kickoff return man.
