The story behind original Patriots logo, Pat Patriot

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The original Patriots logo, which many people know as Pat Patriot, was forced into retirement in 1992 after 32 years of service. The New England Patriots now use a logo that encompasses the team's four colors: red, white, blue and silver.

But Pat Patriot is still a big player for the team. Phil Bissell, a former cartoonist who is now 88-years-old, designed Pat Patriot in 1960 for the Boston Globe.

After a contest to name the new AFL football team resulted in the Boston Patriots, Bissell's creation appeared in the paper the next day, Patriots Day.

The original team owner, Billy Sullivan, paid Bissell $100 in 1960 for his design.

Bissell recalls Sullivan telling him, "Here's $100 to let us use it for a year on our stationery."

More than 50 years later, the iconic colonial football man lives on.

"A true representation of a Patriot," Bissell said.

When designing Pat, Bissell recalled what the cartoon would need to make the perfect design.

"He's got to be tough. He's got to get in the trenches and dig. That's why, if you notice, his hands are all grimy - because he's dug. He doesn't have nice little white gloves on like Elvis," said Bissell.

"I call him my third son. He's my third son. Pat my third son. He's one of the family. My other two sons had to live with him growing up, and he got more attention than they did to be perfectly honest," Bissell said.