A Year At The Hall

A look back to 2018 at The Patriots Hall of Fame presented by Raytheon.

The Patriots Hall of Fame presented by Raytheon enjoyed another incredible year in 2018 thanks to some amazing, memorable on-field Patriots performances and to a loyal fan base that continues to visit The Hall in droves.

On the field, the Patriots won their 10th AFC Championship to start the year after two more home playoff wins over the Titans and Jaguars. The Hall added a 10th Lamar Hunt Trophy to its collection and more than 3,100 fans came to take a picture with it the following weekend.

Super Bowl LII proved to be a heartbreaking defeat, but quarterback Tom Brady had another record-setting performance, throwing for 505 yards while also breaking the record for most Super Bowl appearances by any NFL player (8). He and head coach Bill Belichick have enjoyed success never seen by a coach-quarterback tandem in league history.

Brady continued to assault the NFL record books throughout the 2018 regular season. He surpassed Peyton Manning for the most all-time passing yards, including the postseason, in a 27-13 win over the Jets on Nov. 25. He is now approaching 80,000 career passing yards. His jersey from that Jets game is on display at The Hall along with the navy blue alternate jersey Josh Gordon wore on Oct. 4 when he became the NFL-record 71st different receiver to catch a touchdown pass from Brady. The Patriots legendary quarterback also passed Manning for the most all-time touchdown passes in a Dec. 8 game at Miami when he threw for three scores to give him 583 career touchdown passes including the postseason. That record-setting football is now on display at The Hall.

Other game-used items added to The Hall collection during the 2018 season include:

  • Tom Brady’s 500th career regular season touchdown ball (also the ball Gordon caught to become Brady’s record 71st touchdown target).
  • The gloves rookie JC Jackson wore when he made his first career interception vs. Miami on Sept. 30.
  • The cleats rookie Sony Michel wore when he scored his first career touchdown and eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time vs. Miami on Sept. 30.
  • The gloves and cleats Cordarelle Patterson wore when he became the record-tying 70th player to catch a TD pass from Brady in the Sept. 30 win over Miami.
  • The game-used ball Rob Gronkowski caught in the Sept. 30 win over Miami to pass Ben Coates and become the Patriots all-time receptions leader for a tight end (491).
  • The No. 1 trophy Brady received for being named the 2017 No. 1 player in the NFL as voted by more than 1,300 of his peers.

Off the field, The Hall celebrated its 10th anniversary in September with a name change, the 2018 induction ceremony and a celebration of its Hall of Famers.

Known as The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon for its first 10 years, the name was changed to the more appealing Patriots Hall of Fame presented by Raytheon while a new logo also was unveiled to reflect the change.As part of the 10th Anniversary celebration, Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft invited all of the team’s Hall of Famers back to celebrate the milestone along with the induction of newest Hall of Famer Matt Light, who was honored in a free, outdoor ceremony on Sept. 29 and again at halftime of the team’s 38-7 win over Miami. Light became the 27th Patriots Hall of Famer while Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, Gino Cappelletti, Raymond Clayborn, Sam Cunningham, Steve Grogan, Mike Haynes, Ty Law, Stanley Morgan, Jon Morris, Steve Nelson and Andre Tippett returned to be part of the celebration.

The Hall’s education program continued its growth in 2018 with more than 22,000 school field trip visitors participating in modules involving STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), marketing and journalism. The Hall was sold out for the 2018-2019 school year before students returned to school in September. With a new dedicated classroom near The Hall itself, the program became more efficient, allowed students to get up close to the Gillette Stadium game field and starting hosting multiple schools in a single day.

The Hall honored Revere High School’s Erin Cronin as its 2017-2018 Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year during a Nov. 14 ceremony at the Massachusetts STEM Summit at Worcester’s DCU Center. Cronin’s school received $5,000 from the Patriots Foundation to be used to STEM education while the schools of four runners up received $1,000 courtesy of Raytheon.

The Hall launched its third Read Between the Lines Summer Reading Blitz presented by Jet Blue with the support of former Patriots receiver Malcolm Mitchell and current offensive lineman LaAdrian Waddle. The program grew to its most popular level yet. All participants received free Hall passes, books from Jet Blue among other goodies, and 10 lucky winners received a Tom Brady signed photo.

While our Speaker Series events have been less frequent, Tedy Bruschi did host a highly entertaining session before a sold out audience in the Raytheon Theater. Bruschi’s ability to engage the audience and tell interesting behind-the-scenes stories provided guests with an enjoyable evening.

Photo By: Eric J. Adler

Posted by Patriots Hall of Fame on Friday, May 11, 2018

The Hall hosted other annual events in 2018 as well. Field Day with Dad saw perfect Father’s Day weather as attendees played on the field, enjoyed photo ops, autographs, face painting, balloon making and a tour of the Patriots weight room and media work room. The locker room was undergoing renovations so the weight room provided a different experience for FDWD guests.

Our 31 Days of July program, which featured Throwback Thursday autograph signings, Tailgate Tuesdays, Hot Dog Day, a magic show, autograph sweepstakes and so much more was again a great summer attraction for football fans.

August saw the unveiling of our newest exhibit, Recording Artists, which celebrates all the NFL, Super Bowl and playoff records held by Patriots players. It also honors the 40th anniversary of the 1978 team, which still holds the single-season NFL rushing record with 3,165 yards.

As part of Salute to Service month in November, The Hall opened a special pop-up exhibit honoring the military and the Patriots involvement in military/veterans programs.

As 2018 draws to a close, The Hall will sprint through the finish line with its winter vacation programs. From Dec. 22-Jan. 1, all Hall visitors will receive a free 2018 Patriots yearbook with paid admission while supplies last as well as register for a chance to win a sign Tom Brady authentic jersey.

Of course, 2019 will bring more excitement. The Hall is planning a bobble head giveaway early in the year featuring four unique bobbles of Patriots Hall of Famers Steve Nelson, Andre Tippett, Tedy Bruschi and Ty Law in their red Patriots Hall of Fame jackets. One player will be featured per month over a four-month period while supplies last. Details will be announced soon, but these bobbles will be a must-have for any Patriots fan.