Philadelphia Eagles Team History of glory
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional football franchise in Pennsylvania. The franchise competes in the National Football League and as a member club of the league’s National Football-Conference East Division. The Eagles have had a checkered history since its formation in the early 1930s. In this article, we shall look at Philadelphia Eagles Team History, their worst as well as best moments and their present composition.
How Did They Get Their Name?
The team got its name in 1993 as a result of the purchase of the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets. When the Yellow Jackets went bankrupt and subsequently ceased their operations, an expansion franchise was granted to a syndicate of Bert Bell and Lud Wray as heads. Upon purchasing it, the new owners renamed the team The Eagles as a gesture of honor to the symbol of the National Recovery-Act . People viewed this as the centerpiece of President Roosevelt’s new deal. therefore Philadelphia Eagles Team History has great historic importance.
Who Is The Owner?
Jeffrey Lurie is owner of the team. The long time Eagles owner and chairman was born in Boston, Massachusetts in September 8, 1951 to Morris John Lurie and Nancy Smith. According to Forbes, the billionaire’s net worth in 2016 stands at 1.81 billion USD. He has been the chairman as well as the CEO of the team from 1994 to present. The Year and Date The Team Started To Play
The team played their first match on October 15, 1933 against the New York-based Polo Grounds in New York City which they miserably lost 56-0.
During the formative years of this team, losses were the order of the day. Most of these losses could be attributed to manpower shortages. As a matter of fact, the team’s rosters were predominantly composed of former Temple, Penn and Villanova Players.
Founder
De Benneville “Bert” Bell and Lud Wray co-founded the team. Bell was born on February 25, 1895 and played an active role in NFL, the most notable being its commissioner from 1945 up until his death in 1959.
His co-founder and college teammate James R. Ludlow or Lud Wray was born on February 7, 1894. Like Bert, he too played an active role in NFL. Aside from co-founding the Philadelphia Eagles, one of his major achievements was being the first coach of The Boston Braves, now referred to as Washington Redskins.
Franchise
The team was formed as a result of the granting expansion rights by NFL to Bert Bell and Lud Wray for the failed Frankford Yellow-Jackets in order to save The Jackets from going under. After the franchise, Bell and Wray got the full rights upon payment of $3500 in entry fee. They also assumed $11000 as total debt that The Jackets owed to three other NFL franchises.
Chairman and Members
The billionaire Jeff Lurie the owner chaired The team. The president is Don Smolenski and Howie Roseman is the general manager. Their head coach is Doug Pederson. It is important to note that due to the fact the team faced several challenges during its formative years, it is not possible to actually point out who was holding the help as ownership and franchise rights kept changing hands.
Name Changing
After having the franchise rights, Bell and Wray named the team The Philadelphia Eagles, a name they would use between the years 1933 and 1942. In 1943, the team would pick up the name Phil-Pitt “Steagles before reverting to The Philadelphia Eagles in 1994, a name it has upheld to date.
Logo and Jersey
The team’s logo is an eagle’s head with the word mark �’EAGLES’’. The colors of their jerseys are predominantly midnight green, silver, black and white.
Where the Journey Started ?
About 4 years after formation, The Eagles moved to Shibe Park from the Municipal Stadium where they would play most of their home matches up until 1957. This, however, did not include the 1941 season that they played at their former ground, the Municipal Stadium. Shibe Park would later be renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1954.
First Coach
The first coach of the Philadelphia Eagles was Lud Wray who was also the co-founder of the team. Wray coached the team from 1933 to 1936 when co-founder Bell took over as head coach.
First Team Squad
The following is a list of the first players in the team with their respective playing positions ; Lud Wray [Coach], Howie Auer[T[, Joe Carter[E], Joe Carpe[T-E-C], Paul Cuba[T], Bob Gonya[T], Dick Fencl, Swede Hanson[B], Nip Felber[E], Red Davis[TB], Lee Woodruff[B], Jim Zyntell[G], Milton Leathers[QB], Porter Lainhart[G], Roy Lechthaler[G], Tex Leyendecker[T-C-LB], Rick Lackman[HB], Harry O’Boy’le[B], John Lipski[C], Joe Kresky [G-T], Henry Obst[G], Diddie Willson[G-E-D-E], Jodie Whyre[FB-LB], Guy Turnbow[T-E-DB], Larry Steinbach[T-G], Dick Thornton[BB], George Kenneally[E], Red Kirkman[B], Eve Rowan[E-B] and Art Koeninger[C].
First Game
They played their first game on October 15 1933 against the New York-based Polo grounds. The Eagles took a beating in this one, going down 56-0.
Number of Times Played the Super Bowl
The team has played in two Super Bowl games, both of which they have never been victorious. In the first encounter, the team went down to The Oakland Raiders 27-10 in 1980 while in the second game, they defeated to The New England Patriots by 24-21 in 2004.
Winning Statistics
The team boasts of 3 NFL championships [1948, 1949, 1960], 3 Conference Championships [NFL Eastern in 1960 and NFC in 1980 and 2004]. There are also divisional championships that include NFL East [1947, 1948, 1949, 1960] and NFC East[1980, 1988, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2013,]. Thus Philadelphia Eagles Team History has bee rich.
Current Position
The team’s current position is 4th NFL Eastern
Similar Article on Philadelphia Eagles Team History