Former Medfield Resident Drew Bledsoe to Be Inducted in Patriots Hall of Fame Saturday

Drew Bledsoe and Jon Morris are the Patriots 2011 Hall of Fame inductees. Both will be honored in a ceremony outside The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon at 5pm on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The event, which takes place the day before the Patriots 2011 regular season home opener versus the San Diego Chargers, is free and open to the public. Bledsoe and Morris will receive their red Patriots Hall of Fame blazers and their Hall of Fame trophies. They will also have the opportunity to speak to their fans, who will gather on Patriot Place Plaza for the ceremony. Patriots Chairman & CEO Robert Kraft as well as other Patriots Hall of Fame members and alumni will be among the dignitaries in attendance.

Bledsoe, a former Medfield resident, was voted by the fans as the 17th player and 18th member to enter the Patriots Hall of Fame. Since the new process for induction was instituted in 2007, Bledsoe earned the highest percentage of votes for any candidate and becomes the first player to be selected by the fans into the Patriots Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

“Obviously this is a tremendous honor, to be elected to the Patriots Hall of Fame,” said Bledsoe. “Honestly, [it was] a little more emotional than I thought it would have been. Just to be considered in the company of [fellow nominees] Bill Parcells and Houston Antwine was a great honor in and of itself. And then to be elected to the hall of fame was really a tremendous honor. I’m really looking forward to getting back there in September and [it is] obviously a great honor. It means a lot to me and a lot to my family.”

Bledsoe was the first overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft and for the next eight years was considered the face of the Patriots franchise. During his nine-year Patriots career, he broke the Patriots’ career passing records for attempts (4,518), completions (2,544) and yards (29,657). Bledsoe still holds the Patriots’ single-season passing records for attempts (691) and completions (400) and is the only player in franchise history to pass for over 400 yards multiple times (4). He still holds the NFL record for attempts in a season (691 in 1994) and both attempts (70) and completions (45) in a game against Minnesota in 1994 that sparked a seven-game win streak, propelling the Patriots to their first playoff berth in eight years. Bledsoe led the Patriots to the playoffs four times in his first six seasons, helping the team earn back-to-back division titles and three consecutive playoff berths for the first time in franchise history. In 1996, he guided the Patriots to their second AFC Championship in franchise history and a trip to Super Bowl XXXI. Bledsoe is the only quarterback in NFL history with four seasons of at least 600 pass attempts, including three straight from 1994-96 with the Patriots.