(Each week, MassLive will dig back into the past, pick a certain year, and time-frame, and relive what was happening with the Patriots)
The year: 2011
The news: Jon Morris was at the point of asking out, asking the Patriots Hall of Fame committee to keep his name off the ballot.
Being a finalist three times, and failing three times, wasn't the greatest feeling for arguably the best center in team history.
It also didn't seem fair having Morris, who played during the AFL days in the late 1960s and '70s, go up against modern day players. With fans doing the voting, he didn't have a realistic chance.
And he knew it.
But the Patriots wisely formed a senior selection committee to make sure past players like Morris, a six-time AFL All Star and Pro Bowl center, wouldn't be overlooked.
I remember speaking with Morris not long after he got the call from Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
“To get this phone call now, I’m just overwhelmed by it all,” Morris said, moments after hanging up with Kraft. “It’s so exciting for me, and it comes when you least expect it, which makes it even better.
“Anybody that’s played any kind of sport, whether it’s college or professional, wants to be the best that they can be. This says you were. That’s just a confirmation, an underlying thing that says, ‘Yeah, I did accomplish something’ and it makes me feel great. I was fortunate enough to be selected to the athletic hall of fame at both my high school and my college. So now my pro team finishes that circle, and I’m as proud as I can be of it.”
