December 11, 1971: Joe Bellino (left) and Jim Plunkett (right), two former Heisman trophy winners, talked with newly-retired Patriots wide receiver and placekicker, Gino Cappelletti, at a testimonial dinner in his honor at the Sheraton Plaza in Boston. The head table included New Yorkers, Joe Namath, Sonny Werblin and Andy Robustelli.

Dec. 11, 1971: Joe Bellino (left) and Jim Plunkett (right), two former Heisman trophy winners, talked with newly retired Patriots wide receiver and placekicker, Gino Cappelletti, at a testimonial dinner in his honor at the Sheraton Plaza in Boston. The head table included New Yorkers Joe Namath, Sonny Werblin, and Andy Robustelli. Frank O'Brien/Globe Staff

Patriots in the ’70s

Aug. 15, 1971: The New England Patriots ran onto the field for their first game ever in the their new home at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough. The Patriots broke ground on Sept. 23, 1970, and the stadium was built in just 327 days at a cost of $6,198,000. The Boston City Council sealed the fate of the Patriots playing in Boston when they defeated the last proposal of a $16 million open arena in Neponset by a 7-2 vote on May 23, 1970. The Patriots beat the New York Giants 20-14 on opening night and the crowd of 61,000 was the largest ever at a Massachusetts sporting event.

Tom Landers/Globe Staff |

December 5, 1971: Randy Vataha, whose birthday was December 4th, and Jim Plunkett, whose birthday was December 5th, got serenaded before the game with the Dolphins. They celebrated their 34-13 victory over Miami afterward.

Dec. 5, 1971: Randy Vataha, whose birthday was Dec. 4, and Jim Plunkett, whose birthday was Dec. 5, were serenaded before the game with the Dolphins. They celebrated their 34-13 victory over Miami afterward.

Associated Press |

Frank O'Brien/Globe Staff |

fromthearchive August 11 1973 / fromthearchive / Globe staff photo by Frank O'Brien / Patriot's defensive tackles Dennis Wirgowski and Dave Rowe sign autographs at a Patriots pre-season practice.

Aug. 11, 1973: Patriots defensive tackles Dennis Wirgowski and Dave Rowe signed autographs at a Patriots pre-season practice.

Frank O'Brien/Globe Staff |

August 20, 1978 : The Patriettes unveiled their new Patriot outfits and disco dance routine during a pre-season game with the Kansas City Chiefs. The cheerleaders were clad in blue and white striped leotards, red blouses with full sleeves and red, white and blue boots.

Aug. 20, 1978 : The Patriettes unveiled their new Patriot outfits and disco dance routine during a pre-season game with the Kansas City Chiefs. The cheerleaders were clad in blue and white striped leotards, red blouses with full sleeves. and red, white, and blue boots.

Frank O'Brien/Globe Staff |

Oct. 3, 1976: Fullback Sam "Bam" Cunningham and wide receiver Daryl Stingley laughed with running back Andy Johnson as they celebrated a Patriot thrashing of the Oakland Raiders 48-17. "No one has ever done this to one of my teams," said Raider coach John Madden after Oakland was pushed all over the field to the delight of a sellout crowd of 61,068. Cunningham rushed for 101 yards and caught passes for 94 more. Stingley caught two touchdown passes and rushed for 48 yards on two reverses.

Frank O'Brien/Globe Staff |

September 4, 1974: Patriots defensive end Julius Adams said it all without speaking a word as the final gun sounded on a Patriots win over the Miami Dolphins 34-24.

Sept. 4, 1974: Patriots defensive end Julius Adams said it all without speaking a word as the final gun sounded on a Patriots 34-24 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Frank O'Brien/Globe Staff |