New England Patriots fans will have a chance to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with the original symbol of the Patriots, and the man who created it.
Rockport's Phil Bissell created ''Pat Patriot'' in 1960 shortly after the team — then known as the Boston Patriots — was formed in the old American Football League.
With this being the 50th anniversary of the Patriots organization and the AFL, the new sleek Flying Elvis logo will step aside for a few games and allow the retro uniforms and Pat Patriot to make a triumphant return.
"We wanted to plan a way of retelling the history of the team," said Patriots vice president of media relations Stacey James. "So we wanted to reach out to Phil for help in doing so."
In 1960, Bissell was asked to draw a Patriots cartoon for the Boston Globe. Bissell's creation was a tough-looking, somewhat-angry Minuteman ready to hike the ball. He went by the name of Pat Patriot. In the cartoon, Pat said "now to make some history around here."
His creation became the official team logo in 1961, after the paper gave the logo to the Patriots free of charge.
He's not bitter he never cashed in.
Bissell said, "I was in the right place at the right time and I made $25 for the Pat Patriot cartoon. But I got more publicity for $25 than I ever would have got anywhere."
Bissell is proud to be the creator of Pat Patriot.
"I have two sons (Steven and Christopher) and I considered Pat to be my third son," said Bissell. "The whole thing has just been a great ride. Money is nice, but it's also nice to be appreciated."
That cartoon began a long-standing relationship between Bissell and the Patriots, as he contributed original works to the covers of Patriots game programs throughout the 1960s.
Bissell, 83, has been commissioned to create a series of scenes featuring Pat that will grace the covers of Patriots game day programs this season.
Because of the evolution of Pat over the years, the logo still looks fairly similar but is a bit of a smoother, less feisty looking Pat.
"Even though my original Pat may not be here, he is here in spirit through this other guy," said Bissell, a Worcester native who moved to Rockport in 1978. "However, people are going to see him now more than ever. It's fun. I'm having a great time."
James said the Patriots are elated to continue to work with Bissell.
"Phil is a special person," said James. "He has a unique connection to the organization. You could even argue that his work is even better now than it was back then, and it was great back then."
Bissell was a sports cartoonist for several publications spanning from 1950 until 1995. At one point in time in the mid-1960s, his work ran in 200 papers. He also has cartoons and illustrations on display at the Pro Football, Pro Hockey, Pro Baseball and Pro Basketball Hall of Fames. He has illustrated many legends including Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi and Celtics owner Walter Brown.
"My only regret is that Bev (Bissell's late wife of 55 years) isn't here to witness all of this," said Bissell. "She was always upset about all of the accolades around Pat. I'm in every hall of fame and I've had correspondence with President Gerald Ford.
"The thing is that I've done so many things over the years. I've done over 50,000 likenesses of people. You add that up and that's a lot of faces. I have done an awful lot more than just Pat.''
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