The 'inside' story of Bates football's only professional draft pick: Tom Carr '66

By Aaron Morse

In 1966, the Boston Patriots selected a fullback in the 13th round of the American Football League draft. The back was the all-time leading point-scorer at Bates College, and was known throughout New England for his size and toughness.

His name was Tom Carr '66 and growing up in Saugus, Mass., he didn't even like football that much.  

"You know, I wasn't crazy about the game," Carr said. "I played high school football mainly because of peer pressure, and when I decided to go to college I used football as an opportunity to get a scholarship." 

Carr's talent was such that the likes of Boston College, Indiana, and UCLA expressed interest. 

But a teacher at Saugus High School pointed Carr toward Bates. After a visit to campus, the heavily recruited Carr decided to become a Bobcat. And soon, Carr found a passion for football that took him all the way to the professional ranks. 

Led by head coach Bob Hatch, the football team, known as "The Hatchmen," was coming off four straight losing seasons entering 1962. Carr and Hatch quickly built a rapport that helped turn the program's fortunes around. 

"I developed a love of the game at Bates, and I think it was mainly because of Bob Hatch," Carr said. "I even loved practice, and not too many football people love practice, but I did." 

"Coach Hatch was known for his saying, 'What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say,'" John "Archie" Lanza '67 said. "Like Tom, he wasn't a 'rah rah' guy and I think Tom was his kind of player — just give him the ball without any fanfare and he'll get the job done." 

Carr made an immediate impact as a first-year, so much so that he took the starting job of a Bobcat you may have heard of: future Bates head coach Web Harrison '63. 

"Oh, Web didn't like it at all," Howard Vandersea '63 said. "He was all upset, because Carr was a freshman, and he was a senior. But it was the right move, no question. I mean, Carr was a great player."

Carr was a pleasure to block for, if you were up to the task. And Vandersea, an All-American that year as an offensive lineman and linebacker, was an ideal blocker for the big fullback. 

"The difficult thing [about blocking for Carr] was, you better move people, because he was running right up your back," Vandersea said. "I mean, he would just crush you. You knew he was coming, and you had to move people, because there was no hesitation at all, as a runner." 

Carr, who tipped the scales at 225 pounds, was referred to as "Mr. Inside" by The Bates Student and backfield mate John Yuskis '66 was "Mr. Outside." 

"Carr was a legitimate full-time fullback," Yuskis said. "The halfbacks at that time, because we ran a wing-T, quite often I would run a flanker or a slot. And certain times when I was in the backfield we would run slants where I would block for him or he would block for me." 

"But basically, Tommy, every time we got into a tight situation, the majority of the times where we needed a yard or two, he would get the football." 

Carr scored 10 touchdowns during his rookie season, helping Bates finish with a strong 5-3 record.

Off the field, Carr mostly kept to himself. "Hazing" was a common rite of passage in those years but he would have none of it at first.

"I never played tricks on anyone else; I didn't want anyone playing tricks on me," Carr said. "But this guy in my dorm was big on hazing, and he picked me to be his guinea pig, and I refused to do it." 

"So as a penalty for not obeying the hazing rules, I got called to appear in front of the student council and had to wear a dress for one day, which I reluctantly decided to do because I was getting a lot of flak not only from some of the classmates but some of the professors as well."

While his classmates often played multiple sports at Bates, Carr focused on football. In his spare time, he enjoyed playing cards, shooting pool, and going to the local horse track. 

"When he was playing pool, he'd make this unbelievable shot or a run of balls and he'd just make a comment like, "Oh, that wasn't too bad,'" Bill Farrington '66 said. "He just had a quiet wit that was distinctive. And when I think of him, a smile comes to my face." 

Carr, who majored in psychology, has fond memories of winning money off his peers: "Playing pool at Bates and playing poker at Bates. Yeah, that was part of the curriculum." 

After Vandersea's graduation, Bates' offensive line was not as strong in 1963 and 1964. But Carr kept plugging away, earning first team All-State honors each season.

The Student chronicled his achievements through the years in great detail.

Nov. 6, 1963

Big Tom Carr received the opening kick on his own twenty and smashed up the middle until finally brought down on the Bobcat forty-nine. On the second play from scrimmage, Carr broke through the right side, cut to his left, and outran all Polar Bear defenders to paydirt. The brilliant touchdown run covered fifty-one yards.

Oct. 14, 1964

Singled out this week for Bobcat honors is junior Tom (Junior) Carr. The big fullback led Bates in its second victory of the year this past Saturday at Worcester Tech. For his efforts Tom was named the E.C.A.C. fullback of the week. Tom scored the two Bates touchdowns and picked up the majority of Bates yardage on the ground.

Nov. 3, 1965

Grinding out 119 of the team's 134 yard rushing total, Tom scored one touchdown and set up the field goal to give the Bobcats a long sought after win over Bowdoin. A tough, hard hitting Polar Bear defense was outdone only by the tougher, harder hitting Tom Carr.

"Carr just never seemed as impressed as everybody else was with what he did on the gridiron and I always respected that," Lanza said. "He just played the game and he played it well. It's not easy to do well when the other team is always zeroing in on you." 

The Hatchmen finished Carr's senior season of 1965 with a record of 6-2, tying for the second-most wins in school history. That year marked the debut of the great quarterback Jim Murphy '69, whose talents led to a more wide-open attack in the ensuing years. 

But before that was to occur, it was time to honor the best fullback to ever put on a Bates uniform. At the end-of-the-year banquet, Carr learned his jersey number, 42, was being retired.

"The athletic director was at the podium, and I remember he was getting up to speak," Carr said. "I see these cameras coming into the area, and I'm saying, 'What the hell's going on?'

"I figured maybe they were going to give Bob Hatch a special presentation because we had a good year that year. I was completely shocked when they started talking about me and that they were retiring my number." 

It was certainly well-deserved. Carr's 30 career rushing touchdowns is tied with Chris Hickey '88 for the most in team history. His 213 points are still the program standard. Carr was the second of three players in Bates football history to have their jersey retired (the others are Bob Martin '57 [34] and the aforementioned Murphy [10]).

Around the same time, Carr was fielding offers from the NFL and the AFL. Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Patriots wanted his services. In the end, the Patriots won out and selected him in the 13th round out of 20 in the final AFL Draft. (The drafts merged before the leagues.) 

"A kid from Bates being drafted, I mean, it was unbelievable," Yuskis said. "You would expect somebody from the University of Maine to get drafted but not somebody from Bates." 

Vandersea signed multiple free-agent contracts with the Chicago Bears. And years later, Rico Corsetti '85 played two games in the NFL as a replacement player with the Patriots. But to this day, Carr is the only Bobcat player to get drafted by a professional football team. 

That summer he competed for a spot on Boston's roster, playing in exhibition games, including one in Quincy, Mass., against the New York Jets. Farrington and a number of other Hatchmen went to watch him play. In typical Carr fashion, he didn't call attention to the fact he was playing in the game, but his Bates teammates found out about it nonetheless. 

Carr was put on what was then known as the "taxi squad," the equivalent of today's practice squad. So he had to be ready at any moment to be called up to the Patriots. But in the meantime he could play semi-pro ball. So Carr signed with the Lowell Giants.

"I got a paycheck for playing with the Patriots on the practice squad, and I got another paycheck each week playing for the Giants," Carr said. "Those semi-pro teams were great for guys who wanted to keep playing football."

Carr never got the call to the Patriots that season and returned to the team's training camp in 1967, only to see the opportunity end before it got started.

"I broke my jaw in an exhibition game," Carr said. "I got hit by a middle linebacker, and so that put me out for the whole year."

"In the interim," Carr says, "I ended up getting married." When his wife became pregnant, he "decided to get a real job." 

After spending a few years as a physical education director, Carr spent most of his career in sales, retiring 12 years ago. 

Now 75, he looks back on his days at Bates with fondness. 

"They treated me awfully well in my four years there," Carr said. "I had lots of jobs around campus where I made good money, including selling tickets at the basketball games and coordinating the intramural athletic programs." 

During his days working in sales, Carr would travel to Maine for his job. He would make sure to catch up with Hatch during those trips, going to the coach's house for dinner.  

While Carr never tooted his own horn, the retirement of his jersey meant more to him than perhaps anyone knew. 

"I always took pride in all the honors I got in sports, whether it was in high school or Little League or college, but certainly the retirement of my jersey is the greatest of all of them," Carr said. "Absolutely more so than being drafted by the Patriots. It was very special."