The New England Patriots are getting ready for the Superbowl on Sunday, they’ll be playing the Seattle Seahawks for the championship. Eleven years ago they were in a similar position, gearing up for the match against the Carolina Panthers.
From the Archives this week we found this 2004 interview from NHPR’s The Front Porch. Host John Walters spoke with then (and current) State Senator from Manchester, Lou D’Allessandro. John spoke with D’Allessandro about his football career at UNH as well as his 1961 tryout for a new football franchise in Boston.
D’Allesandro played end and linebacker at UNH, and in 1961 was invited by then-Boston Patriots Head Coach Lou Saban to try out for the team. Unfortunately he hurt his knee ahead of the try out, which sidelined him. But after recuperating D’Allessandro began playing in the Atlantic Coast Football League, part of the farm system for professional leagues (this was before the merger of the country’s two leading professional football leagues: NFL and AFL. D’Allessanrdo spent several seasons in the ACFL, playing for the Providence Steam Rollers, Boston Sweepers and Lowell Giants. He played until 1968, when a knee-injury, in a game against Scranton Miners, put an end to his football career.
In the interest of balance, it’s worth noting that NHPR’s Sam Evans-Brown recently profiled D’Allessandro’s colleague across the aisle, Jeb Bradley as he finished his “grid”. It’s worth a listen.
