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Today In Patriots History May 15, 2006: Doug Flutie retires

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Today in Patriots History
Doug Flutie retires



May 15, 2006:
The pride of Natick and Boston College, QB Doug Flutie retires after 20 years of pro football






Heisman Trophy, 1984
UPI Player of the Year, 1984
Sporting News Player of the Year, 1984
Unanimous All-American, 1984
BC jersey #22 retired, Nov 10, 1984
NFL Comeback Player of the Year, 1998
Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame, 2007
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, 2007
College Football Hall of Fame, 2007
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 2008
Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, 2009
Natick High School Sports Hall of Fame, 2012
Space Coast Hall of Fame, 2014
ECAC Football Hall of Fame, 2015
Hula Bowl Hall of Fame, 2025





















































 
Doug Flutie walked, so Drew Brees could run.
 
Happy birthday to @Patjew , wherever you are flying around the globe and making your high tech business deals.
I'm honored to share my birthday with you.
 
Happy birthday to @Patjew , wherever you are flying around the globe and making your high tech business deals.
I'm honored to share my birthday with you.
Happy Birthday, the pair of you.
 
Happy birthday to @Patjew , wherever you are flying around the globe and making your high tech business deals.
I'm honored to share my birthday with you.
And happy birthday right back at ya, my friend!! Mine is peaceful and full of gratitude and will include a hair cut and no alcohol. I hope yours is great and more fun than mine
 
And happy birthday right back at ya, my friend!! Mine is peaceful and full of gratitude and will include a hair cut and no alcohol. I hope yours is great and more fun than mine
The wife is treating me to an out-of-town relaxing weekend, departing later today.
Cannot promise that there will be no alcohol involved . . .
So today's 'This Day' entry will likely be relatively abbreviated.



Weird birthday fact: she has a brother and sister who are twins; the sister and I share the same birth date, but the brother does not. (The two were born just before and after midnight.)
 
Today in Patriots History
Wes Welker signs franchise tender



May 15, 2012:
Wes Welker signs franchise tender, for $9.5 million


In 2012 Welker would be named to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl, in what was his final year with the Patriots. This was coming off a loss in the super bowl, when Wes was unable to corral a late fourth quarter pass near the 20 yard line that would have resulted in a first down. Instead the Pats had to punt, and the Giants drove down the field for the win. Welker was unsuccessful in his attempt to get a long-term deal, and would depart for Denver in free agency the following spring.

Leading up to Welker's signing, early May of 2012 had several newsworthy events for the Patriots. While people were still talking about the draft, in the first week of May Junior Seau died, Gerard Warren was re-signed, Jabar Gaffney was signed for a second stint, director of player personnel Jason Licht departed for Arizona, former Colts RB Joseph Addai was signed, and Matt Light retired.




By league rule the Patriots and Welker have until July 15th to work out an extension, and it will be interesting to see if this sudden change by Welker - who had previously seemed reluctant to even come into camp prior to the start of the regular season without a new contract - is a positive sign that the talks are moving in the right direction.​

Welker announced the signing on Twitter, saying "I signed my tender today. I love the game and I love my teammates! Hopefully doing the right thing gets the right results. #leapoffaith"​

The signing also shuts down the potential media circus that could have taken place next week as the team prepares to come together for OTA's, and will allow the players to focus on the task at hand - which is trying to get back to work and prepare for another season.​








 
Today in Patriots History
20th Century Trivia



May 15, 1971:
The Patriots re-sign WR Bill Rademacher and TE Tom Beer to one-year contracts


For some reason I can recall my brother being a big fan of Bill Rademacher when he was with the Patriots way back in the day. Maybe it was being the backup/underdog, maybe it was his all-out effort - he was outstanding in coverage on special teams.

William Stiles Rademacher was undrafted out of Northern Michigan in 1964, and signed with the Jets. In his first four seasons he spent as much time on the taxi squad as on the active roster. Rademacher made four starts as a rookie due to injuries, but appeared in only 17 games during that span - on special teams, wide receiver, and as a defensive back.

That type of versatility that Bill Belichick covets paid off with an increased role and more playing time in 1968, as Bill appeared in every game that season for the Jets one and only championship. He was waived just a few days prior to the start of the 1969 season, and immediately signed by the Patriots. Rademacher played in 27 games with five starts for the Boston Patriots, with 21 receptions for 268 yards, 12.8 yards per catch and three touchdowns. He suffered a fractured arm early in training camp in 1971 and was waived later that season, ending his NFL career. Rademacher later became assistant coach and then head coach at his alma mater, Northern Michigan. He was also a linebackers coach at Michigan State from 1983 to 1991. Bill Rademacher passed away on April 2, 2018 at the age of 75.






A four-time letter-winner with the Wildcats from 1960-1963, Rademacher was an A.P. All America Honorable Mention selection in 1963. A wide receiver and defensive end for NMU, he went on to play professionally for seven years with the New York Jets and Boston Patriots. He was a member of the Jets team that won Super III.​

After his playing career, he coached for two years at Xavier University before returning to NMU as an assistant coach in 1974. In his second season with the team, the Wildcats went 13-1 on their way to win the 1975 Division II National Championship.​

Rademacher was named the Head Coach in 1978 and posted a 37-16 record in his five seasons behind his high-powered passing attack. He was named the 1980 Mid Continent Conference Coach of the Year. He left NMU in 1983 after accepting a coaching position at Michigan State University.​

In 1981, Rademacher was inducted into the Northern Michigan University Sports Hall of Fame and was later enshrined into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.​



Overall, Rademacher played in 58 pro games and had 24 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns, all of his scores coming with the Patriots.​




After five scoreless years with the Jets, Bill Rademacher scored all of his career points in two years with the Patriots
In his second game with the Pats he had six catches for 78 yards and a TD against his former team



"One of Weeb Ewbank's favorite quotes was 'the more things you can do helps you get a spot on the team,' " recalled long-time Jets public relations director Frank Ramos. " 'Rad,' like John Dockery, was one of those good athletes who could help out on offense and defense in a pinch and also proved to be a very good special teams player."​

The Jets waived Rademacher in the '69 preseason and he moved on to Boston for his final two pro seasons. He had the best pro receiving game of his career as a Patriot in a loss to the Jets in '69 with six catches for 78 yards and his first pro touchdown.​



William Rademacher Obituary – May 13, 1942 – April 2, 2018







As for Tom Beer, he was one of many players that Clive Rush just had to have, then couldn't make up his mind what he wanted to do with him. In one of his many foolish moves, on April 14, 1970, Rush traded 26-year old Jim Whalen to Denver for Tom Beer in an attempt to get bulkier at the tight end position. Rush changed his mind, and ordered Beer to gain weight, to play guard . . . then a couple months later realized the Pats were short of tight ends, and switched Beer back to TE - after he had already put on 30 pounds. Rather than this being a win-win it was a lose-lose deal for both players and both teams, and Rush was fired midway through the season.

Tom Beer played in all 42 games for the Patriots from 1970-72, with 25 receptions and three touchdowns. After retiring from pro football following his last season in New England, he wrote a book about his football memoirs. Titled Sunday's Fools: Stomped, Tromped, Kicked and Chewed in the NFL, the work recounts playing for what was at that time the two worst franchises in pro football during his career, the Denver Broncos and the Boston/New England Patriots.














May 15, 1976:
New England signs free agents Bob Mitch, Don Callahan, Jim Jerome and John Delaney.

None of these four survived roster cuts, or ever played in the NFL.





May 15, 1995:
Former Patriot RB Billy Lott passes away at the age of 60.

Lott was traded to the Pats along with Babe Parilli in a one-sided 1961 blockbuster trade. He led the team with 11 touchdowns in his first season with the Patriots, but was slowed down by injuries in 1962. Lott retired following the 1963 season, finishing with 14 touchdowns during his three seasons playing for the Patriots, and 20 TD overall.








 
Today in Patriots History
News from the Aughts


May 15, 2001:
RG Sale Isaia is released, and Lee Gissendaner is hired as a scout.

This was the end of Isaia's pro football career. The 6'5, 320 pounder was originally signed by the Browns as an undrafted rookie from UCLA in 1995. He spent 1995, '97 and '98 on IR before signing with the Patriots on August 30, 2000, three days after second round draft pick Adrian Klemm was placed on PUP.

Two weeks into the season Max Lane was injured, and Isaia suddenly went from a guy that was only on the roster due to one player's injury, to starting because of another injury to a different player. Thrust from being a roster bubble guy to starter, he played in all 16 games with 14 starts for the Pats in 2000, but struggled at times. The Pats ranked 26th in rushing and yielded 48 sacks, and went 5-11. The following year Mike Compton was signed as a veteran free agent and took over at left guard, and Joe Andruzzi moved from LG to RG - making Isaia expendable.










May 15, 2003:
Patriots sign rookie free agent offensive lineman Dave Petruziello, and released of rookie free agent guard Kyle Croskey

Neither lasted long, or ever played in the NFL. The only mention of either that I could find was Croskey getting into a brief May 3 camp fight with an opposing nose tackle by the name of Ken Kocher.

Petruziello, 23, was a four-year letterman at Michigan. The 6-foot-4-inch, 297-pound lineman was originally recruited from Lake Catholic High School in 1998 as a defensive lineman. He redshirted that year, but lettered as a red-shirt freshman in 1999, appearing in six games as a defensive end and defensive tackle. He appeared in all 12 games as a sophomore, including three starts, and recorded his first career sack at Northwestern. The following season, he made the transition in the trenches, moving from defensive line to offensive line. He started 10 of 12 games for the Wolverines as a junior and all 13 games as a senior. During his career, he played in four bowl games, concluding his collegiate career with a 38-30 victory over Florida in the 2003 Outback Bowl on January 1.​

Croskey, 22, signed with the Patriots on May 2, 2003 as a rookie free agent from Central Michigan following the recent NFL draft.​





May 15, 2006:
On the same day that Doug Flutie retired, two rookie free agents are signed: North Texas RB Patrick Cobbs and Minnesota WR Jakari Wallace.

Cobbs would be traded to Pittsburgh on September 1, and played in 54 games for the Dolphins from 2006-10. Jakari Wallace didn't appear to be anything special with the Gophers (37 catches for 559 yards an 0 TD in his junior and senior years combined), and never played any pro football.










May 15, 2007:
ILB Justin Warren of Texas A&M was released, 12 days after the rookie free agent and teammate of Ty Warren (no relation) was signed.

The 22-year-old Warren, of Texas A&M, was initially signed May 8 as a rookie free agent. The 6-foot-3, 237-pound Warren was a two-time first-team All-Big XII selection and led the Aggies in tackles as a junior (2005) and as a senior (2006).​

At the Patriots’ rookie minicamp over the past weekend, Warren spent most of the time on exercise equipment.​





May 15, 2008:
Patriots sign WR Robert Ortiz

Ortiz had two stints with the Pats and was on the team's practice squad, but he never appeared in any regular season games.

Ortiz (6-1, 188) first entered the NFL as a rookie free agent in 2006, with the Chargers. He also spent time with the Seahawks and in the Canadian Football League. In addition, he was a 13th-round selection in the All-American Football League draft.​

The former San Diego State product was the subject of a recent piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune, which focused on how he wasn’t giving up on his NFL dreams.​

Ortiz is a longer shot to make the Patriots’ roster, with the team stocked at receiver. Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gafffney, Chad Jackson, Kelley Washington and Sam Aiken top the depth chart.​




 
Did Lee Gissendaner actually get hired or did he use the Pats? The GB Packers official bio says he was promoted to Area Scout in 2001 until 2014.

 
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