The 1963 Boston Patriots season was the franchise's fourth season in the American Football League.

In their first season at Fenway Park, switching from Nickerson Field, the Patriots hovered around the .500 mark all season, and were in position to win the Eastern Division title outright with a victory on their final game. The 35–3 road loss to the defending champion, Kansas City Chiefs, allowed the Buffalo Bills to catch up and both finished at 7–6–1, which required a divisional playoff game, the AFL's first. Both teams had a bye the following week, postponed from the Sunday after the assassination of President Kennedy; the tiebreaker playoff was scheduled for Saturday, December 28, at Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium. The teams split their two games during the regular season, with the home team winning, and the host Bills were slight favorites.

The visiting Patriots won the playoff game 26–8 on a snowy field, with quarterback Babe Parilli throwing two touchdown passes to fullback Larry Garron, and four field goals were added by end Gino Cappelletti. With the win, Boston became Eastern Division champions, while the Western champion San Diego Chargers (11–3) were idle. The AFL championship game was played the next week in southern California on January 5, where San Diego routed the Patriots 51–10 at Balboa Stadium.

This was Boston's only postseason appearance during the AFL's ten years; the Patriots' next playoff game was in 1976 (as a wild card) and the next division title came in 1978.

AFL draft

Staff

Roster Boston Patriots 1963 roster Quarterbacks Babe Parilli Tom Yewcic P

Running backs Jim Crawford Harry Crump Larry Garron Billy Lott Tom Neumann

Wide receivers Gino Cappelletti K Jim Colclough Art Graham

Tight ends Tony Romeo Offensive linemen Walt Cudzik C Milt Graham T Charlie Long G Billy Neighbors G Don Oakes T Dave Watson G Bob Yates T/C

Defensive linemen Houston Antwine DT Larry Eisenhauer DE Bob Dee DE Jim Lee Hunt DT/DE Jess Richardson DT Linebackers Tom Addison OLB Nick Buoniconti MLB Don McKinnon OLB/MLB Jack Rudolph OLB

Defensive backs Dick Felt CB Ron Hall SS Ross O'Hanley FS Chuck Shonta CB Thomas Stephens SS Bob Suci CB Reserve list Ron Burton RB (IR) Al Snyder WR (IR) Don Webb CB (IR)

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 8 New York Jets W 38–14 1–0 Alumni Stadium 24,120 Recap 2 September 14 at San Diego Chargers L 13–17 1–1 Balboa Stadium 26,097 Recap 3 September 22 at Oakland Raiders W 20–14 2–1 Frank Youell Field 17,131 Recap 4 September 29 at Denver Broncos L 10–14 2–2 Bears Stadium 18,636 Recap 5 October 5 at New York Jets L 24–31 2–3 Polo Grounds 16,769 Recap 6 October 11 Oakland Raiders W 20–14 3–3 Fenway Park 26,494 Recap 7 October 18 Denver Broncos W 40–21 4–3 Fenway Park 25,418 Recap 8 October 26 at Buffalo Bills L 21–28 4–4 War Memorial Stadium 29,243 Recap 9 November 1 Houston OilersW 45–3 5–4 Fenway Park 31,185 Recap 10 November 10 San Diego Chargers L 6–7 5–5 Fenway Park 28,402 Recap 11 November 17 Kansas City Chiefs T 24–24 5–5–1 Fenway Park 17,200 RecapNovember 24 AFL games postponed to December 22 12 December 1 Buffalo Bills W 17–7 6–5–1 Fenway Park 16,981 Recap 13 December 7 at Houston Oilers W 46–28 7–5–1 Jeppesen Stadium 23,462 Recap 14 December 14 at Kansas City Chiefs L 3–35 7–6–1 Municipal Stadium 12,598 Recap15December 22 Bye week, (originally December 1) Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Postseason

Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance GamerecapDivision December 28 at Buffalo Bills W 26–8 War Memorial Stadium 33,044 Recap Championship January 5, 1964 at San Diego Chargers L 10–51 Balboa Stadium 30,127 Recap

References