The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Since their founding in 1960 as the Boston Patriots, over 1,000 players, including 10 Pro Football Hall of Famers have played for the team. [1] Of those players, eight have had their uniform numbers officially retired by the organization. [2] Professional sports franchises, including the Patriots, retire uniform numbers to recognize the contributions that a player has made towards the team. It is customary that after the uniform number is retired, it is no longer worn by future players with that team.
The earliest Patriot to have his number retired was Bob Dee (No. 89). Dee played defensive end for the Patriots for eight seasons where he was voted a four-time American Football League (AFL) All-Star, made the All-AFL second team four times, and made the Boston Patriots All-1960s Team. Dee also scored the first touchdown in the AFL, recovering a fumble in the end zone against the Buffalo Bills. [3] Dee retired from professional football in 1968, being inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 1993. [4]
No. | Retired number |
---|---|
Player | Name of player honored |
Position | Player position |
Tenure | Years played with the Patriots |
Retired | Year number was retired |
† | Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
New England Patriots retired numbers | |||||
No. | Player | Position | Tenure | Retired | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 | Gino Cappelletti | FL/K | 1960–1970 | 1971 | [5] [6] |
40 | Mike Haynes | CB | 1976–1982 | 1996 | [5] [7] |
57 | Steve Nelson | LB | 1974–1987 | 1988 | [5] [8] |
73 | John Hannah | G | 1973–1985 | 1990 | [5] [9] |
78 | Bruce Armstrong | T | 1987–2000 | 2001 | [5] [10] |
79 | Jim Lee Hunt | DT | 1960–1970 | 1971 | [5] [11] |
89 | Bob Dee | DE | 1960–1967 | 1968 | [5] [12] |
Gino Raymond Michael Cappelletti was an American professional football player. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was an All-Star in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots, winning the 1964 AFL Most Valuable Player Award. Cappelletti is a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, and the Patriots' All-1960s Team. He served as the Patriots' radio color commentator until July 2012. His nicknames included "the Duke" and "Mr. Patriot".
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