Three key personnel decisions were made in the winter of 1960. First, former Boston College head coach Mike Holovak was named director of player personnel. Ed McKeever was hired as the team’s first general manager and he selected Lou Saban as the team’s first head coach.

One of the first orders of business of the management group was giving the franchise a name and that was accomplished through a public contest. Thousands of entries were submitted to name the team and 74 fans suggested the winning name, the Boston Patriots. Shortly after the franchise name was chosen, Boston Globe artist Phil Bissell drew a cartoon of a Minuteman preparing to snap a football and owner Sullivan liked the drawing so much that he selected “Pat Patriot” as the team logo. On April 1, 1960, Boston University Field — the former home of the Boston Braves — was selected as the first home of the Boston Patriots.

The organization’s first training camp opened on July 4, 1960 at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Approximately 350 players reported to the opening of camp, including a large contingent from Boston College. This group would be trimmed to 35 for the start of the regular season. The team’s first preseason game was held on July 30 and the Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 28-7 at War Memorial Stadium Buffalo. Patriots defensive end Bob Dee recovered a fumble during the game and scored the AFL’s first touchdown. The first “home” game was held two weeks later before 11,000 fans at Harvard Stadium and the Pats lost 24-14 to the Dallas Texans. The team’s regular season home opener came on September 9 and 21,597 fans at Boston University field watched the team lose to the Denver Broncos 13-10.

The 1963 season saw the Patriots move to Fenway Park for home games, where they claimed their first division crown with a 7-6-1 record. The team lost the AFL title game, 51-10, to the San Diego Chargers.

A number of Patriots players emerged as stars in the AFL during the 1960s, including wide receiver and kicker Gino Cappelletti, running back Jim Nance, quarterback Babe Parilli, linebacker Nick Buoniconti, defensive linemen Houston Antwine, Bob Dee, Larry Eisenhauer and Jim Lee Hunt and center Jon Morris

In 1970, after a decade of playing at five different sites, including Boston University Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, Boston College Alumni Stadium and Legion Field in Birmingham, AL (1968), the Patriots selected Foxboro as the new home of the team. In March 1971, the team was renamed the New England Patriots. On August 15,1971, the Patriots played their first game at Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro, defeating the New York Giants 20-14 before a crowd of 60,423 in a preseason contest.

In 1976, the Patriots earned a wild-card playoff berth, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Oakland Raiders, 24-21. In 1978, the Patriots won their first outright division title in franchise history, but lost to the Houston Oilers on Dec. 31, 31-14, in the first playoff game ever at Foxboro Stadium. During the 1970s several Patriots were regarded to be among the most outstanding players in the league in their positions, including offensive guard John Hannah, cornerback Mike Haynes and tight end Russ Francis.

In 1982, Foxboro Schaefer Stadium was renamed Sullivan Stadium in honor of the Patriots owner. In 1985, the Patriots gained a wild-card berth in the playoffs and went on to defeat the New York Jets, Los Angeles Raiders and the Miami Dolphins to win their first AFC Championship and a trip to Super Bowl XX. Unfortunately, the Patriots faced one of the dominant teams of the ’80s as the Chicago Bears shuffled to a 46-10 Super Bowl victory. Following that season, Patriot greats John Hannah and Julius Adams retired.

On July 28, 1988, Remington Products, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Victor Kiam purchased the Patriots from the Sullivan family and retained the team for four years.

In 1990, the Patriots' home field was renamed Foxboro Stadium and the following season natural grass was installed in the stadium for the first time by the stadium’s new owner, Boston businessman Robert K. Kraft. On July 27 1991, Hannah became the first Patriot to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

In 1992, St. Louis businessman James B. Orthwein purchased controlling interest of the Patriots and made some dramatic changes, both on and off the field. In 1993, he hired former New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells and a new coaching staff. In addition, he also made some cosmetic changes that spring with the unveiling of a new Patriots logo and the change of primary color from red to blue.

On January 21, 1994, Robert K. Kraft became the franchise’s fourth owner when he purchased the team from Orthwein, saving the team from a possible move outside of New England. On May 12, 1994, linebacker Andre Tippett moved from the field to the front office when he announced his retirement. That season, the Patriots closed out the season with a seven-game winning streak to qualify for their first playoff berth since the 1986 season. The Patriots lost to the Cleveland Browns 20-13 in the wild-card playoff game. In 1995, the Patriots produced three Pro Bowl players, including Rookie of the Year running back Curtis Martin. Off the field, the Patriots became the only NFL team to publish an all-color team newspaper Patriots Football Weekly and to launch their own web site— www.patriots.com.

The Patriots continued their rise during a memorable 1996 season, winning the AFC Championship and returning to the Super Bowl for the second time in team history. The Patriots finished 11-5 and scored two home playoff wins, 28-3 vs. Pittsburgh and 20-6 vs. Jacksonville, winning the AFC Championship in front of a sold out Foxboro Stadium crowd. The Patriots were defeated by the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, 35-21. The game was the fourth most-watched program in television history attracting some 128,900,000 viewers.

On Feb. 3, 1997, the Patriots hired Pete Carroll as their 13th head coach. In his first season in New England, the Patriots defended their AFC East Division title with a 7-1 record in the division and a 10-6 overall record. It was the Patriots’ first back-to-back division titles in franchise history. The Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 17-3 in the AFC Wild Card playoffs, extending their playoff home winning streak to three games.

On Sept. 7, 1998, the Patriots became the first professional sports team to produce their own live postgame show to be broadcast live only on the Internet. “Patriots Live!”, debuted following their season-opening Monday Night Football game at Denver. The Patriots continue to be the only team to produce their own nightly video cybercast on the Internet, “Patriots Video News.”

The Patriots finished 9-7 in 1998 and qualified for the playoffs, marking the third consecutive season they have made the postseason - a team record.

The ‘99 season was the sixth consecutive season that the Patriots have sold out every game prior to the start of the season. Demand for tickets has never been higher. The Patriots established a new sales record by selling out every regular season game for the 1999 season in just 90 minutes. In addition, the waiting list for season tickets has now grown in excess of 35,000 fans. The Patriots have sold-out a franchise record 61 consecutive games (through the 1999 season).

A new era began in Patriots history in the year 2000 when they unveiled designs for their new stadium. The new 68,000-seat CMGI Field was unveiled to the public on April 18th. General seating will remain at 60,000, ensuring current season ticket holders will have the opportunity to renew their accounts. There will also be 8,000 premium seats, including 6,000 club seats and 2,000 luxury suite seats. Those seats will help finance the overall stadium project and allow the Patriots to keep their tickets affordably priced.

The Patriots also began a new era on the playing field when they hired Bill Belichick as the 14th head coach in team history. Belichick, who is regarded as one of the premier defensive architects in the NFL, was hired by the Patriots on January 27, 2000. He had spent the 1996 season in New England as the secondary coach and assistant head coach. He helped the Patriots rebound from a 6-10 record in 1995 to an 11-5 record in 1996 and the team’s first divisional title in 10 years. He re-joins the Patriots after spending the past three seasons (1997-99) as the assistant head coach and secondary coach for the New York Jets.

When Kraft purchased the Patriots, he promised fans of New England that he would bring home a championship. And following the 2001 season, Belichick and the Patriots made good on that promise.

The Patriots record from the 2000 regular season was a disappointing 5-11. However, building on the momentum as underdogs for the 2001 season, the Patriots proved to the world their resilience and toughness on the field. In one of the most dramatic turnarounds in NFL history, the Patriots capped off an 11-5 regular season with three playoff wins for the ages. In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Oakland Raiders, 16-13 in overtime.

The last game to ever be played at Foxboro Stadium was a thrilling and snowy sendoff for the old Stadium. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game late in the fourth quarter to send it into overtime. With at least four inches of snow on the field, Vinatieri and his teammates barely cleared off an area for the dramatic kick. After winning the coin toss in overtime, the Patriots were able to add another Vinatieri field goal (23-yard) to win the game, 16-13. The following week the Patriots traveled to Pittsburgh to play the favored Steelers in the AFC Championship game. Off the field the Patriots demanded respect from the confident Steelers and on the field the Patriots earned it. After a convincing 24-17 win at Heinz Field, the Patriots found themselves back at the Superdome in New Orleans for Super Bowl XXXVI.

On Feb. 3, 2002, the Patriots prepared for a difficult battle against the heavily favored St. Louis Rams. However, with a belief in teamwork and thriving in the role of the “underdog,” the Patriots exploded in the first half of the game. They dominated the Rams with a score of 14-3 at halftime. Yet the Rams showed their talents when they rallied in the fourth quarter from 14 points to tie the game at 17. But the Patriots were not willing to watch their eight-game winning streak come to an end.

Quarterback sensation Tom Brady marched the team down the field with only 1:21 left on the clock. Once Brady made it into field goal range, with less than 10 seconds in the game, Adam Vinatieri kicked a remarkable 48-yard field goal to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In their 42-year history, the New England Patriots finally brought a championship for New England football.

Afterwards, the Patriots were welcomed home with a rally in Boston attended by 1.5 million people and took the Lombardi Trophy to rallies in all of the New England states.

In 2002, coming off their Super Bowl win, the Patriots opened their new home, Gillette Stadium. Having changed the stadium’s name from CMGI Field to Gillette Stadium in August 2002, the Patriots also had a changed team for the upcoming season. Quarterback Drew Bledsoe and wide receiver Terry Glenn were traded earlier in the year. Nonetheless, the Patriots began Training Camp with optimism and confidence behind their talented Pro Bowl Quarterback Tom Brady and veteran players Troy Brown, Lawyer Milloy, and Ty Law.