January 27th, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
Mike Hovolak, who guided the then-Boston Patriots to their first championship game appearance, died Sunday at the age of 88. Holovak, who coached the Patriots from 1961-68, is the second-winningest head coach in franchise history behind current Patriots head coach Bill Bellichick.
In 1963, Holovak’s Patriots achieved the team’s first playoff victory, defeating the Buffalo Bills in a divisional playoff game to advance to the AFC title game. The following season, the Patriots posted a 10-3-1 record, setting a franchise record for victories that stood for a dozen years.
