50 Fun Facts About Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles were founded in 1933 to replace which bankrupt NFL franchise?

The Eagles' 1933 blue-and-yellow uniforms matched the city flag and the colors the Yellow Jackets had worn before folding in 1931.

Bert Bell and Lud Wray took the team's name from the Blue Eagle logo of which New Deal agency?

The Blue Eagle was the emblem businesses displayed to show they complied with Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1933 recovery codes.

Eagles co-founder Bert Bell later served as NFL commissioner from 1946 until his death in what year?

Bell died of a heart attack in the stands while watching the Eagles play the Steelers, the two teams he had once owned.

What was the official NFL name of the merged 1943 Eagles-Steelers team nicknamed the Steagles?

The wartime merger produced the Philadelphia franchise's first winning season, and the two coaches shared the job because neither would accept a demotion.

The Eagles won their first NFL Championship in 1948, 7-0, in a blinding snowstorm. Who was the opponent?

The snow was so heavy that players from both teams had to help the grounds crew pull the tarp off the field before kickoff.

What made the field so bad in the Eagles' 14-0 1949 title win in Los Angeles?

Steve Van Buren slogged for 196 yards on 31 carries in the muck while the defense held the Rams to 21 rushing yards.

The Eagles' 1960 NFL Championship win was the only playoff defeat in the career of which coach?

The stadium had no lights, so kickoff was moved up to noon on the day after Christmas.

Which Packers running back did Chuck Bednarik pin at the nine-yard line to seal the 1960 title?

Bednarik played every down of the game on both sides of the ball, then growled at the pinned runner, "You can get up now."

Chuck Bednarik, "Concrete Charlie", was drafted first overall by the Eagles in 1949 out of which university?

Before college he flew 30 missions as a B-24 waist gunner and had MOTHER tattooed on his forearm so his body could be identified if he was shot down.

Hall of Fame halfback Steve Van Buren, whose No. 15 is retired by the Eagles, was born in which country?

Orphaned at ten and sent to relatives in New Orleans, he only became LSU's tailback as a senior because wartime conscription had thinned the roster.

Where was the 1968 Eagles game at which fans booed and pelted a fill-in Santa Claus with snowballs?

The booked Santa never made it through the snowstorm, so a fan in a costume was pressed into service and took the abuse meant for a 2-12 team.

Dick Vermeil was hired to coach the Eagles in 1976 straight from which college program?

He had just won the 1976 Rose Bowl, and his Eagles years were later dramatized in the Vince Papale film Invincible with Greg Kinnear as Vermeil.

Which Eagles cornerback returned Joe Pisarcik's fumble in the 1978 Miracle at the Meadowlands?

The Giants fired offensive coordinator Bob Gibson the next morning, and the play helped make the kneel-down the standard way to end games.

The Eagles' first Super Bowl appearance, Super Bowl XV after the 1980 season, ended in a 27-10 loss to which team?

Linebacker Rod Martin intercepted Ron Jaworski three times, a Super Bowl record, and the winners became the first wild-card team to take the title.

Reggie White joined the Eagles after two seasons in the USFL with which team?

In eight Eagles seasons he piled up 124 sacks in 121 games, more sacks than games played, and became the franchise's all-time leader.

Reggie White's nickname "the Minister of Defense" reflected his ordination as a minister at what age?

He retired as the NFL's all-time sack leader with 198 and was voted first-team All-Pro ten times in 15 seasons.

As Bears defensive coordinator, Buddy Ryan was credited with inventing which scheme?

The scheme was named for Bears safety Doug Plank's jersey number, not for any formation count.

After the 1989 'Bounty Bowl', Jimmy Johnson claimed the Eagles had put a bounty on Troy Aikman and which kicker?

The kicker had been cut by Philadelphia earlier that year, and the alleged price on his head was $200.

The Eagles' 1988 playoff loss known as the Fog Bowl was played at which stadium?

Randall Cunningham threw for 407 yards into a fog that covered fewer than 15 city blocks for under three hours, but the Eagles never reached the end zone.

Randall Cunningham was a two-time college All-American at UNLV at which position?

He kept the skill in the pros: a 91-yard punt against the Giants in 1989 remains the longest in Eagles history and the fourth-longest ever.

Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles in May 1994 for an estimated $185 million from which owner?

Lurie is also a documentary producer whose film Inside Job won the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

In 1996 the Eagles swapped their classic kelly shade for what darker primary color?

Kelly green came back as an official alternate throwback uniform starting in the 2023 season.

Which municipal judge was stationed at Veterans Stadium on game days from 1997 to handle rowdy fans?

The judge held "Eagles Court" in the stadium until it closed; Lincoln Financial Field has no courtroom, just a holding cell.

The first ticketed event at Lincoln Financial Field in August 2003 was not a football game. What was it?

The Eagles' own first regular-season game there was a Monday night loss to Tampa Bay, and Joe Jurevicius scored the stadium's first touchdown.

Eagles fans booed the 1999 pick of Donovan McNabb, wanting which running back instead?

McNabb went on to set franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns and led the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games.

Terrell Owens played Super Bowl XXXIX seven weeks after what injury from a horse-collar tackle?

He caught nine passes for 122 yards in the 24-21 loss, and Williams' tackle helped get the horse-collar banned.

Brian Dawkins, whose No. 20 is retired, was drafted by the Eagles in 1996 out of which college?

Nicknamed Weapon X, he was the first player in NFL history with a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and a touchdown catch in the same game.

DeSean Jackson's game-winning touchdown against the Giants in 2010 is the NFL's only walk-off what?

The Eagles had trailed by 21 points with under eight minutes left, and the game is now called the Miracle at the New Meadowlands.

In 2013 Nick Foles tied an NFL record with how many touchdown passes against the Raiders?

He finished that season with 27 touchdowns against only two interceptions and a league-best 119.0 passer rating.

Which school produced Carson Wentz, 2016's No. 2 pick and highest-drafted FCS player ever?

He was the first quarterback the Eagles had drafted in the first round since McNabb, who was also the No. 2 pick.

In the Philly Special, the trick play in Super Bowl LII, who threw the touchdown pass to Nick Foles?

The passer had been a first-team all-state high school signal-caller in Florida; the pass came on fourth-and-goal from the one with 38 seconds left in the half.

Super Bowl LII, the Eagles' first Super Bowl win, was played in which city?

The two teams combined for 1,151 yards, the most in any NFL game ever played, and Tom Brady's 505 passing yards came in a loss.

Which Eagles defensive end recorded the only sack of Super Bowl LII, stripping Tom Brady?

Rookie Derek Barnett recovered the fumble, setting up the field goal that pushed the lead to 41-33.

Doug Pederson spent most of his playing career backing up which Hall of Fame quarterback?

Pederson later followed Andy Reid to Kansas City as offensive coordinator before returning to Philadelphia as head coach in 2016.

Jason Kelce gave a famous speech at the 2018 Super Bowl parade dressed as what?

He compared Eagles fans to hungry dogs "starved of this championship" for 52 years, and retired in 2024 after 13 seasons in Philadelphia.

Eagles lineman Fletcher Cox was drafted 12th overall in 2012 out of which school?

The Eagles traded up from the 15th pick to get him, the highest-drafted Bulldog since 1983.

What position did Eagles tackle Lane Johnson play at Kilgore College before switching to the line at Oklahoma?

In his one Kilgore season he threw for 510 yards, three touchdowns and seven interceptions, then bulked up into an All-Pro tackle.

Nick Sirianni played wide receiver and won three Division III national titles at which Ohio college?

He came to the Eagles in 2021 from the Colts, where he had been offensive coordinator, and won Super Bowl LIX in his fourth season.

Jalen Hurts finished his college career at Oklahoma after three seasons at which school?

The Eagles took him in the second round in 2020, and he was the starter by the end of his rookie year.

A. J. Brown set the Eagles' single-season receiving-yards record in 2022 with how many yards?

Brown had been drafted by the Padres as an outfielder in 2016 before choosing Ole Miss football; he was traded to New England in June 2026.

Saquon Barkley rested in Week 18 of 2024 with 2,005 yards, how far short of Eric Dickerson's record?

The Eagles had already clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed, so Nick Sirianni sat his starters against the Giants and the record stayed put.

Jalen Hurts set the Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a QB in Super Bowl LIX with how many?

The 40-22 win over Kansas City denied the Chiefs the first three-peat in Super Bowl history.

Cooper DeJean's Super Bowl LIX pick-six made him the first to score a Super Bowl touchdown on what day?

The pick-six came on his 22nd birthday, and he was only the second rookie ever with a Super Bowl interception return for a score.

Which team submitted the 2025 proposals to ban the Tush Push, the second of which fell two votes short?

The Eagles even brought in a Scottish rugby coach to refine their technique on the play, which is also called the Brotherly Shove.

Which Eagles defender was ejected six seconds into the 2025 Kickoff Game for spitting on Dak Prescott?

The defending champions still won, and later became the first NFC East team to repeat as division champion since the 2004 Eagles.

The Eagles' 2025 title defense ended with a 23-19 Wild Card loss to which team?

It was the club's fourth straight season with a new offensive coordinator, after Kellen Moore left to coach the Saints.

The Eagles' mascot Swoop officially hatched in a forest inside which Pennsylvania state park?

The story says a fan's gift of a jersey gave the weak, near-sighted bird his human size and strength.

"Fly, Eagles Fly" was revived in 1997 when Bobby Mansure asked to play it with what group?

The team appended the E-A-G-L-E-S chant, which had emerged in the 1980s, to the end of the old Victory Song.

Which two never-retired numbers has the team not issued since Randall Cunningham and LeSean McCoy left?

The Eagles have formally retired only nine numbers, including Bednarik's 60, White's 92, Dawkins' 20 and McNabb's 5.

The Eagles-Giants rivalry, dating to 1933, ranks where among NFC East rivalries by age?

Only New York's rivalry with Washington is older; the Cowboys did not exist until 1960.