“FENWAY'S BEST PLAYERS”

1961-1970 #10   HOUSTON ANTWINE   DT Houston Antwine was  born on April 11, 1939 in Louise, Mississippi and went to high school at Manasas High School in Tennessee. After starring at Southern Illinois University in both football and wrestling, he was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 3rd round of the 1961 NFL Draft and the Houston Oilers in the eighth round of the 1961 AFL draft. He was traded to the Patriots and never played for the Oilers. He spent 11 of his 12 professional seasons with the Patriots, sticking with the team through the AFL-NFL merger. In the 1960s, the defensive tackle tandem of 'Twine' and Jim Lee Hunt were as good as any in the league and helped propel the Patriots to the franchise's first division championship in 1963. In 142 regular-season games for the Patriots, he had 39 sacks, leading the team in that category during the 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons, although sacks were not an official statistic then. He was named to the AFL All Star team every year from 1963 thru 1968 and made All-Pro in 1963. He was inducted into the Southern Illinois Athletic Hall of Fame. He was elected to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2015 and is a member of the Patriots' 50th Anniversary Team. He also a member of the AFL Hall of Fame All-1960s team.  Houston Antwine died of heart failure on December 26, 2011 in Memphis, Tenn, at age 72.