Jim Whalen James Francis Whalen , Jr . ( May 20 , 1943 – December 18 , 2012 ) was a professional American football tight end . Whalen was born in Cambridge , Massachusetts . He played in the American Football League for the Boston Patriots , and then in the National Football League for the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles . Whalen played college football at Boston College and was selected in the third round of the 1965 AFL Draft . He was also drafted in the fourth round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings . Jim Whalen is the only football player to have 3 TD receptions in a college game played at Boston College Alumni Stadium and have 3 TD receptions in a professional football game played at Boston College Alumni Stadium . Jim caught 3 TD passes for the Boston Patriots in their 41 - 10 rout of the Miami Dolphins at BC on October 15 , 1967 . The Boston Red Sox were playing in the 1967 World Series and the Patriots had to play at Boston College for this game . Earlier in 1962 as a sophomore at Boston Collage , Whalen hauled in three touchdown receptions in a victory against Boston University . Early Years : James Francis " Jim " Whalen Jr . grew up in Cambridge , MA residing on Plymouth Street , the son of James Francis " Brud " Whalen and Helen Whalen , née Zukowski . He has one sister Rosemary . ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) . The younger Whalen was a three - sport star at Cambridge Rindge and Latin , Cambridge , MA , a school that also produced a number of other top athletes including MLB Hall - of - Fame pitcher and 342 game winner Tim Keefe , MLB player Eddie Waitkus on whom the movie " The Natural " was loosely based and Olympic high jumper John Thomas . Whalen , who starred in football , baseball and ice hockey , was subsequently inducted into the Cambridge Rindge and Latin Athletic Hall of Fame . ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) College Years : One of the finest pass catchers and all - around athletes to graduate from Boston College . At the time of his graduation after the 1964 season , Whalen was the top pass receiver in Boston College history with 73 career receptions , surpassing the total of 70 accumulated by Art Graham , ( 7 ) ( 8 ) who like Whalen a few years later , would go on to a stellar career with the Boston Patriots . ( 1 ) In addition to being one of the top ends in the country , Whalen was called upon to also punt his senior season . ( 9 ) During his tenure at BC , Whalen also lettered in baseball and ice hockey in addition to football . ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 7 ) Like his dad who was elected into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 , ( 10 ) so too the younger Whalen himself would be so honored by being elected into the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1995 . ( 7 ) [ Note : James " Brud " Whalen was one of the preeminent multi - sport collegiate stars of his era captaining the Manhattan College baseball and football teams in its sports heyday at the national level . In one of his seasons on the gridiron he averaged 9 . 1 yards per carry rushing , 12 . 7 yards per pass reception , 45 yards per punt return and was among the leaders nationally in touchdowns scored ] . ( 10 ) ( 11 ) ( 18 ) 1962 Season : Started as a sophomore at Boston College recording 16 catches for 309 yards and a lofty 19 . 3 yards per reception . ( 7 ) ( 9 ) Was second on the team in touchdowns with six , trailing only Art Graham who scored seven . ( 7 ) ( 9 ) Boston College would finish with an 8 - 2 record including wins over Texas Tech , Vanderbilt and Houston . ( 7 ) ( 9 ) 1963 Season : Consensus First Team All - East selection as offensive end . ( 7 ) ( 12 ) Ranked first nationally in yards per catch ( minimum of 25 catches ) with an everage of 20 . 1 . ( 13 ) His 523 receiving yards on 26 catches ranked eighth nationally , only 36 yards out of the fourth position . ( 13 ) In addition to leading BC in receiving yards , Whalen also led in receptions . ( 7 ) ( 9 ) Boston College finished with a 6 - 3 record including wins over Virginia and Vanderbilt . ( 9 ) 1964 Season : Repeated as consensus First Team All - East . ( 7 ) Joining Whalen at the offensive skill positions were Roger Staubach / Navy at QB , Milt Moran / UMass at end , and Jim Nance and Floyd Little , each of Syracuse , as backs . ( 14 ) After the conclusion of the 1964 season , Whalen was selected as a starter in both the East - West Shrine Game ( held in San Francisco ) , as well as the Senior Bowl ( Mobile , Alabama ) . ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 7 ) Whalen recorded 31 catches and 398 receiving yards , leading the team in both categories . ( 7 ) ( 9 ) He was also one of three primary punters that season leading the squad with nearly 35 yards per kick . ( 9 ) Boston College finished 6 - 3 including wins over # 9 ranked Syracuse and Cincinnati which would finish 8 - 2 that season . ( 9 ) Against Air Force , Whalen ' s 4th down 30 yard touchdown reception on an Ed Foley pass snapped a 7 - 7 tie leading to a 13 - 7 win . ( 15 ) Later that season , Whalen ' s 15 yard catch in the closing moments resulted in a 10 - 8 victory in Holy Cross Coach Eddie Anderson ' s final game . At the time , Anderson ' s 201 wins ( against 128 losses and 15 ties ) ranked fourth behind only Pop Warner , Amos Stagg and Jess Neely . ( 16 ) Professional Career : Unlike his dad who turned down offers from both professional football and Major League Baseball , ( 2 ) ( 10 ) ( 17 ) ( 18 ) ( 19 ) the younger Whalen decided to take his athletic talents to the professional level . Although being recruited by teams from the National Hockey League as well as from others in Major League Baseball , Whalen chose football and signed with the hometown Boston Patriots who had drafted him with the 23rd overall pick [ note : The younger Whalen was also drafted by the Minnesota Vikings ] . ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) 1965 Season : Recorded 22 catches and 381 receiving yards , each of which ranked eleventh among combined AFL + NFL tight ends . ( 1 ) On October 24 , 1965 , Whalen recorded his first professional 100 yard receiving game ( 109 yards ) against the Oakland Raiders . ( 1 ) Patriots finish the season with a 4 - 8 - 2 record . ( 1 ) 1966 Season : Recorded 29 catches for 502 receiving yards ranking ninth among all tight ends in the combined AFL + NFL . ( 1 ) His four receiving touchdowns ranked first among AFL tight ends and fourth overall trailing only John Mackey , Jerry Smith and Pete Retzlaff . ( 1 ) On November 13 , 1966 , Whalen scored his first professional touchdown on a 42 yard pass reception from Babe Parilli in a 27 - 21 win over the Houston Oilers . ( 1 ) He would then proceed to score three more touchdowns over the next five games . ( 1 ) The First Team All - Pro tight ends in 1966 were Fred Arbanas ( 22 catches , 305 yards and 4 touchdowns ) and John Mackey ( 50 , 829 and 9 ) . ( 1 ) Patriots finish 8 - 4 - 2 . 1967 Season : Recorded 39 catches for 651 yards , each ranking seventh among combined AFL + NFL tight ends . ( 1 ) His five receiving touchdowns as a tight end ranked second in the AFL and fourth in the combined AFL + NFL . ( 1 ) Whalen ' s 651 receiving yards was tops among all Patriot receivers , ahead of the 606 recorded by WR Art Graham and 502 by RB Larry Garron , and his five receiving touchdowns also topped the squad . ( 1 ) On October 15 , 1967 , Whalen tied the Patriots record of three touchdowns in a single game during a 41 - 10 thrashing of the Miami Dolphins . ( 1 ) The three receiving touchdowns while subsequently surpassed by WR Randy Moss on November 18 , 2007 against Buffalo , is through the 2012 season still a Patriots record for tight ends . ( 1 ) The First Team All - Pro tight ends were Billy Cannon ( 32 , 629 and 10 ) and John Mackey ( 55 , 686 and 3 ) . ( 1 ) Patriots finish 3 - 10 - 1 . 1968 Season : Recorded 47 catches and seven touchdowns as a tight end , each leading the AFL and ranking second among all AFL + NFL tight ends [ Note : Jackie Smith led the NFL with 49 receptions ] . ( 1 ) Whalen also piled up 718 receiving yards ranking second among AFL tight ends and fourth across the combined AFL + NFL . ( 1 ) No other Patriot tallied more than 19 receptions or 331 yards receiving . ( 1 ) Whalen ' s 87 yard pass reception on a Tom Sherman pass ( October 27 , 1968 ) against the Super Bowl - bound ( and winning ) New York Jets was at the time the longest play from scrimmage in Patriots history . ( 1 ) Through the 2012 season it still remains as the longest reception by a tight end in Patriots history , and also one of the longest by a tight end in professional football history . ( 1 ) After a 20 - 17 victory against the Denver Broncos ( September 29 , 1968 ) in which Whalen caught four balls including one for a touchdown , he was awarded a game ball by his teammates . ( 1 ) ( 20 ) Ironically two years later , Whalen would be playing for the Broncos . ( 1 ) Had a career game high eight receptions against the Oakland Raiders on October 6 , 1968 . ( 1 ) Also during the season , Whalen would have two multiple touchdown games in a pair of wins against the Buffalo Bills ( October 20 , 1968 with Mike Taliaferro at QB ) and the Cincinnati Bengals ( December 1 , 1968 with Tom Sherman at QB ) . ( 1 ) It would be over 25 years until another Patriot tight end , Ben Coates , would exceed both Whalen ' s receptions per scheduled game and receiving yardage per scheduled game when the former combined with QB Drew Bledsoe in 1994 to set a new NFL record for tight ends . ( 1 ) Additionally during the 1968 season , Whalen led the Patriots in both touchdowns ( 7 ) and total yards from scrimmage ( 718 ) . ( 1 ) This was the first of only two seasons in Patriots history through 2012 that a tight end would lead the club in yards from scrimmage — the second coming in 1994 during Ben Coates record - setting season . ( 1 ) Whalen is named Patriots team MVP by the 1776 Booster ' s Club . ( 21 ) For his accomplishments in 1968 , Whalen would be accorded First Team All - Pro , marking the first time that any Patriots receiver , tight end or otherwise , would be selected First Team All - Pro . ( 1 ) The other All - Pro tight end that season was John Mackey ( 45 , 644 and 5 ) . ( 1 ) Patriots finish 4 - 10 . 1969 Season : Recorded 16 receptions for 235 yards and a touchdown in a year in which no Patriot ( running backs included ) caught more than 29 balls . ( 1 ) On September 28 , 1969 in a loss against the Oakland Raiders , Whalen scores his last touchdown as a Patriot . ( 1 ) After the season , Whalen was traded to the Denver Broncos for another tight end , Tom Beer , who would subsequently write a book entitled " Sunday ' s Fools " about his days in football . Patriots finish 4 - 10 . 1970 Season : In his first season as a Denver Bronco , Whalen records 36 receptions for 503 yards and three touchdowns ranking in the top ten in each category across all NFL tight ends . ( 1 ) In a 24 - 10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on October 18 , 1970 , Whalen scores his first touchdown as a Denver Bronco on an 8 yard pass from QB Pete Liske . ( 1 ) A month later on November 22 , 1970 , Whalen scores his last NFL touchdown during a 31 - 6 win over the New Orleans Saints . ( 1 ) The First Team All - Pro tight end is Charlie Sanders who records 40 catches , 544 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns . Placing second in the All - Pro voting for tight ends that season is Bob Trumpy ( 29 , 480 and 2 ) . ( 1 ) 1971 Season : As a Denver Bronco , Whalen pulls in 4 passes for 53 yards in a loss to the Green Bay Packers followed by 3 more catches and 71 yards the next week in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs . ( 1 ) He is soon thereafter traded in - season to the Philadelphia Eagles for whom he hauls in a 41 yard pass against the Washington Redskins before retiring . ( 1 ) Historical Perspective : Despite playing his entire career during the shorter 14 - game season and largely for teams that ranked at or near the bottom in passing , ( 1 ) Whalen ' s accomplishments still compare favorably in today ' s offense - oriented game . He is one of only four Patriot tight ends ( Russ Francis , Ben Coates and Rob Gronkowski ) to string together three consecutive seasons of 500 + yards receiving ( he had another with the Denver Broncos ) , ( 1 ) and one of only three ( Coates , Gronkowski ) to record 650 + yards in back - to - back seasons . ( 1 ) Additionally , Whalen ' s Patriot career yards per reception average of 16 . 3 ranks first among all Patriot tight ends ( 1 ) ( 22 ) and sixth all - time among all Patriot receivers , wide outs included ( minimum of 150 career receptions ) . ( 1 ) ( 22 ) His career average of 16 . 0 per catch ( inclusive of his time with the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles ) as a tight end is outstanding and ranks in the top ten in the history of professional football ( minimum of 150 receptions ) . ( 1 ) Five of Whalen ' s 20 career touchdowns were for 40 or more yards . ( 1 ) Furthermore , Whalen protected the ball exceptionally well , fumbling just twice in his career . ( 1 ) Through the end of the 2010 season , only one tight end in history ( Andrew Glover ) had fewer career fumbles than Whalen while catching as many passes . ( 1 ) Had a career game high of 134 yards receiving ( against the Miami Dolphins in 1967 ) , ( 1 ) and is one of only five Patriot tight ends ( Coates , Hasselbeck , Gronkowski and Hernandez ) to record at least four career 100 yard receiving games . ( 1 ) Elected onto the Patriots 1960 ' s All - Decade Team . ( 3 ) ( 23 ) Sources : ( 2 ) : Family sources ( 3 ) : Various obituaries including : The Boston Globe , December 2012 , page B11 ( 4 ) : Various obituaries including : http : / / www . wickedlocal . com / gloucester / newsnow / x1665852163 / in - memoriam - hands - speed - made - gloucester - resident - whalen - a - classic - Patriot # axzz2HjLNDHsx ( 5 ) : Various obituaries including : http : / / www . boston . com / news / local / massachusetts / 2012 / 12 / 21 / Jim - Whalen - tight - end - for - Boston - College - and - Boston - Patriots / mauu6ZFKOacGIpyQMSd4VN / story . html ( 6 ) : Cambridge Rindge and Latin , Cambridge , MA ( 7 ) : Boston College including at www . bceagles . com / genrel / whalen _ jim00 . html ( 8 ) : BC Alumni Magazine , Volume XXXI , No . 2 , November 1968 ( 9 ) : www . sports - reference . com ( 11 ) : The Titusville ( PA ) Herald , November 11 , 1935 ( 12 ) : Schenectady Gazette , November 29 , 1963 ( 13 ) : USA Today College Football Encyclopedia , 1953 – present ( 14 ) : Gettysburg Times , November 30 , 1964 ( 15 ) : Reading Eagle , October 25 , 1964 ( 16 ) : Sports Illustrated , December 7 , 1964 ( 17 ) : The Portsmouth Herald , June 8 , 1939 ( 18 ) : The Boston Globe , July 22 , 1989 ( 19 ) : The Burlington ( NC ) Daily Times - News , October 8 , 1936 ( 20 ) : The Boston Globe , September 30 , 1968 ( 21 ) : Various including : http : / / archive . Patriots . com / alumni / index . cfm ? ac = alumnibiosdetail & bio = 4512 ( 22 ) : New England Patriots including at : www . Patriots . com ( 23 ) : The Boston Globe , March 31 , 2009 See also . Other American Football League players