From The15 Vault – More Little-Known Beantown (and Foxborough) Sports Facts!
(Originally published August 16, 2019 )
Patriots QB/QT Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, with pick number 199!
Raymond Jean Borque originally wore sweater #7 for the Boston Bruins, switching to #77 when the team retired Phil Esposito’s #7!
Stephen Neal was a champion wrestler before he played football!
Red Sox Great Ted Williams was a Marine aviator, missing several MLB seasons due to military service in World War II and Korea!
For many years, women were not permitted to compete in the Boston Marathon!
The Patriots first AFC Championship won against Miami in January 1986, but the rallying cry ‘Squish the Fish’ is zoologically incorrect! Dolphins are not fish; rather, they are aquatic mammals!
The Boston Celtics parquet floor is made out of red oak, whereas the other NBA arenas all use rock maple flooring!
The Boston Bruins are an Original Six member of the National Hockey League!
Well-travelled NFL quarterback Ryan “Fitzmagic” Fitzpatrick attended Harvard University!
The Boston Celtics have won a NBA record 17 Championships!
Don Baylor was hit by 267 pitches during his MLB career!
Sportswriters Bob Ryan and Peter Gammons started working for The Boston Globe newspaper on the same day!
Patriots offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer was born in Germany and speaks German fluently!
Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller singled home pinch runner Dave Roberts in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS!
Five Patriots fans were electrocuted after carrying a goal post removed from Sullivan Stadium after a playoff-clinching win versus Cincinnati in 1985!
The Beanpot is a collegiate ice hockey tournament among Northeastern University, Harvard University, Boston College, and Boston University!
Red Sox Great Roger Clemens named all his children with names starting with the letter ‘K’!
Bruins player Glen Wesley overshot an empty net in a 1990 playoff game against the Montreal Canadiens Edmonton Oilers!
Former Boston Herald writer John Tomase has never actually apologized for his untrue assertion that New England filmed the Rams walkthrough practice!
The Boston Red Sox were the last MLB team to integrate, when the late Pumpsie Green was brought in as a pinch runner in July of 1959!
Harvard once beat Yale in football, by a score of 29-29!
Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick’s favorite sport is not football, but lacrosse!
Red Sox Great Carl Yastrzemski played his entire 23 year career in Boston!
Legendary Celtics coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach once punched the owner of the St. Louis Hawks on the face!
The New England Patriots once suffered through a 1-15 season!
The basketball hoop rims at the TD Garden are exactly ten feet off the ground!
Harvard and Northeastern have never met in The Beanpot Final!
Follow Mr. Darden at @StdSportswriter on Twitter.
The 15 