Today in Patriots History
Trivial and obscure Patriot birthdays
Happy 79th birthday to Doug Satcher
Born May 28, 1945 in Sandersville, Mississippi
Patriot LB, 1966-1968; uniform #58
Pats 9th round (75th overall) selection in the 1966 AFL draft, from Southern Miss
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July 1966 photo of Doug Satcher, from the Boston Public Library Arts Department via the Boston Herald-Traveler
Doug Satcher played in all 42 games during his three years with the Patriots, and was the starting RLB in '68. He was the lone bright spot in what was the
worst draft class in franchise history.
Doug Satcher | Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame
Doug Satcher
Football: 1963-1965
Baseball: 1964-1965
Inducted: April 30, 1983
Doug Satcher will be best remembered as one of the school's all-time great linebackers. Few people in the history of Southern Miss football could dominate the way Satcher could.
Not only did Satcher possess the physical tools to get the job done, he also possessed the intelligence to go along with it.
Aug 26, 1967: Washington RB A.D. Whitfield, (25), right, fumbles the pigskin on the Boston Patriots 30 yard line where it was recovered by Patriots Tom Addition, (out of view), in the first period of their exhibition game at Harvard Stadium. Identifiable players are, Patriots Ron Hall, (23), left foreground; Ed Toner, (75), center; Doug Satcher, (58), on ground at left, and Washington's Steve Thurlow, (44), left rear. The Patriots came up a bit short, losing 13-7.
Happy posthumous birthday to Bill Striegel, who would have been 88 today
Born May 28, 1936 in Easton, Kansas
Patriot LB/G, 1960; uniform #72
Died July 23, 1992 at the age of 56
Bill Striegel was an 8th round draft pick out of Pacific by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958. He played in five games for the Pats in their inaugural season, with one start. Striegel also played briefly for the Raiders.
Happy 62nd birthday to Eric Schubert
Born May 28, 1962 in Abington, Pennsylvania
Patriot K, 1987; uniform #1
Signed as a USFL free agent on March 29, 1985; re-signed 9/23/87 and again on 10/23/87
Eric Schubert began his pro football career with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL in 1983, son after his final season at Pitt was completed. He was signed by the Patriots early in 1985, a camp leg to give Tony Franklin an occasional break. The Pats waived Schubert on August 19.
In 1985 Bill Parcells was head coach of the Giants and in a bind. His starting kicker (veteran Ali Haji-Sheikh) was injured, so he signed an interim kicker, Jess Atkinson. In anticipation of Haji-Sheikh being ready to play again after the injury, he waived Atkinson. Problem was AHS was not yet ready to play.
Schubert had been with the G-men for about a week in training camp after being let go by New England, so Parcells re-signed him, taking him away from a nearby high school where he had been coaching football. Schubert delivered, booting five field goals in a 22-20 win. That performance turned the temporary assignment into a year-long deal.
Unfortunately the rest of his NFL career was not that great. The next year Schubert signed with the Cardinals and connected on just three of 11 field goal attempts. The Pats signed him as a strike-replacement player, but he played only one game: Tony Franklin crossed the line in the second week of the strike, and Schubert's NFL career was over. Schubert's one-game/Patriot career stat line reads 1-2 on field goal attempts (connecting on a 23-yarder that temporarily gave the Pats the lead) and 1-1 on extra points, for a total of four points scored. Schubert now works as
sales and marketing manager for Pride and Service Elevator in northern New Jersey.
Happy 53rd birthday to Chris Wing
Born May 28, 1971 in Redmond, Washington
Patriot LB, 1997 offseason
Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent from Boise State on April 25, 1997
Chris Wing was older than most rookies, having served in the Air Force . New head coach Pete Carroll waived him in preaseason, and after a brief time with Washington he caught on with Bill Parcells and the Jets.he later spent time with the Jets. Wing also played in NFL Europe.
When Chris Wing graduated from Redmond (Wash.) High School in 1989, few imagined he would go onto be a record-setting pass rusher at Boise State and play pro...
broncosports.com
Wing credits his time in the military for helping him pick out things during film study. His first squadron in the Air Force was the 7426 TRISS (Tactical Reconnaissance Intelligence Support Squadron).
"We flew in F-4Cs and had to analyze pictures to provide intelligence for the pilots," Wing said. "It really taught me to pay attention to the details when studying pictures."
As a senior defensive end, Wing set the Boise State single-season sack record with 20 and finished his career with 32, still the third-most by a Bronco. He was named All-Big West.
Wing was a business major with an emphasis in human resources and earned a degree from Boise State in 1997.
That year, he signed with the New England Patriots in Pete Carroll's first-year as the franchise's head coach.
After playing in some preseason games, Wing was cut by the Patriots. A tryout with the Washington Redskins did not go well, but the next day he worked out for the New York Jets.
Upon seeing head coach Bill Parcells, Wing walked up and introduced himself to the Pro Football Hall of Famer.
"When I was in New England, I didn't think I should have been cut," Wing said. "But I learned you have to stand up for yourself. Parcells was friends with (Youngstown State Head Coach) Jim Tresell, who had good things to say about me from the (1994) national championship game. Parcells sat down and watched film with me. The next day he called my house and talked with my stepdad. The day after that I was on a plane to sign with the Jets."
Wing was activated from the practice squad for two games as a rookie in 1997, the first of which his dad and stepmom were able to attend because they happened to be in New York for the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden.
In 1998, Wing was cut by the Jets after suffering a back injury. A year later, he was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Europe Draft by the Amsterdam Admirals and recorded 5.5 sacks in 1999. He returned to the NFL for a couple of workouts in 2000 before retiring.
He returned to Boise later that year and began working at Lamar Advertising. He currently works in sales for the company. His boss is Larry Alder, a free safety on Boise State's 1980 team that won the I-AA national championship.
Along his journey, Wing met his wife, a seven-year veteran of the Air Force who now works as a nurse, and the couple has two athletic boys.
"My Boise State story started with kindness," Wing said. "Pokey Allen was a players' coach and a very kind person. Sometimes people need a chance in life and I am so grateful that he gave me a chance. That was a guy you run through a wall for."
Boise State Athletics thanks Chris Wing as it honors him and all the veterans who have served our country with military service.
Other pro football players with New England connections born on this date:
Bruce Taylor, 76 (May 28, 1948)
Boston University, class of 1970
Bruce Taylor was the greatest football player in BU history and MVP of the 1969 Terrier football team that finished 9-1. He was a first round (17th overall) selection by San Francisco in the 1970 draft, and was a starting corner for the Niners through most of the '70s. Taylor led the NFL in punt return yardage his rookie season, and made the Pro Bowl the following year. He played in 114 NFL games (including five post season games), with 18 interceptions and ten fumble recoveries.
Bruce Taylor Sport: Football Year Graduated: 1970 Year Inducted: 1977 Regarded as the best defensive back ever to play for Boston University, Bruce Taylor's ...
www.goterriers.com
Eugene Robinson, 61 (May 28, 1963)
Weaver High School, Hartford CT, class of 1981
Eugene Robinson was a three-time Pro Bowl FS for Seattle, Green Bay, Atlanta and Carolina from 1985-2000, and won a ring with the Packers in SB31 versus the Patriots. Two years later with Atlanta he made a game-saving play in the NFCCG, breaking up a sure TD pass intended for Randy Moss. Two weeks after that game he became famous - or infamous - for being arrested for attempting to hire an undercover cop posing as a prostitute on the night before the Superbowl. Eugene Robinson played in 252 NFL games (plus 11 playoff games). His 57 career interceptions ranks 13th in NFL history.
Eugene Robinson was a talker throughout his 16-year career as a professional football player. With the Seahawks, with the Packers, with the Falcons and with the Panthers, before the season and after the season, at Super Bowls, in the locker…
www.courant.com
David Shula, 65 (May 28, 1959)
Dartmouth College, class of 1981
Don's son spent one season with the Colts as a PR/WR. He then worked with his dad in Miami as a WR coach and QB coach, and was hired as Cincinnati's head coach in 1992. While there the younger Shula set three NFL records. First, he was the youngest (32) HC in the modern era. Second, he was one half of the first, and only game coached by a father on one side of the field and the son on the other side.
More ignominious was a record in futility that may never be broken. The younger Shula lost 50 games faster (in 69 games) than any other head coach in the history of the National Football League. He was mercifully fired in 1996, finishing with a career record of 19-52 (.268).
After that Shula stayed out of football, working as an executive for Shula's Steak House. In 2018, after a 22-year absence from football, Shula returned to his alma mater to become the wide receivers coach at Dartmouth.
Recruiting Area: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming At the onset of the spring of 2018, the ...
dartmouthsports.com
Dave Shula: 'You can't blame everything on me'
www.cincinnati.com
In a case of
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, we have one last birthday trivia:
Michael "Blind Side" Oher, who was born May 28, 1986 in Memphis.
In the 2009 draft the Patriots traded down, sending 1.23 to Baltimore for 1.26 and 5.162.
The Ravens used that pick on
Michael Oher.
The Pats then traded down again, sending both of those picks to Green Bay for 2.41, 3.73 and 3.83.
The Packers used that pick on
Clay Matthews.
The Patriots finally made a pick, using 2.41 on
Darius Butler.
The Pats drafted
Brandon Tate with 3.83.
While this trade sequence sounds horrible thus far, it eventually got a little better.
3.73 was used on trades for
Julian Edelman and
Rob Gronkowski.
A few more old timers that played pro football in Boston that were born on May 28:
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Frank Nelson (5/28/23); single wing back for the 1948 Boston Yanks.
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Bill Paschal (5/28/21); FB/KR for the 1947-1948 Boston Yanks.
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Dave Smukler (5/28/14); FB/LB for the 1944 Boston Yanks.
Also born on May 28:
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Jim Thorpe (5/28/1888); All-American, College Football Hall of Famer, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Olympic gold medalist, pro baseball player, and perhaps the greatest athlete ever.
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Percy Harvin (5/28/1988); as a Florida Gator, Harvin accomplished the extremely rare feat of gaining over 1,500 yards receiving, while also rushing for over 1,500 yards.
