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Senior Bowl Hall Of Famer
Holovak Dies At Age 88
Former Boston
Patriots head coach was also longtime general manager of the Houston
Oilers and attended 40 consecutive Senior Bowl games.
MOBILE, Ala. (January
28, 2008) -- Senior Bowl Hall of Famer Mike Holovak, a longtime NFL
coach and executive who coached the Boston Patriots to their first
championship game, died on Sunday, January 27, at age 88 in Ruskin, Fla., of
complications from pneumonia.
Holovak was one of the Senior Bowls biggest
supporters throughout his career in the National Football League. He
attended 40 consecutive Senior Bowl games beginning in 1960, and was
inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992, a stellar class that
also included four Pro Football Hall of Famers -- Dan Marino, Franco Harris,
Sam Huff and Don Shula.
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Mike Holovak (second from
right) during his Senior Bowl Hall of Fame induction in 1992.
The others pictured are Patrick Swilling, Sam Huff, Don Shula
and Dan Marino.
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Head coach of the Patriots from 1961-68,
Holovak coached the Senior Bowls North team in 1966 and 1968. The second
winningest coach in team history, he led the Boston Patriots to the American
Football League title game after the 1963 season.
He later spent 19 years with the Houston
Oilers, which included stints as the teams vice president of player
personnel and general manager, and stayed on when they moved to Tennessee
and became the Titans.
"Mike Holovak was a great coach and a
wonderful person," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement issued by
the team. "I remember watching Mike's Boston College teams in the 1950s and
his Patriots teams in the 1960s. "I was fortunate to have the opportunity to
spend time with him on several occasions. Our team has lost one of its
founding fathers and the entire Patriots family is saddened by Mike's
passing."
Holovak had a 53-47-9 record as Patriots
coach, including playoffs. Only Bill Belichick has more wins, 105.
Holovak also coached and held administrative
positions with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and New York Jets.
"Mike was the quintessential 'football guy,'"
Titans owner Bud Adams Jr. said in a statement issued by Boston College. "It
is rare when you see a person excel in all three areas of the sport: a great
player in college, a successful coach and great talent evaluator, but Mike
was one of the special people."
Holovak is survived by his wife, Pauline; his
daughter, Michele Harrison, and her husband, David, of Gloucester, Mass.;
daughter, Cindy Oatess, and her husband, Michael, of South Tampa, Fla.;
granddaughters Lisa M. Harrison of Bosto, Mass., and Stephanie Pizarro of
Tampa, Fla.; and grandson Michael J. Harrison of Gloucester.
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