Former Patriots Punter/Quarterback Tom Yewcic passes away

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (WWLP) – The New England Patriots announced Wednesday night that former Patriots punter and quarterback Tom Yewcic of the 1960’s all-decade team passed away at age 88.

According to a news release sent to 22News from the New England Patriots, Yewcic helped lead Michigan State to a 1954 Rose Bowl victory over UCLA before playing for the Boston Patriots as a punter and quarterback.

He was also a baseball player at Michigan State and was named the College World Series Most Outstanding player in 1954, despite his team not reaching the championship.

Yewcic was drafted in the 27th round with the 319th pick overall in the 1954 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers but opted to play baseball and signed with the Detroit Tigers. He spent time in the minor leagues before playing one game at catcher for Detroit on June 27, 1957. He signed with the Patriots in 1961 following a half a season with Toronto of the Canadian Football League.

According to the Patriots, Yewcic was a punter in 1961 and the first half of 1962 before he was pushed into the position of starting quarterback when Babe Parilli suffered an injury and lead the Patriots to three straight wins.

Yewcic punted 377 times for 14,553 yards during his career.

In addition to punting and playing quarterback, he was also used as a receiver and running back. In 77 career regular-season games he completed 87 passes for 1,374 yards and 12 touchdowns and had 72 carries for 424 yards and four touchdowns as well as completeing seven receptions for 69 yards.