Sports Team History

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages
  • Home
  • Sports History
    • Baseball History
    • Basketball History
    • College History
    • Football History
    • Hockey History
    • Soccer History
  • Greatest Player Polls
  • STH News

Boston Patriots Team History

NFL Logo Tourney
Sports Market History
Sports News History
Boston Patriots




  • 1960
  • 1970
  • boston patriots 1960

    Boston Patriots Team Formation

    Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth and final franchise of the developing American Football League (AFL) on November 16, 1959. The following winter, locals submitted thousands of ideas for the Boston football team’s official name. Sullivan chose “Boston Patriots,” which was suggested by 74 fans, among them Larry Kepnes. Immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell developed the “Pat ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • AFL to NFL

    NFL and AFL Merge

    When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference East (AFC East) division, where they still play today. The following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which would serve as their home for the next 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would ...
    Read More
    See Full Story

Patriots Primary Logo
Patriots Alternate Logo
Patriots Wordmark Logo

History of the Patriots

An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of the two leagues. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971. The Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001, then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season. The Patriots rivalry with the New York Jets is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL.

Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL in 1970 through the AFL–NFL merger. The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston until the franchise moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to the New England Patriots. Home games were played at Foxboro Stadium until 2002 when the stadium was demolished alongside the opening of Gillette Stadium. The team began utilizing Gillette Stadium for home games the same year.





Established
1960

City
Boston

League History
1970 - Present / National Football League
1960 - 1970 / American Football League

Team History
1971 - Present / New England Patriots
1960 - 1970 / Boston Patriots

Nickname
Patriots - Seventy-four fans suggested Patriots in the name-the-team contest that was conducted by the management group of Boston’s original AFL franchise in 1960. Originally located in Boston, was named the Patriots because of the area’s heritage as the birthplace of the American Revolution.

Championship
Super Bowl 0
2019, 2017, 2015, 2005, 2004, 2002
AFL Championship 0

Stadium
2003 - Present / Gillette Stadium
2002 / CMGI Field
1990 - 2001 / Foxboro Stadium
1983 - 1989 / Sullivan Stadium
1971 - 1982 / Schaefer Stadium
1970 / Harvard Stadium
1969 / Alumni Stadium
1963 - 1968 / Fenway Park
1960 - 1962 / Nickerson Field

Owner
1994 - Present / Robert Kraft
1992 - 1994 / James Orthwein
1987 - 1992 / Victor Kiam
1960 - 1987 / Billy Sullivan

Who is the greatest Boston Patriots?
  • Add your greatest player

To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.

Retired Number
20 / Gino Cappelletti
40 / Mike Haynes
57 / Steve Nelson
73 / John Hannah
78 / Bruce Armstrong
79 / Jim Lee Hunt
89 / Bob Dee

*Blue is this team’s history

Football Score

Sports News History

Sports News Worth Knowing

RSS NFL Headline News

  • Sources: Raiders hosting Kaepernick for workout
  • Fantasy Football: Should you fade Round 1 RBs in favor of WRs?
  • Roger Goodell says the NFL is ‘nearing the end of the investigation’ in the Deshaun Watson case
  • What the NFL says, and does, are wildly different
  • Injuries on NFL punts are up 50%: What’s the cause? What’s the fix?

Sports Market History

Sports Team Marketplace of Champions!

Gameday Tailgating

  • MasterPieces MLB Fanzy Dice Game
    Perfect for 2-4 Players ages 6 and up 20 challenge…
  • WinCraft MLB Arizona Diamondbacks Polyester Flag
    3'x5' in Size with two Metal Grommets for attaching to…
  • MasterPieces NFL Matching Game
    Made in the USA and Imported Matching Game Features your…
  • Proline NFL Houston Texans Recreational Cornhole Set
    Two officially licensed 2' x 3' tailgate size cornhole boards,…
  • WinCraft MLB Arizona Diamondbacks Stars and Stripes Flag
    3'x5' in Size with two Metal Grommets for attaching to…

NFL Logo Battle

NFL Greatest Player

NFL Teams
Menu
  • Arizona Cardinals
    • Phoenix Cardinals
    • St. Louis Cardinals
    • Chicago Cardinals
  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Buffalo Bills
  • Carolina Panthers
  • Chicago Bears
    • Chicago Staleys
    • Decatur Staleys
  • Cincinnati Bengals
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Dallas Cowboys
  • Denver Broncos
  • Detroit Lions
    • Portsmouth Spartans
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Houston Texans
  • Indianapolis Colts
    • Baltimore Colts
    • Dallas Texans
  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Kansas City Chiefs
    • Dallas Texans
  • Las Vegas Raiders
    • Oakland Raiders
    • Los Angeles Raiders
  • Los Angeles Chargers
    • San Diego Chargers
  • Los Angeles Rams
    • St. Louis Rams
    • Cleveland Rams
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Minnesota Vikings
  • New England Patriots
    • Boston Patriots
  • New Orleans Saints
  • New York Giants
  • New York Jets
    • Titans of New York
  • Philadelphia Eagles
  • Pittsburgh Steelers
    • Pittsburgh Pirates
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Seattle Seahawks
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Tennessee Titans
    • Tennessee Oilers
    • Houston Oilers
  • Washington Commanders
    • Washington Football Team
    • Washington Redskins
    • Boston Redskins
    • Boston Braves
  • Proposed Teams
    • Baltimore Bombers

STH News

"Latest Sports Team History News"

Best Stadiums in the Premier League History

May 26, 2022

The Epic Transformation of the Toronto Raptors

May 23, 2022

Greatest and Biggest Comebacks in NFL History

May 19, 2022

The Best Teams in the NBA in the 21ST Century

May 18, 2022

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages
Sports Logo History
Sports News History
Sports Market History
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer Sports Team History
  • Privacy Policy

Sports Team History
© 2013 - 2022 Sports Team History
Managed by Sports History Group
  • Home
  • Sports History
    • Baseball History
    • Basketball History
    • College History
    • Football History
    • Hockey History
    • Soccer History
  • Greatest Player Polls
  • STH News