In 1960, the Patriots entered the American Football League, which merged with the NFL in 1966.

During the 1960s, the Patriots played at several local stadiums.

Their home stadium shifted from Boston University (1960-62) to Fenway Park (1963-66) to Boston College (1967-69) before the team played a full year at Harvard in 1970.

They moved to Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, their current home, in time for the 1971 season.

"My father's preference was to play at Harvard. It was the biggest facility and the best true football facility," Patrick Sullivan says. "[The stadium] is great in terms of watching a football game.

"From a sideline perspective, it is one of the best football stadiums in the country for watching a game in that you are very close to what is going on the football field," Patrick Sullivan says.

'Like the Retreat from Warsaw'

The Patriots--who became the New England Patriots after they moved to Foxboro in 1971--stumbled to a fifth-place finish in the AFC East during their year at Harvard.

The team won its first regular season game at Harvard Stadium against Shula's Miami Dolphins before a crowd of 32,807.

However, the team was defeated the next week by Joe Namath and his New York Jets, 31-21, before a crowd of 36,040.

And despite the fact that the squad included the likes of current Kansas City Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer and current Patriot radio color commentator Gino Cappelletti, the Patriots did not win another game at Harvard Stadium.

Overall, the Patriots had a dismal 2-12 record under head coach Clive Rush and ended the season at Harvard by losing to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 35-14.

"Before the last game of the season against the Vikings, there was a huge blizzard, and of course, Harvard was not going to clear it up. People were standing up the whole game and since the press box was open, we were all standing up too," says McDonough.

McDonough adds, "I remember standing on top of the stadium at the end of the game and looking across the parking lot. It was like the retreat from Warsaw, everyone was trudging the snow, people were throwing snowballs."

Up Close and Personal