I They were originally a member of the American Football League (AFL) and became part of the NFL after their merger in 1970.

The Patriots began in 1960 and were known as the Boston Patriots then. In 1971, the year after the NFL-AFL merger, the Patriots relocated to Foxborough. Prior to that, they had been shuttling between four different stadiums in Boston. Once they shifted base, they were renamed the Patriots. The new stadium in Foxborough was the Schaefer Stadium.

The first game at the new stadium was against the New York Giants. The first four seasons after the merger were difficult for the Patriots as they changed three coaches in that period. In 1973 the team hired Chuck Fairbanks as their head coach. He helped the team to improve their game immensely. The team made to the playoffs in 1976 with Steve Grogan as their top quarterback.

The year 1978 started on a tragic note when wide receiver Darryl Stingley was paralyzed neck down on a hit by Jack Tatum of the Raiders. The team carried on to win their first AFC East title that year.

The Super Bowl

The Patriots made their first Super Bowl appearance in 1985 under head Coach Raymond Berry. They lost to the Chicago Bears 46-10. Their second appearance was in 1996 where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.

They were third time lucky in 2001 when they eventually won the Super Bowl by defeating the St Louis Rams. They went on to win the Super Bowl again in 2003 when they defeated the Carolina Panthers. Their third Super Bowl victory came the next year when they won against the Philadelphia Eagles. This gave the Patriots the distinction of being the second team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years.

In their entire career, The Patriots have won five AFC Championships, ten AFC East Championships and three Super Bowls. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994, they became a very successful NFL team. Their home stadium since 2002 is the Gillette Stadium.

They have retired a few jersey numbers in honor of their players such as Steve Nelson 57, John Hannah 73 and Bruce Armstrong 79. They were also inducted in the Patriots Hall of Fame along with Steve Grogan, Babe Parilli and Nick Buoniconti.