Larry Eisenhauer was a football standout at Boston College before being drafted by the Boston Patriots in the sixth round in 1961. He went on to play 115 regular-season games and two playoff games.

Pats fans didn’t just like Eisenhauer they loved him. He was a genuine character, a successful businessman off the field and the life of any party or gathering he graced, bringing passion and joy to every pursuit. Called "Ike", he was the original "Gronk" before there was Rob Gronkowski's "Gronk".

When the Patriots were in San Diego preparing for the 1963 AFL championship game, they were headquartered in a hotel that boasted a rooftop duplex bar that had a swimming pool, complete with bathing beauties swimming in synchronized fashion to entertain patrons.

After a few beers following practice, "Ike" and his dad, who’d flown in from Long Island to watch his son in the big game, left their barstools and had soon stripped to their boxer shorts. They dove in, trying to be a part of the girl's routine, swimming alongside them in the pool, all to the delight of their teammates and other bar customers.

At a reception hosted by former Patriots owner, Billy Sullivan to welcome the new Pats owner Robert Kraft in 1993, laughter erupted when "Ike" made a grand entrance, clad in the garish scarlet colonial theme sport coat and a felt tri-corner hat. As always, he was the life of the party.

A defensive end, Eisenhauer played nine seasons for the Patriots. He totaled 47 1/2 sacks in his Patriots career, eighth-most in franchise history, and led the team in that category each year for four straight seasons (1962-1965).

Eisenhauer was named to the AFL All-Pro Team three times and was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978 also making the Patriots 1960s All-Decade team.

Larry "Ike" Eisenhauer was an AFL All-Star on the field, but made an ever greater impact in the New England community as a Patriots ambassador, always eager to volunteer for many alumni initiatives.

He died on January 29, 2020 of bone cancer in Jupiter FL. He was 79 years old.