1960 Boston Patriots season

1960 Boston Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Edward McKeever
Head coach	Lou Saban
Home field	Nickerson Field
Results
Record	5–9
Division place	4th AFL Eastern
Playoff finish	did not qualify
AFL All-Stars	no game played
Uniform

The Boston Patriots finished the inaugural American Football League's 1960 season with a record of five wins and nine losses, under their head coach Lou Saban, and thus were last place in the AFL's Eastern Division. The team played their home games at Boston University's Nickerson Field (formerly the site of the Boston Braves' home ballpark Braves Field).

Staff

Boston Patriots 1960 staff
Front Office President – Billy Sullivan General Manager – Edward McKeever Head Coaches Head Coach – Lou Saban Offensive Coaches Offensive Backfield – Mike Holovak Offensive Line – Red Miller			Defensive Coaches Defensive Line – Jerry Smith Defensive Backfield – Joe Collier

Season summary

In 1960, the inaugural season for both the Boston Patriots and the American Football League, the team played in several important "firsts". The first ever AFL exhibition pre-season game was played between the Patriots and the Bills, which the Patriots won. The Patriots also played in the inaugural regular season game, a loss to the Broncos on September 9, 1960, in a contest played at Boston University's Nickerson Field. The field ran from the third-base line to right field. The Patriots started the year going 2–2, before running into a three-game losing streak. They played a five-game home stand, winning three of them to return their record to 5–5, before ending the season on a four-game slide. They finished the year with a 5–9 record, worst in the AFL's Eastern Division. Butch Songin was the leading passer, and Alan Miller the leading rusher. Gino Cappelletti was a defensive back and placekicker the first year. Just before the final game, a receiver was slow getting back to the huddle, so Gino Cappelletti filled in. He was impressive, and would be a receiver for the rest of his career.

Season results

See also: American Football League seasons

Week	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	Denver Broncos	L 13–10	0–1	Nickerson Field	21,597
2	at New York Titans	W 28–24	1–1	Polo Grounds	19,200
3	Buffalo Bills	L 13–0	1–2	Nickerson Field	20,732
4	Bye
5	at Los Angeles Chargers	W 35–0	2–2	L.A. Memorial Coliseum	18,226
6	at Oakland Raiders	L 27–14	2–3	Kezar Stadium	11,500
7	at Denver Broncos	L 31–24	2–4	Bears Stadium	12,683
8	Los Angeles Chargers	L 45–16	2–5	Nickerson Field	13,988
9	Oakland Raiders	W 34–28	3–5	Nickerson Field	8,446
10	New York Titans	W 38–21	4–5	Nickerson Field	11,653
11	Dallas Texans	W 42–14	5–5	Nickerson Field	14,721
12	Houston Oilers	L 24–10	5–6	Nickerson Field	27,123
13	at Buffalo Bills	L 38–14	5–7	War Memorial Stadium	14,335
14	at Dallas Texans	L 34–0	5–8	Cotton Bowl	12,000
15	at Houston Oilers	L 37–21	5–9	Jeppesen Stadium	22,352

Game 1: The Patriots lost to the Broncos 13–10 in the AFL season opener. The Patriots struck first, with a 34-yard field goal in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, Denver receiver Al Carmichael caught a pass in the flats and scampered 41 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Bronco Gene Mingo took a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. Later in the quarter Patriot receiver Jim Colclough lost a fumble on the Denver 38. However, two plays later, Patriot defensive back Chuck Shonta took an interception 60 yards to the Denver 10, setting up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Butch Songin to Colclough in the right side of the end zone. In the fourth quarter, the Patriots seemed to be on a game-winning drive until an interception at the Denver 2. The Broncos then ran 16 plays to run out the clock.

Game 2: The Patriots won a thriller at the Polo Grounds against the Titans, 28–24. The Patriots dug themselves into a hole, down 24 to 7 in the fourth quarter. They were down 24–21 on the last play of the game. The center, Mike Hudock, gave a low snap to the Titans punter, who fumbled and Patriot Chuck Shonta picked it up and raced 52 yards for the game-winning score.

Game 3: The Patriots were shut out 13–0 against the Bills, the highlight being a 58-yard touchdown pass from Tommy O'Connell to Carl Smith.

Game 4: The Patriots won their first decisive win of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers in Los Angeles. It began with an 11-play drive capped by a Gino Cappelletti field goal. On the following kickoff, Charger Don Norton fumbled, leading to a quick touchdown for Boston. The Patriots followed it up with a 19-yard touchdown pass. On the next drive, Jim Crawford scored a touchdown, set up by a 78-yard Billy Wells reception. A Harry Jacobs interception set up a Wells touchdown, and another Boston field goal wrapped up the day, as the Patriots rolled over the Chargers 35–0.

Game 5: The Patriots, after their terrific win over the Chargers, were given a rude awakening in Oakland. On just the third play of game, Jack Larscheid scored on an 87-yard run, and the Patriots never regained the lead. The Raiders quickly built up a 27–14 lead with 11:45 left to go in the first quarter. However, the Patriots twice drove deep into Oakland territory, both times winding up with Butch Songin throwing interceptions. The Patriots were sloppy throughout the game, with multiple unnecessary penalties and turnovers.

Game 6: The Patriots dropped a game that should have been theirs. Early in the third quarter, the Patriots led 24–0. Boston had dominated, with three Songin touchdown passes and a field goal. The Broncos were down but not out, and rallied back to stun the Patriots. In the last quarter and a half, the Broncos scored 31 unanswered points to win the game. Broncos quarterback Frank Tripucka lead the way, completing four touchdown passes to three different receivers. The game is still one of the largest deficits that a Patriot opponent has come back from to win.

Game 7: After an embarrassing loss several weeks before, the Chargers had revenge on their minds. They got it. The Chargers won the game by the time the first half arrived. When Paul Maguire fell on a fumble in the end zone early in the third quarter, they matched the 35-point lead the Patriots had in the previous game. Despite the Patriots' two following touchdowns, the Chargers ran over the Patriots 45–16.

Game 8: The Patriots faced the Raiders in a must-win game. The Patriots dominated throughout three quarters, aided by three Songin passing touchdowns. Boston held a 31 to 14 lead entering the fourth quarter, and seemed to be on the verge of their third win of season. The Raiders tried to pull off a similar comeback that the Broncos had two games earlier. The Raiders scored twice on running plays, and were soon driving for the game winning score. The Patriots managed to avoid a loss or tie, intercepting future Patriot quarterback Babe Parilli with just under two minutes to go. The Patriots had won just their third game of the season.

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Houston Oilers	10	4	0	.714	5–1	379	285	W2
New York Titans	7	7	0	.500	2–4	382	399	L1
Buffalo Bills	5	8	1	.385	3–3	296	303	L2
Boston Patriots	5	9	0	.357	2–4	286	349	L4

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.

Roster

All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1960 Boston Patriots.

Number	Name	Position	Notes
53	Tom Addison	LB
85	Jack Atchason	E
26	Walter Beach	DB/RB
52	Phil Bennett	LB
34	Joe Biscaha	E
54	Bill E. Brown	LB
33	Fred Bruney	DB
22	Ron Burton	HB
20	Gino Cappelletti	WR/K/DB	Uniform number 20 retired by the New England Patriots
23	Dick Christy	HB
23	Abe Cohen	G
81	Jim Colclough	WR
30	Jim Crawford	FB/HB
77	Bobby Cross	T/DT
34	Jake Crouthamel	HB
72	Al Crow	DT
56	Walt Cudzik	C/LB
77	Bill Danenhauer	DE
62	Jack Davis	G
89	Bob Dee	DE/DT	Uniform number 89 retired by the New England Patriots
74	Gerry DeLucca	T/DT
15	Tom Dimitroff	QB
76	Tony Discenzo	T
40	Larry Garron	HB
45	Jerry Green	E
14	Tom Greene	QB/P
67	Art Hauser	T/G
79	Jim Lee Hunt	DT/DE	Uniform number 79 retired by the New England Patriots
83	Harry Jacobs	LB/DE
73	Harry Jagielski	DT/T
24	Joe Johnson	HB/E/WR
34	Bill Larson	FB
60	Bob Lee	G
63	Chuck Leo	G
24	Walt Livingston	HB
86	Oscar Lofton	E
87	Mike Long	E
85	Don McComb	DE
75	George McGhee	T
32	Alan Miller	FB
25	Ross O'Hanley	DB
79	Al Richardson	DE
80	Jack Rudolph	LB
64	Tony Sardisco	G/LB
44	Gerhard Schwedes	HB
34	Chuck Shonta	DB
70	Hal Smith	DT
42	Robert Soltis	DB
11	Butch Songin	QB
45	Thomas Stephens	TE/DB
72	Bill Striegel	G/T/LB
22	Clyde Washington	DB/P
41	Billy Wells	HB
10	Harvey White	QB

Starters

The following players started the most games at their respective positions:

Pos	Offense	Pos	Defense	Pos	Special teams
QB	Butch Songin	LDE	Bob Dee	K	Gino Cappelletti
HB	Dick Christy	LDT	Harry Jagielski	P	Tom Greene
FB	Alan Miller	RDT	Hal Smith	PR	Billy Wells
FL	Jim Colclough	RDE	Tony Sardisco	KR	Dick Christy
SE	Oscar Lofton	LOLB	Tom Addison
TE	Thomas Stephens	MLB	Bill E. Brown
LT	George McGee	ROLB	Jack Rudolph
LG	Charley Leo	LCB	Clyde Washington
C	Walt Cudzik	RCB	Gino Cappelletti
RG	Jack Davis	LS	Fred Bruney
RT	Jerry DeLucca	RS	Ross O'Hanley

References

General

• "1960 Boston Patriots". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. Retrieved April 11, 2007.. For game-by-game results
• "1960 Boston Patriots Roster". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help). For team roster
• "New England Patriots (1960–present)". Sports E-cyclopedia. Tank Productions. 2007. Archived from the original on April 17, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help). For season summary

Notes