Joe Bellino Joseph Michael Bellino ( born March 13 , 1938 ) is a former American football halfback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1960 playing for the U . S . Naval Academy and later played in the American Football League for the Boston Patriots . Early life . Bellino was born in Winchester , Massachusetts , attended the town ' s public schools , and was a three - sport star at Winchester High School . In baseball he batted well over . 400 and was courted by major league teams . He was offered a contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates after high school . The basketball team on which he starred won the state championship his sophomore and junior years . They moved up to the Class A ( largest schools ) tournament his senior year , where the team ' s 55 - game winning streak came to an end at the hands of much larger B . M . C . Durfee High School of Fall River . He was a dominant halfback on Winchester ' s outstanding football team , although his senior season was shortened by the 1955 polio epidemic . He was recruited by several Big Ten schools , Notre Dame , Ivy League schools as well as the U . S . Military Academy , but his first choice all along was Navy . College career . During his 1956 – 57 year at Columbian Academy in Washington D . C . , Bellino starred in both football and basketball . On November 25 , Bellino scored three touchdowns in Columbian ' s upset win over the Navy Plebes , 34 – 33 . In the fall of 1957 , Bellino entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland along with his former high - school teammate , Frank Dattilo . During his freshman year , the Plebes matched up against the Penn State freshmen . Penn State won the game 23 – 13 , but Bellino took a lateral from his Columbian teammate Harry Dietz and scored on an 85 - yard kickoff return . He was an outstanding baseball player at Navy , but his legendary exploits occurred on the football field . In his senior year , he rushed for 834 yards , caught 15 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns , threw two touchdown passes , averaged 47 . 1 yards as a punter , and returned kicks and punts . He won the 1960 Heisman Trophy by a wide margin , garnering the most votes in each of the five national voting regions . In Bellino ' s final college football game , Navy ' s loss to the University of Missouri in the 1961 Orange Bowl , he scored his team ' s final touchdown with a spectacular diving catch in the end zone . Following graduation , Ensign Bellino began his four years of active Navy service , until he was discharged to reserve duty . Professional career . Bellino was drafted in 17th round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins , as well as in the 19th round of the 1961 AFL Draft by the Boston Patriots . He decided to join the Patriots of the American Football League , and played three seasons , primarily as a kick returner . Due to his five - year commitment to the U . S . Navy following graduation , he remains the lowest drafted Heisman Trophy winner in the history of the NFL . Bellino also played for the Providence Steamrollers semi - pro team in Providence , Rhode Island . Bellino is the only former Heisman Trophy running back who has played for Patriots . He caught a 15 - yard pass from former Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte in the Patriots 38 – 14 rout of the Houston Oilers on December 11 , 1966 . Bellino caught a deflected pass on his back that allowed the Patriots to continue a drive that resulted in a touchdown in their 14 – 3 win over the Buffalo Bills in " The Game " at Fenway Park on December 4 , 1966 . He had the Patriots longest kickoff return in 1966 and caught a 25 - yard TD pass in the Patriots 20 – 10 win over the Buffalo Bills at War Memorial Stadium on October 8 , 1966 . After football . Bellino served a total of 28 years in the United States Navy and the Naval Reserve , and retired with the rank of Captain . Since the close of his playing career , he has been a successful businessman in the Boston area , where he has also been active in charitable organizations . He and his wife , Ann Tansey , have two children , Therese and John , and currently live in Bedford , Massachusetts . In 1991 he was the first inductee into his high school ' s Winchester Sports Foundation Hall of Fame . Bellino Park in Winchester was dedicated in his honor in November 2004 . References . Total Patriots Encyclopedia