Prime Time Sports Talk published an exclusive article on New England Patriots Alumni Club, highlighting how the organization got started. Publisher, Sam Gordon, starts off with asking Pete Brock how this organization came to be. “Do your job. It is the New England Patriots’ slogan, and former players are coming together to do a job well done off the field. In 2006, Pete Brock and a group of past Patriots came together to found the New England Patriots Alumni Club. The qualification to become a member of the Alumni is that you must have been active at least one game to be considered an eligible.
“We want to appeal to each and every player who was once a Patriot so they always know they have a home to come to,” Brock said. “We have a speakers bureau and we get [former players] involved that way. When people are asking for appearances and we get them out in their community, they get a taste of that.” Brock when finding out players have retired, reaches out to them notifying them of the organization.
“I send an email out to guys when they retire. A lot of these guys it takes a couple of years to transition so money not withstanding you have been told most of your adult life where to go and all of a sudden you’re kicked out and a lot of guys have to search their way,” Brock said. “I give them a year or two and often times we hear back from them. So we try to keep them involved and at least informed that we’re out there.” One of these players was three-time Super Bowl champion fullback Patrick Pass. After his retirement, his family decided to relocate to Rhode Island but was still upset with how his time on the gridiron concluded.
“I was living in Georgia and decided to move back to Rhode Island and I was looking for something to do to keep my mind busy,” Pass said. “[I had] just recently retired from football prematurely because of surgeries and stuff like that and it kind of stinks when you don’t retire on your own merit and you kind of feel down and depressed about the whole situation.” That something came when one day, his wife told him about the Alumni. “My wife brought it up and told me the Patriots had an Alumni and that it allowed former players to join and get back in the community to do stuff for the team,” Pass said. “One phone call and that’s all it took.”
Today, Pass serves on the board of directors and has been a staple of the Alumni for years. He is still recognized by fans who saw him play as one of the founding members of the team’s dynasty. There was not supposed to be a board of directors or huge company. Just a reason for former teammates to come together. With the rapid growth, Brock felt it could be more special than that.
“At first it was just a reason to gather and lie about how good we once were,” Brock laughed. “Over time, our membership grew, and so did our mission a little bit so we decided to do something a little special than just that.””
To read the full article, click here.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ALUMNI CLUB
