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Reflections

The following quotes were collected by the Patriots today and shared in remembrance of Bucko Kilroy:

Robert Kraft, Patriots Chairman and CEO
“On behalf of the entire Patriots organization, I want to extend my condolences to Bucko’s wife, Jane, and to Bucko’s many friends and family members. Bucko was a wonderful friend who I respected a great deal. I was fortunate to have spent time with Bucko on Monday night. We had a very pleasant talk and his spirits were high. He appeared in good health and still had that twinkle in his eye when we talked football. At 86, he was still passionate about the game and was eager to get back to work. I promised Bucko that his office would be ready for him when he returned. He was a football legend and also a legendary storyteller. He loved telling stories about the history of the game. It never mattered how many times you had heard the story before, if Bucko was telling it, you always wanted to hear it again. What I loved the most was that almost every story was punctuated by Bucko’s legendary laugh. I am going to miss those stories and his laugh.”

Andre Tippett, former Patriots linebacker
“It was nice being around Bucko because he would always talk football and tell you ways that you could improve. When I retired from football, I really got the chance to get to know Bucko and I learned a lot from him. Bucko was pretty well known around the National Football League as an astute evaluator of talent. I learned a lot about scouting from Bucko. He was just a great person to be around. Anything you wanted to know about football, Bucko had an answer for you. And if you ever wanted to know the origins of a scouting method or material, Bucko invented it. We would always go to Bucko and say, ‘Hey Bucko, what about this new scouting system?’ He would say, ‘Oh, I invented that back in 1965,’ or, ‘I invented that back in 1970.’ It was just great to hear that because you could never pull one on him. He always had an answer ... I really enjoyed listening to him talk about different players that were coming out of different drafts over the years. It was always fun being in the draft room with him.”

Pete Brock, former Patriots offensive lineman
“Bucko was my first introduction to the NFL and the New England Patriots. Having been drafted in 1976, I had the opportunity to play in the final Chicago Tribune All-Star Game held in Chicago against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Back then, the first pre-season game pitted the reigning Super Bowl Champion against a college All Star team. As a participant I started training camp not with the Patriots but at Northwestern University for two weeks preparing for the game. After the game I traveled to Boston accompanied by Bucko on the airplane (in coach of course) and then by car to Smithfield R.I. In our four hours together I discovered life according to Bucko in which he started the NFL, played when men were men -- and anyone not on the '50s Eagles weren't -- and many more exciting stories and exploits. As time and my career went on, most of what Bucko discussed that day, with the exception of starting the NFL, was affirmed by others. Bucko was truly a great player, manager, advisor, friend and fan.”

Russ Francis, former Patriots tight end
“Bucko was a one of a kind person who cared tremendously and loved deeply the New England Patriots and everybody that was on the field, off the field. He was like an old lighthouse; just sort a beacon for all of us during that time. He kept a lot of the players and a lot of people that worked for the team in touch with each other for years and years and years.”

Steve Grogan, former Patriots quarterback
“I think Bucko was a guy that knew everybody in the league. And he could tell some great stories about the history of the National Football League. More than anything he was just a football guy. I think he was a guy that had a really good judge of talent. He didn't look at numbers on a piece of paper that guys were putting up. He looked at players and whether they could play football and he made some great picks that wound up working well for the Patriots for a long time.”