Jim Nance had all the motivation he needed. Prior to the 1966 American Football League season, the Boston Patriots gave their starting fullback an ultimatum: Lose some weight, or we’ll make you a guard.
According former Pats center Jon Morris, Nance lost 50 pounds. Then, according to the stat books, Nance had the greatest rushing season in AFL history, running for a league-record 1,458 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns to earn Most Valuable Player honors.
Thursday afternoon, prior to the New England Patriots’ preseason home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, Nance became the 14th player inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame. Billy Sullivan, the Patriots’ original owner, was also inducted during a ceremony that took place outside of The Hall at Patriot Place.
“Jim Nance will forever be recognized as one of the greatest Patriots of all-time,” team owner Robert Kraft said.
Kraft said nearly 60 former Patriots were on hand for the game, and about two dozen of Nance’s teammates were present for the ceremony. Among those in attendance were Patriots Hall of Famers Gino Cappelletti, Steve Grogan, John Hannah, Steve Nelson and Andre Tippett.
Nance, who died in 1992, was represented on stage by his daughter, Rachel, who said there were at least 20 members of the Nance family in the crowd. Sullivan, who died in 1998, was represented by his son, Patrick, who once served as the Patriots’ general manager. There were also about 40 members of the Sullivan family in attendance for the ceremony.
“He had a vision that pro football could survive and flourish in New England,” Patrick said of his father. “He had a vision that the Patriots would become as important to our community as the Red Sox and the Celtics and the Bruins, and they did.”
While Sullivan was recognized for starting the franchise, Nance was credited for giving the Patriots some legitimacy in a region that supported the National Football League’s New York Giants. It wasn’t until Nance appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated during the 1966 season that the Boston area really caught on to its local football franchise.
Morris made sure to point out how much credibility that cover shoot gave the Patriots, who truly had a marketable star the fans wanted to see in person. Nance was a bruising runner who could bury a defender or simply burn past him.
Thus, it was fitting that two of the team’s most influential figures were enshrined just prior to the 50th anniversary season, which will honor its past as much as its present.
“Jim was a true gentleman,” Sullivan said. “He treated everyone he touched with respect and dignity, except if that touch occurred on the football field. There, he was a dominating presence. He was an exciting blend of quickness, speed, power and smarts.”
And, at times, it didn’t matter what uniform you were wearing. If you were in Nance’s way, you were a victim.
“The idea was to get out of his way because he wasn’t subtle when he got in there,” Morris said. “If you didn’t block your guy out of the way, he was going to help you by hitting you right in the back. That was the one thing I remember the most.”
