New England Patriots - Before the Brady-Belichick Era The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Boston metropolitan area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as members of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play their home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 35 km southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who bought the team in 1994. They have sold out every home game since 1994. In 1959, Boston businessman Billy Sullivan (September 13, 1915 – February 23, 1988) applied for a National Football League franchise in Boston. The NFL rejected his offer, in part because five previous attempts at NFL franchises in Boston had failed or relocated. AFL Franchise After the NFL denied his request, Sullivan sought to become a member of the newly formed American Football League. He led a consortium that secured the league's eighth and final team for its inaugural season in 1960. On February 20, 1960, residents were able to submit ideas for the official name of the Boston football team. The most popular choice—and the one Sullivan selected—was "Boston Patriots," with "Patriots" referring to the colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against British rule during the American Revolution and, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation, heavily involving the then-colony of Massachusetts. Immediately afterward, cartoonist Phil Bissell of The Boston Globe developed the "Pat Pat Patriot" logo. The Boston Patriots paid a franchise fee of $25,000 ($278,455.33 in 2026). Sullivan appointed his son, Patrick, as general manager and his other son, Chuck, as executive vice president. In 1964, Sullivan helped the AFL negotiate a five-year, $30 million television contract with NBC. Post-Merger Years (1970–2000) When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference (AFC) East division, where they still play. In March 1971, the team settled at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, their home for the next 30 years, and to encompass all of New England, they announced a new name, Bay State Patriots, but the NFL rejected it; on March 22, 1971, the team said it would change its name to New England Patriots. During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success under coach Chuck Fairbanks, earning a playoff berth in 1976 – as a wild card team – and in 1978 – as AFC East champions. They lost in the first round on both occasions. The next coach, Ron Meyer, led the team to the playoffs in the 1982 season, which was shortened by a strike that lasted 57 days. That season, during a game that became known as "The Snowplow Game" against the Miami Dolphins on December 12, 1982, in icy conditions, the game remained scoreless until the fourth quarter. With 4:45 remaining, Patriots coach Meyer signaled to snowplow operator Mark Henderson to specifically clear a space on the field for New England kicker John Smith. Smith made the 33-yard field goal, giving the Patriots a 3-0 victory. Due to the weather conditions, an emergency rule was implemented, allowing referees to call timeouts and authorizing stadium maintenance personnel to use equipment to clear field markings. Dolphins coach Don Shula, believing this violated league rules, pointed out that the league's unfair play clause allowed the league to overturn the result. Shula met with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle a few days later to formally protest the game's outcome. While Rozelle agreed with Shula that the use of the plow gave the Patriots an unfair advantage, he said he had never reversed the outcome of a game and wouldn't start doing so for any reason, including cheating. The game's head referee, Chuck Heberling, later noted: "We clearly told Coach Shula that we would have cleared their area as well." Henderson, a former inmate on parole, jokingly commented: "What are they going to do, throw me in jail?" The following year, the NFL banned the use of snowplows on the field during a game. Meyer never had a losing season, but was fired in 1984 due to a poor relationship with the players and management. He was replaced by Hall of Famer Raymond Berry, who in 1985 led the team to its first Super Bowl XX, which they lost to the Chicago Bears 46-10. The Patriots became the first team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl by winning three playoff games on the road. Berry left the team after a disappointing 1989 season, and his replacement, Rod Rust, lasted only one season, 1990, during which the Patriots had a record of 1 win and 15 losses. Ownership Turbulence During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Patriots changed owners several times, being purchased from the Sullivan family first by Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to James Orthwein in 1992. Although Orthwein's tenure as owner was short and controversial, he oversaw important changes to the team, beginning with the hiring of former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells in 1993. Orthwein and his marketing team then challenged the overwhelming preference of Patriots fans and commissioned the NFL to develop a new visual identity and logo, as well as changing the primary colors from the traditional red, white, and blue to blue and silver on the team's uniforms. Orthwein intended to move the team to his hometown of St. Louis (where it would have been renamed the St. Louis Stallions), but instead sold the team in 1994 for $175 million to Boston tycoon Robert Kraft, who had purchased the Patriots' then-stadium, Foxboro Stadium, for $22 million when the stadium went bankrupt. The purchase included the team's lease, which extended until 2001. When the team's owner at the time, Victor Kiam, attempted to move the franchise to Jacksonville, Florida, Kraft refused to rescind the lease, forcing the team to remain in Foxborough. When James Orthwein, who bought the team from Kiam, planned to move it to St. Louis, Missouri, Orthwein offered Kraft $75 million to terminate the stadium lease. Kraft, a lifelong Patriots fan who didn't want to see the team leave New England (recalling the Boston Braves' departure), refused the offer. With the lease in hand, Kraft had complete control over the team's fate. This forced him to make a then-record offer of $172 million to buy the entire franchise in 1994 and ensure it remained in New England. Continuing as head coach under Kraft's ownership, Parcells would lead the Patriots to two playoff appearances, including Super Bowl XXXI (after the 1996 season), which they lost to the Green Bay Packers 35-21. Pete Carroll, Parcells' successor, would also lead the team to the playoffs twice, in 1997 and 1998, before being fired after the 1999 season. Alex