The New England Patriots announced that the team’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Richard Seymour will be held on Saturday, October 23 near the Patriots Hall of Fame presented by Raytheon Technologies. Seymour was selected for Hall of Fame induction in 2020, but the ceremony did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outdoor ceremony is free and open to the public. Fans of all ages are welcome and encouraged to attend. The time of the event will be announced at a later date. Additionally, Seymour will be honored at a halftime ceremony during the Patriots home game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021.
Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft also announced today that longtime cheerleader director Tracy Sormanti has been selected for induction into the team’s Hall of Fame as a contributor. She is the first woman to earn induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame and becomes just the third person to be selected by the Kraft family as a contributor, joining Patriots founder Billy Sullivan (2009) and Gil Santos (2013), the longtime radio voice of the New England Patriots. Sormanti, who was in her 32nd season of service with the Patriots, passed away on Dec. 4, 2020 after a three-year battle with Multiple Myeloma.
“Tracy Sormanti was one of my first hires after I bought the team and, for the past 27 seasons, she was one of our greatest ambassadors,” said Kraft. “No one was more passionate about the Patriots and committed to using our brand to connect with fans than Tracy. She loved preparing her teams for their performances, both on and off the field, and did so with great compassion and conviction. Her countless contributions spanning the past three decades have entertained and positively impacted the lives of so many in our communities. It is an honor to select Tracy as a Patriots Hall of Famer and to know that her legacy will be preserved for generations to come.”
Sormanti, a Rhode Island native, first joined the organization in 1983 as a Patriots cheerleader. She was a member of the Patriots cheerleading squad from 1983-84 and again from 1991-93, concluding her cheerleading career by representing the Patriots at the 1993 Pro Bowl. Shortly after Kraft bought the team in 1994, he named Sormanti the Patriots cheerleader director. Over 27 seasons, Sormanti’s squads performed at 10 Super Bowls, made tens of thousands of community appearances and visited more than 30 countries on dozens of military tours to entertain our troops at military bases around the world, serving as Patriots ambassadors on patriotic missions
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