It’s kinda sorta true, according to presidential historian Michael Beschloss. The Patriots did (probably facetiously) offer up a roster spot to former Harvard wide receiver and then-President of the United States John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Invitation for JFK to play football for the Patriots, 1961: pic.twitter.com/SDghKzcUmR
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) November 30, 2015
So the 1961 Patriots were in need of help at receiver. As Yahoo’s Jay Busbee rightly notes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
For what it’s worth, Kennedy was 43 years old at the time. But that’s only a year older than the oldest player in the league that season, Packers kicker Ben Agajanian. The oldest position player was 40-year-old Giants quarterback Charlie Conerly.
Throughout history, eight position players have taken the field at or beyond the age of 43, including 45-year-old “receiver” (really an end) Bobby Marshall in 1925. But Jerry Rice also played as a 42-year-old.
Of course, none of this really matters because Kennedy wasn’t Marshall or Rice. At that point, he was 23 years removed from competitive football.
JFK spent two years on the Harvard squad, earning a starting role as — according to The Crimson — an “average athlete.”
“The most adept pass catcher was John Kennedy,” wrote head coach Henry Lamar in his post-season review after Kennedy’s freshman campaign, “but his lack of weight was a drawback.”
So head coach Lou Saban clearly wasn’t serious about bringing in the newly-elected president, but it couldn’t have hurt his job status because Saban was fired five games into the ensuing season sans Kennedy. After a 2-3 start and Saban’s departure, the Patriots recovered and finished a solid 9-4-1, with receiver Gino Cappelletti emerging as a Pro Bowler.
So no, the Pats did not need Kennedy as much as America did.
