Len St. Jean, member of Patriots’ All-AFL Team, dead at 83

St. Jean spent his entire 10-year career as a Patriot.

Len St. Jean, a longtime starter along the Patriots’ offensive line and member of their All-AFL Team, has died. As was announced by the organization on Tuesday, he recently passed away at the age of 83.

Born on October 27, 1941 in Newberry, MI, St. Jean spent his college career at Northern Michigan. He eventually received two opportunities to turn pro in 1964: besides getting drafted 237th overall by the Green Bay Packers in the 17th round of the NFL Draft, he also was picked 68th overall in the ninth round of the AFL Draft by the Boston Patriots.

Despite the Packers’ history, St. Jean opted to join the upstart Patriots. He never played for another team: over the course of a 10-year career between 1964 and 1973, he saw action in 140 games with 112 starts.

Originally a defensive lineman, St. Jean made the switch to offense ahead of the 1966 season and never looked back. An AFL All-Star in his first season, he became a mainstay at right guard over the next eight years. Fans voted him to the aforementioned All-AFL Team in 1971.

“I had good quickness and good speed and good upper body strength, but the work ethic was probably my biggest asset,” St. Jean said in an interview in 2006. “I was kind of a weirdo. Believe it or not, I loved practice. I loved training camp. I never missed a game in high school, college or the pros. It’s very unusual for that to happen.

“It’s an accomplishment, but it’s being very fortunate, too. It’s a combination of both, I guess. I always stayed in pretty good shape so I think that might have had something to do with it. But I knew guys that were a lot bigger, a lot stronger than I was and they’d end up missing two or three games here or there. I guess I was blessed.”

Following his retirement, St. Jean worked in the electronics industry. He settled in Stoughton, MA, with his wife, Susan.