Pat Hughes: “A Lowell Connection”

November 9, 2010 by Tony Posted in Lowell 3 Comments

Categorize this one under the heading “there always seems to be a Lowell connection”...

Recently Fallon Community Health has been running a TV Advertisement featuring its CEO, Pat Hughes. When I first saw the Ad I wondered if this Pat Hughes was the same one I remembered as a kid growing up in Everett.

It is.

Fallon’s Pat Hughes is a board member on the Lowell Plan. That is the Lowell connection. But there is more to this man…
Pat Hughes was an incredible athlete at Everett High School in the mid 1960. He was Captain of the undefeated Crimson Tide Football team playing offensive center and defensive linebacker. He was fast and tough. His play on the football field is legendary in Everett.
Hughes was also an outstanding baseball player. When he graduated from Everett High he was drafted by the New York Mets. I recall one evening attending a minor league baseball game at Everett’s Glendale Park with a group of my friends. Hughes was playing for the Everett team. Hey, we were project kids…we went because it was free and we loved sports. We were only about 14 years old and Hughes was about 18 (a senior in high school). Every Saturday we watched Hughes play football, but we never saw him on a baseball field before. We weren’t disappointed. We had played baseball at Glendale park many, many times, but when Hughes came to bat he hit a home run further than any of us had ever seen a ball hit in our lives. Our jaws dropped…We were in awe of his power and skill.
But football was Pat Hughes’ game…After graduating from Everett High School in 1965 he went on to become a Hall of Fame player at Boston University and was drafted by the New York Giants. His aggressive style of play led him to a starting linebacker’s position and quickly made him defensive captain for the Giants. Pat Hughes played in the NFL for ten years in total. Seven with the Giants and three with the New Orleans Saints…

and so once again there is a Lowell connection.

3 Responses to Pat Hughes: “A Lowell Connection”

  1. Joseph Denish says:

    Pat Hughes was the nicest person I knew as a kid. Pat will remember his little blue Mustange he drove. I remember it being Giants Blue. I was a kid who was running around Glendale Park with him. Pat will also remember that I was the batboy on his softball team. He crushed the ball out of Swan St Park like it was nothing. The fench was over 18 feet high and he would hit homes and cars. If you knew him he was awesome he was very honest and polite my Mom really liked him .Pat always hold a special place in my life being short as it was I knew a professional football player and he was my friend. I would like to hear from my friend of long ago . I have some football cards that need his signature my friend. My brother Larry was about his age and they played for Everett High Football together. Pat thanks for all the fun.
    Joe Denish

  2. Jim Ferry says:

    I remember hearing Pat speak to a small group of fathers and sons at my church in Demarest New Jersey. I am guessing that was 1973 or 1974. He was nice and humorous and it was a thrill to meet a real NFL player. It’s hard to imagine a scenario like that occurring today.

  3. Laura Heywood says:

    I remember Pat when he played for the NY Giants between ’72-’76 and used to come into the sports bar with the team on First Avenue after the game where I worked. Very smart and fun to be with. From Laura (No. 84)- we used to wear Giants shirts