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FOXBORO - Patriot fans and Hall of Famers' friends and family gathered at Patriot Place on Saturday to honor some of the greatest New England Patriots to grace the field.

Amidst the state-of-the-art, ultra-modern Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon, the team paid homage to past players that served as the foundation for championship teams to come.

"We were fertilizer for the Super Bowl teams the Patriots have, because without us there'd be no growth," said middle linebacker and Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti.

As part of the Hall of Fame induction weekend, the ceremony saw 12 Patriots' Hall of Famers re-inducted to the Hall along with 2008 inductee, tight end Ben Coates, who was inducted as the 13th member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Veteran New England Patriots' announcer Gil Santos handled the play-by-play for the event, which featured an introduction from Patriots CEO and Chairman Robert Kraft, who touched on the "nearly 50 years of great memories," culminating with the building of the Hall at Patriot Place, which opens to the public on Monday. Each inductee was given a video montage featuring interviews and game highlights, then took the stage to don their bright red blazer and share stories of their time as Patriots, talking of values of pride and teamwork before world championships were the norm.

"God, I'd give anything to be able to do it all over again," said guard John Hannah. "And I miss hitting people!"

As the only professional team that allow fans to be part of the Hall of Fame voting after a nominating committee selects three finalists, the Patriots saw tight end Ben Coates inducted to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2008.

When asked if he thought he'd ever see this day, the confident 6-foot-5 stalwart's answer was simple.

"Yes, yes I did," he said.

As only the second Patriot elected to the Hall based on fan votes, Coates gave a special address to fans after his interview onstage, thanking them for their support, and later called his induction an honor and a privilege.

Besides Coates, Patriots Hall of Fame inductees include tackle Bruce Armstrong, linebacker Nick Buoniconti, wide receiver/kicker Gino Cappelletti, defensive end Bob Dee, quarterback Steve Grogan, guard John Hannah, cornerback Mike Haynes, defensive tackle Jim Lee Hunt, wide receiver Stanley Morgan, linebacker Steve Nelson, quarterback Vito "Babe" Parilli, and linebacker Andre Tippett.

After the ceremony, Tippet spoke of his 26-year tenure with the Patriots, first as a hard-hitting linebacker and now as the executive director of community relations. He called the Patriots a "first-class organization" and spoke of organizational accomplishments as well as individual ones.

"We're all proud as former players to see how (Kraft) has continued to do the things he's done - the body of work he's leaving behind is unbelievable," Tippett said. "We're in awe because we were all here when the organization was at rock bottom, and it was just crazy.

"And I think back to what it was compared to how it is now," he added. "We are the team that people want to emulate. People want to come here. Fifteen years ago no one wanted to come here. Now everyone wants to come here. We've finally reached the pinnacle of what we've wanted to be." LAUREN CARTER can be reached at lauren-carter@hotmail.com.