List of New England Patriots retired numbers

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.

Patriots history

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]

Retired numbers

Key
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]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Players | Pro Football Hall of Fame". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "Team Facts | Pro Football Hall of Fame". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  3. ^ "Robert H. Dee, 46, End For the Boston Patriots". The New York Times. April 20, 1979. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  4. ^ "Bob Dee - Defensive lineman | 1960-1967 | The Patriots Hall of Fame". Patriots Hall of Fame. June 8, 1993. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "New England Patriots Team Records, Leaders, and League Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  6. ^ "Gino Cappelletti Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "Mike Haynes Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  8. ^ "Steve Nelson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "John Hannah Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Bruce Armstrong Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jim Lee Hunt Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "Bob Dee Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
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