Patriots Hall of Fame is out to lunch

New England Patriots History:

Beginning in 2007, the Patriots started a new hall of fame tradition, inducting at least one player to The Hall each year. The process for induction involves a panel of media, alumni and staff who collectively nominate the players or head coaches most deserving of induction. After the nominations are made, the committee votes and the top three tallies become that year's finalists. The Patriots then give their fans the opportunity to vote online to make the annual selection. The New England Patriots held their annual nomination committee meeting on April 12 to select this year's Patriots Hall of Fame candidates. The finalists were (listed in alphabetical order) Clayborn, defensive lineman Richard Seymour and linebacker Mike Vrabel. For the second straight year, former Head Coach Bill Parcells was omitted by the committee. Parcells is a Pro Football Hall-of-Famer

The New England Patriots announced that cornerback Raymond Clayborn has been voted by fans as the 26th person to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Clayborn was a three-time Pro Bowl player (1983, 1985, 1986) during his 13-year Patriots career that extended from 1977 through 1989. He was drafted by the Patriots in the first round (16th overall) out of Texas in 1977 and quickly established himself as one of the game's best cornerbacks, as well as a superb kickoff returner.

Clayborn played a vital role in bringing the Patriots to respectability in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. During his 13 seasons in New England, he helped lead the Patriots to 10 winning seasons, including four postseason berths. In a 31-14 AFC Championship victory that propelled the Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance, Clayborn's performance helped end an 18-game losing streak to the Miami Dolphins in the Orange Bowl. Clayborn was a member of the Patriots' 1970s and 1980s all-decade teams. He also set a franchise record by playing in 161 consecutive games.

Bruce Allen, BostonSportsMedia:

The relationship between the media and professional athletes has always been an adversarial one. Rarely however, has it gotten physical.

On September 9th, 1979, the Patriots had just routed the New York Jets 56-3.

The atmosphere in the Patriots locker room following the game should’ve been light hearted, but cornerback Raymond Clayborn was miserable. He had a bad week, twice scuffling with teammates in practice.

After the game, Clayborn was snapping at writers and bumping into them on purpose. Legendary writer Will McDonough of The Boston Globe took exception, saying “”Hey, Ray, there’s no need to do that.”

Clayborn reacted by jabbing his finger in McDonough’s face, poking him in the eye. McDonough then punched him twice, knocking him into a laundry cart and taking down a number of people with him.

The story immediately went into legend, with some accounts stating that McDonough had knocked Clayborn “out cold” with a single punch, and others describing more of a scuffle between the two.

McDonough was lionized among his colleagues in the media for the incident, which was lauded as an example of “southie justice.”

Former New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy met with Bill Parcells at Hofstra University in 1998. Van Gundy was at the New York Jets' training camp to watch how Coach Parcells operated.

Steve Serby, NewYorkPost:

I think Keyshawn Johnson had just written that book “Just Give Me The Damn Ball.” So I was coming with Coach Parcells out onto the field, and he said, “Walk with me,” so I’m walking with him and he says, “Do you know Keyshawn Johnson?” I said, “No, I don’t know him,” and he beckoned for Keyshawn Johnson to come over. And he introduces us and Coach Parcells starts asking me questions. He says, “Do you like good food?” And I said, “Yeah sure.” And he goes, “Well if you want to know about any restaurants around here, talk to Keyshawn. He’s your guy.” And you can see Keyshawn Johnson getting his chest puffed up a little bit. And then, he said: “Do you like clothes?” And I said, “Nah, you know, that’s not my thing.” He goes, “Well if you change your mind, Keyshawn’s your guy.” Keyshawn’s getting puffed up a little bit more. And his third question to me was, “Hey Jeff, do you like to win?” I said, “Coach, of course.” He goes, “Then don’t f—–g talk to Keyshawn Johnson, he doesn’t know a f—–g thing about winning.”

The Patriots Hall of Fame staff doesn't know if a football were blown up or stuffed. Without Bill Parcells, the New England Patriots would have moved to St. Louis. The next stop would have been Carson, California or Carson City, Nevada, the home of The Ponderosa in the hit show, Bonanza. Either way, nobody would have cared.

Paul Murphy

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