Jim Donaldson - Then Belichick Said to Brady. . .: The Best New England Patriots Stories Ever Told

To Sandra, who has written the best chapters of my life

table of contents

foreword by Andre Tippett

Ive known Jim Donaldson since 1982, the year I was drafted by the New England Patriots. Over my three-decade career as a Patriots player and employee, Jim has been a constant for me, first as a journalist and then as a friend. Having covered the New England Patriots since 1979, he is uniquely qualified to tell the story of the franchise.

When I gave my Pro Football Hall of Fame speech in August 2008, I made a point to speak about my high school motto, Truth, Honor, and Light. Frank Verducci, my coach at Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey, used this motto as a tool to teach his players the proper mind-set for the game of football. In Truth , we were taught to recognize our strengths as well as our weaknesses and to admit our mistakes. In Honor , we were taught to be proud of our name and to represent our family, our team, and our community. In Light , we were taught the importance of education and learning.

The Patriots are the only professional team for which Ive ever played or been affiliated with, and I have carried those values I learned in high school with me throughout my career. They have allowed me to always consider my association with this franchise as a badge of honor. When we were the worst in the league and when we were the best in the league, when we were awful and when we were great, I have always been proud to be a New England Patriot.

I never wavered during the tough years, even when friends suggested that I should try to leave the organization. Playing for the Sullivan family, I watched as they did everything they could to keep the franchise alive. Despite the cards they were dealt, I was always treated with the utmost professionalism. In 1994 the Kraft family brought new perspective and fresh ideas. I was fortunate to witness this up close when Robert Kraft, in his first year as owner, hired me immediately after my retirement. We began to market the team more aggressively and change the fan experience. The Krafts not only held their players accountable, they held the fans accountable for their behavior. They changed the perception of what it meant to be associated with the Patriots. They promised a Super Bowl championship, and they have delivered three. I have been lucky enough to be around for it all.

With all the recent success, the highlight of my career is still the 1985 season, which is one of the many subjects explored in this book. We had gotten close in 1984, winning nine games and having Raymond Berry step in midway through the season. We had a renewed sense of what our potential was, and Berry was the perfect coach for the team at that time. The team made a pact that we would all participate in the off-season conditioning program, an experience that strengthened our bond as teammates. Five games into the 1985 season, though, we hadnt reached our full potential, and our chance to capitalize was slowly slipping away from us. Much has been made of my tirade in the locker room after the Cleveland Browns game, when my emotions and desire to win got the best of me. That game jump-started us, and we went on to have what was at that point the best and most exciting Patriots season in the franchises history. We qualified for the playoffs as a wild card and went on to win the AFC championship by beating the Jets, Raiders, and Dolphinswinning all three games on the roadbefore losing to a tremendous Chicago Bears team in Super Bowl XX. It was a truly great year for the team, the fans, and the entire New England region.

As the years have slipped by, the memories of that season and many others have become ancient history. But those who were around to witness them can still relay the stories in vivid detail. That is where Jim Donaldson comes in.

Andre Tippett

New England Patriots Hall of Fame, 1999

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2008

acknowledgments

John Hannah says, in the pages of this book, The greatest time in my life was being in that locker room. Ive never been able to find anything to replace it. I wish I could do it all over again. Id do it in a heartbeat.

I could say much the same thing about my life in the press box.

I never wanted to do anything else other than write about sports, and Ive never regretted the decision. Its been a great time. I wish I could do it all over again. Id do it in a heartbeat.

The 2010 season will mark the beginning of the fifth decade in which Ive covered the New England Patriots. My first season was 1979, so 2009 will be the 31st year Ive been writing about the team. Ive seen some unforgettable games in that time, but its the people Ive met over the years that Ill always remember because theyve given me my fondest memories.

Many of those people helped immeasurably in the recalling and retelling of these Patriots stories. People like Ron Hobson, who covered the Patriots from their first season in 1960 until his retirement after the 2007 season and who is responsible for turning me from a pretty good tennis player into a not-very-good golfer; longtime Patriots play-by-play man Gil Santos, who tells these Patriots stories in a basso profundo voice made for radio; Gino Cappelletti, who as star player, then assistant coach, and now as analyst for nearly 30 years on the radio broadcast of the teams games truly has seen it allfrom the teams first training camp through its five Super Bowl appearances.

A tip of the Patriots cap to coaches Raymond Berry, Bill Parcells, Ron Erhardt, Ron Meyer, and Pete Carrollall of whom were a joy to cover and to be around. To Joe Mendes, a great friend. And, sadly, to the late Bucko Kilroy, Dick Steinberg, and Bill McPeak, who took the time to teach me about the game they knew so much about. Thanks, also, to players such as Hannah, Steve Grogan, Pete Brock, Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi, Andre Tippett, Jon Morris, Irving Fryar, Steve Nelson, Bob Harpo Gladieux, Troy Brown, and so many others who have made the Patriots so interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable over so many years.

Most helpful in putting this book together were Bryan Morry, executive director of the Hall at Patriot Place; Casey OConnell, always ready with quick answers to arcane questions; and OConnells boss in the Patriots media-relations department, team vice president Stacey James.

Nor could it have been finished without Meghan Donaldson, who since has taken her editing skills across the pond to a publishing house in Dublin; Lynda and Al Bagley, whose contributions have been many and varied; and the supportiveand patientAdam Motin at Triumph Books.

introduction

To measure how far the Patriots have come, you have to remember where they started.

They are the Johnny-come-latelies of Bostons major professional sports teams. When the Pats played their first season in 1960, the Red Sox had been in business since 1903 and had been playing in Fenway Park, their lyric little bandbox of a ballpark, beloved throughout New England, since 1912. The Red Sox hadnt won a World Series since 1918, but hope springs eternalespecially in the spring, when baseball season begins. And the Yankees couldnt win every year, could they? After all, the White Sox had won the American League pennant in 1959, using a combination of pitching, speed, and defense. And if they could knock off the powerful Yankees, then perhaps the Red Sox could, tooeven though they didnt have much pitching, or any speed, or, for that matter, particularly good defense.

Still, the Red Sox were the team everybody in New England lovedeven more than the Celtics, who were churning out championships as if on an assembly lineone after another, after another, after yet another.