Doug Flutie squares off against K.C. Jones in the first round of Boston’s Biggest Sports Legend tournament.
The “Flutie Effect” may have originated at Boston College, but today, all New Englanders have a soft spot in their heart for Doug Flutie. The Natick High School graduate and three-sport star went on to quarterback the Eagles in his backyard at Boston College. Best known for “The Pass” — the game-winning touchdown against Miami as time ran out in front of a nationally televised audience the day after Thanksgiving in 1984 – Flutie went on to win the school’s first Heisman Trophy since Pat Sullivan in 1971. The Rhodes Scholarship finalist then went on to play for the Bears and Patriots in the late 1980s before dominating the Canadian Football League, where he is revered as that league’s greatest quarterback. In 2005, Flutie, who remained very active in the Boston community through his foundation, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation, rejoined the Patriots and retired after one year. Flutie’s last image came in the final regular-season game when he drop-kicked an extra point, a feat that hadn’t been done in the NFL since 1941.
It may have been a short career, but in the nine years K.C. Jones ran the Garden’s parquet floor, the wallpaper-like defender picked up titles in his first eight seasons. Jones wasn’t the flashiest player to grace the Garden, but Boston isn’t a flashy sports town. The guard was the epitome of a Boston legend — a hardworking player who honed what he did best and took advantage of every chance he got. Starting out as a bench player, Jones was the heir to Bob Cousy’s throne and didn’t disappoint. Following his NBA stint, Jones stayed in the area and began his coaching career at Brandeis in nearby Waltham, Mass. Jones then returned to the Garden as a coach. He led the C’s to four NBA Finals and won two world championships in 1984 and 1986 while securing Atlantic Division titles in all five years as a head coach in Boston.
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