1970 Boston Patriots season

The 1970 Boston Patriots season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League and eleventh overall. They ended the season with a record of two wins and twelve losses, fifth (last) in the AFC East Division.

1970 Boston Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	George Sauer
Head coach	Clive Rush (quit, medical reasons; 1–6) John Mazur (interim, 1–6)
Home field	Harvard Stadium
Results
Record	2–12
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	C Jon Morris
AP All-Pros	None
Uniform
← 1969 Patriots seasons 1971 (New England) →

This was the final season as the “Boston” Patriots, as they moved southwest to Foxborough, Massachusetts the next season and became the “New England” Patriots. The final season as Boston did not go as planned, as the Patriots struggled all season and finished 2–12, the worst record in the NFL. Home games in 1970 were played at Harvard Stadium, their fourth home venue and third in as many seasons.

After taking the season opener at home from the Miami Dolphins, Boston lost nine in a row before beating the Buffalo Bills on the road. The season concluded with an embarrassing 45–7 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Head coach Clive Rush, age 39, quit midway through the season because of medical reasons, with Boston's record at 1–6.^[1][2][3] His replacement, offensive backfield coach John Mazur, did not do much better of a job, but he continued as head coach the next season. The Patriots scored the fewest points in the league in 1970 with 149, and allowed 361; they missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season.

Despite being a Super Bowl quarterback, no NFL team made contact with 32-year-old Joe Kapp until after the start of the regular season.^[4] Prior to the 1969 season, the Minnesota Vikings had exercised the option clause of his contract, so Kapp had played the entire season without a new contract. It was unusual for teams to use the team's option and not to offer a new contract prior to a season. This dispute made him a free agent for the 1970 season, by the NFL's own rules. The Patriots signed him on October 2 to a four-year contract,^[5][6][7] making him the highest paid player in the league. The Patriots had to give up strong safety John Charles and a first-round draft pick in 1972 (used to select Stanford linebacker Jeff Siemon).^[8] Kapp's first appearance was on October 11 at Kansas City, relieving starter Mike Taliaferro in the third quarter of a 23–10 loss to the team which manhandled Kapp and the Vikings in the Super Bowl nine months prior.^[9][10]

November losses vs. the Buffalo Bills (45–10) and St. Louis Cardinals (31–0) marked the last time the Patriots were beaten by 30 or more points in consecutive games until 2023.

The Vikings paid Kapp back in full in week 13, rolling to a 35–14 victory in the Patriots' final game at Harvard and in Boston prior to the move to Foxborough.^[11]

The Patriots' poor record was the worst in the 26-team league, but gave them the first overall selection in the 1971 NFL draft. They took quarterback Jim Plunkett, the Heisman Trophy winner from Stanford, upset winner of the Rose Bowl.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1970 NFL Draft

1970 Boston Patriots draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Phil Olsen	Defensive tackle	Utah State	Injured prior to the season
3	56	Mike Ballou	Linebacker	UCLA
4	83	Eddie Ray	Running back	LSU
5	107	Bob Olson	Linebacker	Notre Dame
7	160	Odell Lawson	Running back	Langston
9	212	Dennis Wirgowski	Defensive end	Purdue
10	239	Henry Brown	Wide receiver	Missouri
11	264	Dennis Bramlett	Tackle	UTEP
12	291	Greg Roero	Defensive tackle	New Mexico Highlands
13	316	Ronnie Shelley	Defensive back	Troy State
14	343	Garvie Craw	Running back	Michigan
15	368	Kent Schoolfield	Wide receiver	Florida A&M
16	395	Otis McDaniel	Defensive end	Tuskegee
17	420	Joe Killingsworth	Wide receiver	Oklahoma
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[12]

Staff

1970 Boston Patriots staff

Front office President – Billy Sullivan General manager – George Sauer Director of player personnel – Rommie Loudd Head coaches Head coach – Clive Rush Interim head coach/offensive backfield – John Mazur Offensive coaches Receivers – Jerry Stoltz Offensive line – Bruce Beatty

Defensive coaches Defensive line – Jesse Richardson Linebackers – John Meyer Defensive backfield – Bill Elias

Source:

Roster

1970 Boston Patriots roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Brian Dowling 15 Kim Hammond 11 Joe Kapp 17 Mike Taliaferro Running backs (RB) 22 Sid Blanks 30 Carl Garrett 32 Odell Lawson 35 Jim Nance FB 36 Eddie Ray Wide receivers (WR) 81 Charley Frazier 84 Gayle Knief 33 Bill Rademacher 34 Ron Sellers 40 Bake Turner Tight ends (TE) 82 Tom Beer 86 Barry Brown

Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Gary Bugenhagen G 73 Tom Funchess T 74 Ezell Jones T 66 Angelo Loukas G 64 Mike Montler G 56 Jon Morris C 77 Tom Neville T 60 Len St. Jean G Defensive linemen (DL) 65 Houston Antwine DT 88 Ron Berger DT 74 Jim Lee Hunt DT 87 Ike Lassiter DE 85 Dennis Wirgowski DE 71 Mel Witt DE

Linebackers (LB) 57 John Bramlett 50 Jim Cheyunski 45 Dan Kecman 52 Ed Philpott 54 Marty Schottenheimer 53 Fred Whittingham 55 J. R. Williamson Defensive backs (DB) 27 Randy Beverly 41 Larry Carwell CB 23 Daryl Johnson CB 28 Art McMahon S 44 John Outlaw CB 26 Clarence Scott SS 42 Don Webb FS Special teams 20 Gino Cappelletti K 21 Tom Janik P

Reserve 72 Phil Olsen DT (IR) Rookies in italics

Source:

Regular season

Schedule

Main article: 1970 NFL season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 20	Miami Dolphins	W 27–14	1–0	Harvard Stadium	32,607	Recap
2	September 27	New York Jets	L 21–31	1–1	Harvard Stadium	36,040	Recap
3	October 4	Baltimore Colts	L 6–14	1–2	Harvard Stadium	38,235	Recap
4	October 11	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–23	1–3	Municipal Stadium	50,698	Recap
5	October 18	New York Giants	L 0–16	1–4	Harvard Stadium	39,091	Recap
6	October 25	at Baltimore Colts	L 3–27	1–5	Memorial Stadium	60,240	Recap
7	November 1	Buffalo Bills	L 10–45	1–6	Harvard Stadium	31,148	Recap
8	November 8	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 0–31	1–7	Busch Memorial Stadium	46,466	Recap
9	November 15	San Diego Chargers	L 14–16	1–8	Harvard Stadium	30,597	Recap
10	November 22	at New York Jets	L 3–17	1–9	Shea Stadium	61,822	Recap
11	November 29	at Buffalo Bills	W 14–10	2–9	War Memorial Stadium	31,427	Recap
12	December 6	at Miami Dolphins	L 20–37	2–10	Miami Orange Bowl	51,032	Recap
13	December 13	Minnesota Vikings	L 14–35	2–11	Harvard Stadium	37,819	Recap
14	December 20	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 7–45	2–12	Riverfront Stadium	60,157	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts	11	2	1	.846	6–1–1	8–2–1	321	234	W4
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	297	228	W6
New York Jets	4	10	0	.286	2–6	2–9	255	286	L3
Buffalo Bills	3	10	1	.231	3–4–1	3–7–1	204	337	L5
Boston Patriots	2	12	0	.143	2–6	2–9	149	361	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

1. "Rush quits as Pats coach". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. November 4, 1970. p. 17.
2. "Patriots select Mazur". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. November 4, 1970. p. 38.
3. "Coach clarifies release; hands team resignation". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 4, 1970. p. 11.
4. "Ex-player sees move to cool off Joe Kapp". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 1, 1970. p. 19.
5. "Patriots obtain Joe Kapp; terms being worked out". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 2, 1970. p. 3B.
6. "Patriots sign Kapp". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. October 2, 1970. p. 7.
7. "Kapp says 'We'll be a winner' after signing with Patriots". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 3, 1970. p. 10.
8. "Kapp predicts Patriots are going to be winners". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. October 3, 1970. p. 20.
9. "Chiefs still bother Kapp; Patriots shattered, 23-10". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. October 12, 1970. p. 15.
10. "Kansas City stops Boston Pats, 23-10". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 12, 1970. p. 8.
11. O'Hara, Dave (December 14, 1970). "Student beats master in Vikings-Pats game". The Day. (New Haven, Connecticut). Associated Press. p. 28.
12. "1970 Boston Patriots Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 17, 2022.