Former quarterback Drew Bledsoe will be the 18th member of the Patriots to be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.
Bledsoe, former coach Bill Parcells and former defensive lineman Houston Antwine were selected as the three finalists for the Patriots Hall of Fame, and the team announced Monday that Bledsoe won the fan vote. Bledsoe received the highest percentage of votes for any candidate since the Hall opened in 2007.
Bledsoe was the No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft, and he broke the team's all-time passing records for attempts (4,518), completions, (2,544) and yards (29,657).
"Drew Bledsoe played such an integral role in our efforts to rebuild the Patriots brand," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. "He gave fans hope for the future and provided many memorable moments during his record-breaking career. I will never forget Drew's record-setting performance in that come-from-behind victory against Minnesota the year I bought the team [in 1994]. It sparked a seven-game win streak and put the Patriots back in the playoffs for the first time in a decade. For a franchise that had only hosted one playoff game in its first 35 years, winning the AFC Championship Game at home in Foxboro and taking the Patriots to the playoffs for three consecutive years were unimaginable goals prior to his arrival."
