After practices, many players went to work at other jobs. Some were lawyers, others sold insurance. Coach Mike Holovak was on the racing commission and helped several players land jobs at Suffolk Downs.
Then there was “The Duke,’’ a.k.a. Gino Cappelletti, who would take part in training camp in Amherst, then drive east five nights a week to anchor WBZ television sportscasts. Broadcasting helped supplement his $7,500 salary.
The team offices were in a basement in Kenmore Square, and when it came time to draft players, reporters sat alongside as team officials flipped through the Street & Smith’s football guide to make the choice.
These were some of the modest beginnings of the local professional football franchise, which is celebrating its 50th birthday this season.
Hearing the stories and recollections brings to life an era in Patriots football that served as the roots for what has grown into a massive enterprise. Those who lived it - from ownership, to players and media members - echo a familiar theme: For all the prosperity the Patriots have enjoyed in recent years, it wasn’t anything like that in the 1960s.
Unlike today, when owners submit multimillion dollar bids for teams, the Patriots came to Boston in 1960 as the eighth and final member of the American Football League in an understated way behind the guidance of Billy Sullivan.
“My dad had gotten a call from Frank Leahy, the former coach at Boston College when he was the public relations guy there,’’ Pat Sullivan recalled. “Dad had also worked with him at Notre Dame. Frank was working for what was then the Los Angeles Chargers and he said, ‘We need one more franchise to fill this out. Are you interested?’
“Dad had tried to get a franchise in the NFL in 1957-58, but they wanted a stadium to be built and that wasn’t likely to happen in that timeframe. So when that call came, it wasn’t hard for my father at all. He felt that Boston would be a great market for a professional football team.’’
Sullivan cobbled together $25,000 of his own money that would have been put toward buying a summer cottage on Cape Cod’s Craigville Beach. He also recruited nine others to put in $25,000 each.
At that point, it was official. The Patriots were coming.
