Glory Days T he idea of no football in Philadelphia might seem crazy to fans After all the city has been home to professional football for more than 100 years But during the Great Depression a team in Philadelphia called the Yellow Jackets actually went out of business They were part of the National Football League NFL In 1932 when the Yellow Jackets could not afford to pay their players or make repairs to their stadium pro football in Philly disappeared A businessman named Bert Bell decided this situation would not do In 1933 he started a new team and called it the Eagles Bell hired his friend Lud Wray as Philadelphia’s first coach The star of the team was running back Swede Hanson who had gone to college at nearby Temple University 6
The Eagles were outscored 116 9 in their first three games and lost them all When the team’s poor play continued Bell refused to give up He believed the Eagles would win a championship one day The other NFL owners had great respect for Bell They later made him the league’s commissioner in 1946 The Eagles soon developed into one of the NFL’s top teams They had the league’s best defense and an explosive running back named Steve Van Buren Other stars included quarterback Tommy Thompson receiver Pete Pihos and linemen Alex Wojciechowicz Bucko Kilroy and Al Wistert In 1947 Philadelphia played in its first NFL Championship Game and lost to the Chicago Cardinals In 1948 the Eagles won their first championship in a rematch with Chicago A year later they defeated the Los Angeles Rams for their second title in a row The Eagles wore the NFL crown again in 1960 Led by veterans Chuck Bednarik and Norm Van Brocklin Philadelphia surprised the Green Bay Packers in a thrilling championship battle LEFT Lineman Bucko Kilroy was one of the team’s first stars ABOVE Chuck Bednarik was a team leader during the 1950s 7
In 1969 Leonard Tose bought the Eagles for 16 1 million No one had ever spent that much money on a professional team in any sport In 1976 Tose hired Dick Vermeil as his coach Vermeil was an emotional leader who got the most out of his players In 1980 quarterback Ron Jaworski and running back Wilbert Montgomery had great seasons and the Eagles flew to the top of the National Football Conference NFC Unfortunately they lost to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV The team went through many ups and downs in the 1980s and 1990s Some of the NFL’s best players suited up for the Eagles during this time Reggie White was an All-Pro defender who terrorized opposing quarterbacks Randall Cunningham was a fast athletic quarterback who was equally dangerous running and passing Despite their contributions Philadelphia could not get back to the Super Bowl LEFT Randall Cunningham signals to the Philadelphia coaching staff ABOVE Reggie White was nicknamed the Minister of Defense 9
