Thomas John Beer (born December 21, 1944) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player who played at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

and professionally for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) and the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL)'s Boston / New England Patriots.

Playing career

Beer played as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

in 42 games for the Patriots over the 1970–1972 seasons. Beer had 25 receptions for 381 yards and three TD's. His longest reception was a 31-yard touchdown reception on October 24, 1971. He also returned two kickoffs for a total of 19 yards. Beer returned a kickoff four yards to end the first half in the Patriots 31-21 loss to the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

at Harvard Stadium on September 27, 1970. His longest kickoff return was 15 yards at the end of the first quarter in the Patriots 34-10 loss to the New York Jets at Shea Stadium on October 29, 1972. Beer lateraled a kickoff to Carl Garrett, who took it 27 yards in the Boston Patriots 45-10 loss to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

at Harvard Stadium on November 1, 1970. Later in the same game, he lateraled another kickoff to Garrett, who advanced it 15 yards. Beer returned a fumbled punt return by Ike Hill five yards in the Patriots 38-33 win over the Buffalo Bills at Schaefer Stadium on November 14, 1971.

Later years

Following his playing days, Thomas Beer co-wrote (with George Kimball) the 1974 memoir ''Sunday's Fools: Stomped, Tromped, Kicked and Chewed in the NFL'', recounting the experience of playing for two of the worst franchises in pro football during his career. Tom also was an executive for the

New York Stars New York Stars could refer to: *New York Stars (WBL), a team that played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League before disbanding in 1980 *New York Stars (WFL), a team in the World Football League that relocated in 1974 and becam ...

of the short-lived

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

. Tom is currently residing in New Jersey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beer, Tom 1944 births Living people Houston Cougars football players Denver Broncos (AFL) players Boston Patriots players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Detroit People from Grosse Pointe, Michigan

Playing career

Later years

See also

References