45 Fun Facts About Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles were founded in 1933 by taking on the debts of which failed NFL team?

The Frankford Yellow Jackets were suspended in 1931 after their stadium burned and the Depression left them insolvent.

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

The National Recovery Administration's code system was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1935, just two years after Bell and Wray named the team.

Where did players on the 1943 'Steagles', the merged Eagles-Steelers team, work when not playing football?

Defense plants kept the players on war work, and the merged team gave the Philadelphia franchise its first winning season.

Which team did the Eagles beat 7-0 in a snowstorm for the 1948 NFL title?

The Eagles beat the Chicago Cardinals 7-0 at Shibe Park; the snow was so heavy that players from both teams helped the grounds crew drag the tarp off before kickoff.

What weather did the Eagles play through in their 14-0 1949 title win in Los Angeles?

Driving rain turned the Coliseum turf to mud, and Steve Van Buren slogged through it for 196 yards on 31 carries.

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

Vince Lombardi lost 17-13 in Philadelphia on 26 December 1960, later blaming himself for passing up field goals, and he won all nine of his later playoff games.

Which running back did Chuck Bednarik pin down on the final play of the 1960 NFL title game?

Jim Taylor was pinned by Bednarik, 35 and again playing both ways because of injuries, who stayed on top of him until time ran out.

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

Bednarik starred at Penn after flying 30 missions as a B-24 waist gunner in the war; the Eagles took him with the 1949 bonus pick, first overall.

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

Van Buren was born in La Ceiba, Honduras, orphaned young and sent to family in New Orleans, and he starred at LSU before the Eagles drafted him in 1944.

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

At Franklin Field on 15 December 1968 the booked Santa never showed up, so fan Frank Olivo in his own costume was pressed into service and took the abuse aimed at a 2-11 team.

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

Vermeil's UCLA Bruins had just upset Ohio State in the 1976 Rose Bowl, and within five seasons he took the Eagles to Super Bowl XV.

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

Herman Edwards scooped up the fumble and ran it in for the winning score, a play that helped make the quarterback kneel the standard way to end games.

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

After two USFL seasons with the Memphis Showboats, White joined the Eagles a few weeks into 1985 and made 2.5 sacks in his first game.

Which actor played the 30-year-old Eagles rookie in the 2006 film Invincible?

Mark Wahlberg's Papale is a bartender who never played college football, though the film leaves out his time with the World Football League's Philadelphia Bell.

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

The 46 defense took its name from the jersey number of Bears safety Doug Plank.

The 1989 'Bounty Bowl' brought claims that the Eagles had put a bounty on which Cowboys kicker?

Luis Zendejas had been cut by the Eagles earlier that season, and Buddy Ryan denied any bounty, saying the film showed no intent to hurt him.

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

Soldier Field filled with fog in the second quarter; Randall Cunningham still threw for 407 yards, but the Eagles never reached the end zone.

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

Cunningham was an All-American punter at UNLV and also quarterbacked the 11-2 1984 Rebels, whose bowl win was later forfeited over ineligible players.

Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles from which owner?

Norman Braman, who sold the team to Lurie, had fired coach Buddy Ryan after five seasons and handed the job to Rich Kotite.

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

The Eagles adopted midnight green in 1996 under Jeffrey Lurie; kelly green returned as an official throwback alternate from the 2023 season.

Which Philadelphia official presided over 'Eagles Court', first held at Veterans Stadium on game days?

Seamus McCaffery, a municipal judge, ran Eagles Court, set up after about 60 fights at a 1997 Monday night game against the 49ers.

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

WIP host Angelo Cataldi and then-mayor Ed Rendell sent the 'Dirty 30' fans to cheer for Ricky Williams, and they booed McNabb instead.

What injury was Terrell Owens coming back from in Super Bowl XXXIX?

A fractured fibula and sprained ankle didn't stop Owens, who played against his doctors' advice and caught nine passes for 122 yards.

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

Dawkins, a second-round Clemson pick in 1996, once scored as a safety, catching a 57-yard pass on a fake punt against Houston in 2002.

DeSean Jackson's 2010 game-winner against the Giants came on what kind of return?

Punt return on the final play: DeSean Jackson's touchdown completed a rally of four touchdowns from 21 points down.

Which Eagles quarterback tied the NFL record with seven touchdown passes in a 2013 game?

Nick Foles did it while Michael Vick was still the starter, and four years later, as Carson Wentz's backup, he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl LII title.

Which school produced Carson Wentz, the No. 2 pick of the 2016 draft?

The Eagles planned for North Dakota State's Wentz to sit out 2016 as a rookie, but after trading Sam Bradford they started him in Week 1.

In the Philly Special, the Super Bowl LII trick play, who threw the touchdown pass to the Eagles' quarterback?

Tight end Trey Burton, an all-state quarterback in high school in Florida, took Corey Clement's pitch and lobbed the touchdown to the quarterback on fourth-and-goal.

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

Super Bowl LII was played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on 4 February 2018; the teams combined for 1,151 yards, then a record for any NFL game, and Brady's 505 passing yards came in a loss.

Which Eagles defensive end stripped Tom Brady late in Super Bowl LII?

Brandon Graham's strip-sack ended the Patriots' comeback bid, and the Eagles held on for their first Super Bowl title.

Doug Pederson was a longtime backup to which Hall of Fame quarterback?

Brett Favre's longtime backup, Pederson later got a spell as the Eagles' starter in 1999 while they groomed Donovan McNabb.

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

Jason Kelce, dressed as a Mummer, compared Eagles fans to hungry dogs starved of a title for 52 years; he announced his retirement in March 2024.

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

Cox skipped his senior season at Mississippi State to enter the draft, and he retired in 2024 after 12 NFL seasons, all with the Eagles.

Which Eagles tackle, drafted fourth overall in 2013, was once a quarterback?

Lane Johnson also played tight end and defensive end before Oklahoma moved him to tackle when injuries hit its line.

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

Sirianni caught passes for Mount Union, winning Division III titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002; he became Eagles head coach in 2021 from the Colts and won Super Bowl LIX in his fourth season.

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

Hurts was benched at halftime of Alabama's January 2018 title game for Tua Tagovailoa, then transferred to Oklahoma, and the Eagles took him in the second round in 2020.

Which team traded A. J. Brown to the Eagles on 2022 draft night?

After contract talks stalled, the Tennessee Titans dealt Brown for the 18th and 101st picks, and the Eagles gave him a four-year, $100 million extension.

Saquon Barkley rested for the Eagles' 2024 finale 101 yards short of whose rushing record?

Eric Dickerson's 2,105 yards from 1984 survived because the Eagles had locked up the No. 2 seed, so Nick Sirianni rested Barkley against the Giants.

Which team did the Eagles beat 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX to deny it a three-peat?

The Chiefs gained just 23 yards in the first half against an Eagles defense that never blitzed once.

Which Eagles rookie returned an interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl LIX on his 22nd birthday?

Cooper DeJean's 38-yard return put the Eagles up 17-0, a three-score lead, midway through the second quarter.

Which team proposed banning the Eagles' Tush Push in February 2025?

The Green Bay Packers tried again that May, and the ban fell two votes short, with 22 of the 24 votes needed.

Which Eagles defender was ejected before playing a snap in the 2025 Kickoff Game for spitting on Dak Prescott?

Jalen Carter was disqualified right after the opening kickoff, yet the Eagles still beat Dallas 24-20 without him.

Bobby Mansure helped revive 'Fly, Eagles Fly' in the 1990s with what kind of group?

A parking-lot pep band of Mansure's friends earned a two-game preseason audition, and the song went over so well that the gig became permanent.

Which Eagles defensive tackle died in a car crash just before the 1992 season?

Jerome Brown won praise in 1988 for calmly helping to break up a Ku Klux Klan rally in his hometown of Brooksville, Florida.

Which NFC East rivalry is the only one older than Eagles–Giants?

Commanders–Giants began in 1932 with Washington's forerunners, the Boston Braves, a year before the Eagles joined the NFL in 1933.