Former Boston Patriots Punter, Quarterback Died at Age 88

The New England Patriots released a statement following the death of a Boston Patriots legend. Former Boston Patriot and member of the 1960s All-Decade Team, Tom Yewcic, died at 88.

The Patriots released a statement Wednesday night.

“The New England Patriots are deeply saddened to learn that former Patriots punter-quarterback Tom Yewcic passed away at age 88,” the statement read.

Yewcic inked his deal with the team in 1961 right after a short stint in Toronto and the Canadian Football League. His arrival marked a great change for the team.

Boston used Yewcic as a punter before he took the starting quarterback role in 1962. This happened when Babe Parilli sustained his injury. Yewcic led the Patriots to three consecutive victories.

Yewcic did much more than just punt and play quarterback. The team used him as a receiver and running back. The talented player punted 377 times for 14,553 yards in his career. In 77 regular-season games, Yewcic completed 87 passes for 1,374 yards and 12 touchdowns while compiling 72 rushes for 424 yards and four scores. He had seven receptions for 69 yards.

Yewcic made other memories before his time with the Boston Patriots

Before his memories with the Boston Patriots, Yewcic was a two-sport star at Michigan State. He was a quarterback with the Spartans in the 1954 Rose Bowl and played catcher on the baseball team. Yewcic then spent four seasons of Double and Triple-A baseball and had a brief stint with the American League’s Detroit Tigers.

“I left there after 1960 and rather than sign with an (American Football League) team I waited until ’61,” Yewcic said. “They were scouting all kinds of people in Canada because that was the second year of the AFL,” Yewcic said back then. “I was contemplating offers from Buffalo, the Patriots and the Jets [then known as the Titans] and I decided the best course of action for me was to take the Patriots offer. At that time, Lou Saban was the head coach. He was very instrumental in the sense that he was pretty positive about our chances and everything.”