How The Boston Patriots became the New England Patriots

[Former Patriots GM from 1971-72 Upton Bell] said it was his idea, and in researching this book we couldn't find anyone to dispute that claim. So for the sake of history, the credit goes to Bell.

After being rejected by the Boston city council a final time on a new stadium in 1970, Pat Sullivan said his father wanted to extract some revenge on the city by taking the "Boston" out of the Patriots. And with the new stadium going up in suburban Foxboro, Sullivan wanted the name to have more of a regional influence.

So in early 1971, the team became the "Bay State" Patriots. A press conference was called and a banner unfurled. Unfortunately the newspapers had to abbreviate the name to fit it into the headlines, and soon fans were snickering at the "BS" Patriots.

"The first day I came here for my press conference I picked up one of the papers and right there on the front page it said, "BS Patriots to hire Bell," said Bell. "Every writer in town was having a field day. The bullshit Patriots. So one of my first moves was to ask Billy if we could change the name to the "New England" Patriots. I didn't want to tell Billy that, hey, we look ridiculous."

"The board eventually agreed."

The Bay State Patriots officially became the New England Patriots on March 22, 1971.

--- Michael Felger, Tales from the Patriots Sideline: A collection of the Greatest Stories of the Team's First 40 Years