Canton welcomes Mr. Patriot

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, July 31, 2008  |  Comments( 6 )

New England Patriots
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On the eve of voting for the Hall of Fame class of 2008, no less an authority than Eric Dickerson stated that “I think it’s about time Andre Tippett is in the Hall of Fame.” On Saturday, that day arrives; shockingly late, to be sure, but here nonetheless.

While the voters will someday be lining up to induct one Patriot after another – Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Randy Moss, among others – into the hallowed halls in Canton, Tippett gets a plaque this weekend and bragging rights as Mr. Patriot. All in all, not bad for a linebacker who played on the team even before hapless New England enjoyed a nice mini-run of success under Bill Parcells.

A two-sport star (Tippett’s a fifth-degree black belt in karate; yeah, like a guy who measures 6-foot-3 and tipped the scales at 240 pounds needs it), Tippett first started on the road to status as a truly lifetime Patriot back in 1982 as a second-round draft choice. After attending high school in New Jersey and university in Iowa, Tippett soon called the Boston area home and still lives in Sharon, a lakeside town bordered on one side by Foxborough and on another by – ironically enough – Canton, Mass.

What truly earns Tippett the adoration of the New England faithful and claim to the Mr. Patriot title is his continued devotion to the franchise. Like a true lifetime loyalist on the order of a Jerry West, Tippett serves as executive director of community affairs for the team and is thus able to partake in the present-day glories he so rarely saw as an active player.

Not that the Pats' lack of success in the 1980s and early '90s was any fault of Tippett’s -- as evidenced by his presence on several other notable rosters, including the officially sanctioned All-1980s NFL Team (on which his fellow LBs included Ted Hendricks, Jack Lambert, Mike Singletary and Lawrence Taylor); the AFC’s Pro Bowl teams of 1984-1988; All-Pro teams, 1984-1988; AP all-NFL teams, 1985-1988; the intriguing NFL Films All-Pro team in 1984, perhaps because (as those who saw him stuffing runs for more than a decade can attest) the man was a proverbial human highlight reel; the Pro Football Weekly All-Time 3-4 defense to line up alongside Taylor, Randy Gradisher and Harry Carson; the Patriots’ 35th Anniversary Team; and the Patriots Team of the Century.

Further homage to the greatest Patriot defender ever? Sure. Roll the almanac entry:

Second-round draft pick was taken No. 41 overall out of University of Iowa … bagged 18.5 sacks in 1984 and 16.5 sacks in 1985, at that time a record for back-to-back seasons … forced three fumbles and recovered three fumbles in 1985 … played for first Patriots Super Bowl team in 1986 … named UPI AFC Player of the Year in 1985 … recorded 12.5 sacks in 1987 … named NFLPA's AFC linebacker of the year, 1985-1987 … recovered four fumbles in 1993 … retired after 1993 season … for career, totaled 30 games with more than one QB sack and exactly 100 sacks in 151 games, forced 17 fumbles, recovered 18 fumbles … inducted into New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 1999 … inducted into University of Iowa Hall of Fame in 2007 … top-10 finalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

After considering the record, just two questions remain: Firstly, how will the Hall engraver fit all the strongsiders stats onto a single bronze plaque? And how did Tippett not get in on the first ballot, anyway?

No matter, for both questions become moot this weekend. Hopefully the young Pats fans spoiled by their stat-producing star-laden team of the decade will be inspired enough to check out a historical highlight of Mr. Patriot himself, Andre Tippett.

(And all apologies to John Hannah.)

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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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