Patriots select three finalists for team Hall of Fame
Ken Bell
Patriots news release…
PATRIOTS 2013 HALL OF FAME FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
A 19-person nomination committee selects Tedy Bruschi, Chuck Fairbanks and Leon Gray as the 2013 Patriots Hall of Fame finalists
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that three
players have been selected as finalists for this year's induction into
the team's hall of fame. This year's finalists (listed in alphabetical
order) are linebacker Tedy Bruschi, head coach Chuck Fairbanks and offensive tackle Leon Gray.
Starting today (Patriots Day in Massachusetts), Patriots fans are
encouraged to vote for the Patriots player most deserving of hall of
fame enshrinement. Fans can vote on www.patriots.com
for the next month. Voting will end on May 15 and the Patriots will
announce the 2013 Patriots Hall of Fame selection in early June.
This year's selection by the fans will become the 21st
person to be enshrined into the Patriots Hall of Fame. He will join Gil
Santos, the Voice of the New England Patriots, at an induction ceremony
in September. Santos learned of his induction into the Patriots Hall of
Fame during a pregame ceremony to honor Santos and Gino Cappelletti
prior to the last home game of the 2012 season. Patriots Chairman and
CEO Robert Kraft surprised Santos with the announcement that the
legendary Voice of the Patriots would become the 20th person
to be inducted and just the second non-player to earn the honor as a
contributor for his off-field contributions to the team. It is the
highest honor the team can bestow an individual.
Santos, who valiantly overcame life-threatening health complications
early in 2012 to return to the broadcast booth last year, announced his
intention to retire after the 2012. For 36 seasons, spanning five
decades, he earned the moniker “Voice of the New England Patriots.” In
36 seasons, he missed just one game, a preseason game in 1971.
The Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held every September on
the plaza just outside The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon.
The outdoor ceremony is free and open to the public. Patriots fans of
all ages are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Beginning in 2007, the Patriots started a new hall of fame tradition,
inducting one player or head coach to The Hall each year. The process
for induction now involves a panel of media, alumni and staff, who
collectively nominate the players or head coaches most deserving of
induction. After the nominations are made, the committee votes and the
top three tallies become that year's finalists. The Patriots then give
their fans the opportunity to vote online to select each year's winner.
Earlier this month, a 19-person nomination committee met to discuss
this year's candidates for induction. Those votes were tallied and the
three finalists were revealed today. Now it is up to the fans to select
this year's honoree.
Fans are encouraged to vote any time between now and May 15, 2013.
Voters will be limited to one vote per computer IP address. The player
receiving the most votes will become the 19th player (or head coach) and
21st person to be named to the Patriots Hall of Fame. This year's finalists are listed below:
Tedy Bruschi
was called the “perfect player” by Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick
at the press conference to announce Bruschi's retirement just prior to
the start of the 2009 season. As a seven-time team captain, Bruschi's
relentless work ethic and on-field intensity helped set the tone for the
entire team. Bruschi was originally drafted by the Patriots in the
third round of the 1996 NFL Draft. That year, the Patriots won the AFC
Championship and appeared in Super Bowl XXXI. It was the first of five
Super Bowl appearances by Bruschi during his 13-year NFL career. During
those 13 seasons, Bruschi helped propel the Patriots to 11 winning
records, nine playoff seasons, including eight as division
championships, five conference crowns and three Super Bowl titles. In
Bruschi's 211 career games (including regular-season and playoffs), the
Patriots had a 144-67 (.682) record, including a 16-6 (.727) playoff
mark. Bruschi earned his first Pro Bowl honors following the 2004 season
after co-captaining a Patriots defense that allowed just 16.25 points
per game, the third fewest in franchise history. Bruschi is the only
player in NFL history to return four consecutive interceptions for
touchdowns and his career total of four picks returned for scores ranks
second in Patriots history. Bruschi is the only Patriots linebacker to
return multiple interceptions for scores in a single season (2002 and
2003), which is tied for fourth in NFL history among linebackers. Beyond
his impressive numbers, fans and peers alike revered him for his
accomplishments off the field. After Bruschi suffered a stroke in
February 2005, he dedicated himself to raising funds and awareness to
fight stroke along with the American Stroke Association. He established
“Tedy's Team” to help raise funds and awareness to battle stroke, the
number one cause of disability in the United States.
Chuck Fairbanks became
the sixth head coach in team history when he joined the organization in
the dual capacity of general manager and head coach on Jan. 26, 1973.
His first NFL draft that year included Pro Football Hall of Fame guard
John Hannah, Patriots Hall of Fame running back Sam Cunningham and wide
receiver Darryl Stingley. Other Fairbanks picks included Pro Football
Hall of Famer Mike Haynes (1976), Patriots Hall of Famers Steve Nelson
(1974), Steve Grogan (1975) and Stanley Morgan (1977), as well as many
other fan favorites and star players like Ray Hamilton (1973), Russ
Francis (1975), Pete Brock (1976), Tim Fox (1976), Raymond Clayborn
(1977) and Mosi Tatupu (1978) to name a few. In 1976, after three
patient years of rebuilding, he helped the Patriots reach the playoffs
with an 11-3 record. It was the most wins in franchise history and
remained the highest winning percentage by a Patriots team until the
2003 season. The Patriots lost a close game on a controversial call to
the eventual Super Bowl Champion Oakland Raiders. Fairbanks led the
Patriots to an AFC East title in 1978 with an 11-5 record and the team's
first home playoff game in franchise history, but the second-seeded
Patriots lost to the Houston Oilers in an AFC Divisional playoff game.
Fairbanks finished his career with the Patriots with a 46-39 regular
season record and an 0-2 record in the postseason. He introduced the 3-4
defense to the NFL during his Patriots tenure, which remains an
important part of his NFL legacy.
Leon Gray
was a third-round draft pick in 1973 by the Miami Dolphins as a tackle
out of Jackson State. He was cut by Miami before the start of the season
and claimed off waivers by New England. By the 1976 season, he was
viewed as one of the best left tackles in the game. He was a key reason
that QB Steve Grogan was sacked for a team-low of just 14 sacks in 1977.
Along with Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Hannah, the two
formed what was generally considered the best guard/tackle tandem in
the NFL. At the end of the 1976 season, Gray was selected to play in the
Pro Bowl, the first of two such honors as a Patriot and the first of
four trips to the Pro Bowl during his NFL career. In 1976, Gray helped
power a Patriots rushing game that averaged 210.6 yards per game (which
remains a franchise record) and led the Patriots to their first 11-win
season in franchise history. In 1978, Gray once again paved the way as
the Patriots surpassed their season rushing record with 3,165 yards, an
NFL record that still stands 35-years later. Gray was rewarded for his
role by being named a First-Team All-Pro by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly
and the PFWA. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl for the second time.
After six seasons with the Patriots, Gray finished his career with
Houston (1979-81) and New Orleans (1982-83).
About the Patriots Hall of Fame
The Patriots Hall of Fame was officially formed in 1991 after John
Hannah became the first Patriots player to be inducted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame. With the hall of fame, the Patriots created a new
way of honoring their greatest players. It wasn't until 2008, with the
opening of The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon, that
Patriots players, past and present, truly had a place to call home that
they could share with their fans. Now, enshrinement into The Hall is an
honor befitting of the franchise's greatest players, with 30-foot video
pylons displaying each enshrinee. Beginning in 2007, fans became part of
the hall of fame tradition and active participants in the selection
process.
This
year's enshrinee will join 20 other Patriots' greats and two
contributors as a member of the New England Patriots' Hall of Fame
(listed in alphabetical order below with year of induction):
Bruce Armstrong (2001)
Drew Bledsoe (2011)
Troy Brown (2012)
Nick Buoniconti (1992)
Gino Cappelletti (1992)
Ben Coates (2008)
Sam Cunningham (2010)
Bob Dee (1993)
Steve Grogan (1995)
John Hannah (1991)
Mike Haynes (1994)
Jim Lee Hunt (1993)
Stanley Morgan (2007
Jon Morris (2011)
Jim Nance (2009)
Steve Nelson (1993)
Vito “Babe” Parilli (1993)
Andre Tippett (1999)
Contributors:
William H. “Billy” Sullivan, Jr. (2009)
Gil Santos (2013)
