Sam “Bam” Cunningham, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame as well as the Patriots’ team Hall of Fame died on Tuesday at his home in Inglewood, California. He was 71.
Growing up in New England back in the day the Patriots were far from the franchise they are today. But as Bob Dylan sang, “the times they are changing” and changes came in 1973 with the hiring of Chuck Fairbanks.
The Patriots who traditionally had drafted poorly had three first-round picks in 1973. Their first and #4 overall was John Hannah, who would end up in Canton and was proclaimed the “best offensive lineman of all-time” by Sports Illustrated.