Born on June 4, 1968 (not 1868 as Andy often insinuates) in Boston, Paul has been arguing ever since. In fact, his parents insist that he argued with the doctor about his technique in removing him from the womb, but predictably Paul isn’t buying that story.

 

He grew up in the posh suburb of Everett where he starred on the gridiron as well as the baseball diamond. In his spare time he ran numbers, like all good Everett teenagers, while drinking Miller Lites since the age of 14. His mother was convinced he had a drinking problem early on, but she didn’t realize that Paul only drinks to get drunk.

 

Paul never ventured too far from Everett so after graduating high school in 1986 he wound up attending Boston University, which on a heavy traffic day is 20 minutes from his childhood home. He earned a BS (appropriate) in journalism and graduated in 1990. He captained the Terriers baseball team during his junior and senior seasons and had the misfortune of sharing a locker room with the loquacious Bryan Morry, who was a freshman outfielder when Paul was a senior.

 

As a senior Paul got a part-time job in the Boston Herald sports department handling high school scores and roundups. Shortly after graduation, he somehow convinced the editor that he was worthy of a full-time job and stayed there for 11 years until Morry used his powers of persuasion to lure him to the Patriots.

 

After interviewing with Fred (he wasn’t known as Jake Steele then), Paul was convinced that PFW would be a nice place to spend a year. That was nine seasons ago and now he just won’t leave. The fact that he’s given up on his career is not news to the loyal listeners of “PFW in Progress” who know Perillo is a lifer at this point.

 

Just after the 2002 season, Paul doubled the dosage of drugs he normally slipped into Beth’s drinks and the two were married as Fred watched the Jets beat the Colts in a playoff game during the reception. Amazingly, she convinced him to buy a house in Peabody (about a day’s drive from Foxborough) and the two have since welcomed two sons – Will, 3 and T.J., 1 – into their lives.

 

Paul was inducted into the Boston University Hall of Fame on Saturday November 15, 2008. See the announcement here and here.