Gunnels was drafted by the Steelers in 1959, but did not make the team. He played for the Eagles from 1960-64, with 13 of his 24 starts coming in 1962.
Gunnels returned to the Steelers for 1965 and 1966.
EAGLES' FOOTBALL (1966-75)
A look back at the decade of Eagles' history just prior to the arrival of Dick Vermeil.
These were the Eagles' teams of my youth - where the only constant was futility.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
RIP - Riley Gunnels
Riley Gunnels, a defensive tackle for the Eagles from 1960-64, passed away on December 9, 2024 at age 87, in Somers Point, NJ.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
RIP - Roman Gabriel
Roman Gabriel, quarterback for the Rams and Eagles in the 1960s and 1970s, passed away today April 20, 2024 at age 83.
In 1962, he was the first overall pick in the AFL draft by the Raiders, and the 2nd overall pick in the NFL draft by the Rams.
From 1962 to 1965 he was a part-time starter, making 9 starts in 1963.
Gabriel played every game from 1966-72, starting all of them except for 2 games in 1972. He made the Pro Bowl every season from 1967-69, and in 1969 was named first-team All-Pro. as well as the league's MVP.
He was traded to the Eagles after the 1972 season for wide receiver Harold Jackson. Gabe played for the Eagles for 5 seasons, starting every game in 1973 and adding another Pro Bowl appearance, while leading the NFL with 3219 passing yards and 32 touchdown passes.
Gabriel played in 11 games in each of '74 and '75, starting most of them.
In 1976 he lost the starting job to Mike Boryla, but played in 4 games (all starts).
He backed up the newly-acquired Ron Jaworski in 1977, his final season.
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
RIP - Kent Kramer
Kent Kramer, an Eagles' tight end from 1971-74, passed away on February 21, 2024 at age 79.
Kramer was drafted by the 49ers in 1966. After a season on their bench, he joined the Saints and started 8 games in 1967.
After missing the 1968 season, he played for the Vikings from 1969-70.
The Vikings waived him during training camp in 1971, but he was signed by the Eagles the next day.
He started 4 games in 1971, one of five tight ends used by the Eagles that season.
Kramer started 8 games in 1972, and was 4th in receptions among the Eagles' receivers (behind Harold Jackson, Ben Hawkins, and Harold Carmichael).
Kramer also played for the Eagles in '73 and '74, but with #1 draft pick Charle Young joining the team in 1973, Kramer had no starts and no receptions in his final 2 years with the Birds.
Thursday, January 18, 2024
RIP - Norm Snead
Since the patsies in the Philadelphia Eagles' PR organization were able to cover the death of their former ticket office chief in less than 24 hours, but still have not recognized the passing of 7-year starting quarterback Norm Snead 4 days after his death, I'll do it here.
Norm Snead, the Eagles' starting quarterback from 1964 to 1970, passed away on January 14, 2024 at age 84.
Snead was acquired from the Washington Redskins before the 1964 season for Sonny Jurgensen, and started 81 of 98 games during his 7-year stay in Philadelphia. (He also played in 4 other games.)
He had 20 or more interceptions in 4 of his 7 seasons with the Eagles, leading the NFL in interceptions twice.
After the 1970 season, he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for offensive tackle Steve Smith and 3 draft choices.
He later played for the Giants (traded for Fran Tarkenton) and 49ers.
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
1971 Eagles Yearbook
After many years, I have finally found my 1971 Eagles yearbook. I made mention of this here, and also in my Eagles’ cards post over on my 1971 football card blog. That was in November 2011, and was the last time I could find the book. I used it to show the correct photos of linebacker Adrian Young and punter Rick Duncan. (Topps had put Duncan’s photo on Young’s card in 1971.)
Anyway, earlier this week I was sorting through 5 boxes of papers that contained mostly old bills, but also some lost treasures. (You know the drill - there’s a stack of papers sitting on a table to be filed, but company’s coming over, so you throw the papers into a box and say “I’ll file these later”. Ten years later, you have 20 boxes of mostly junk. I sifted through 5 boxes this week, and threw out all but one boxful of keepers, including this yearbook.) But I digress...
1971 was my first full season of following the Eagles. During the pre-season, I obtained this yearbook (for a whole dollar, apparently!) from a Merit Gas station on City Line Avenue in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. It's a small, Reader’s Digest or TV Guide -sized magazine. Beginning in 1972, the Eagles published a larger yearbook, titled “Eagle One” (in 1972), and “Eagle Two” (in 1973). After that, I stopped buying them, so I don’t know how long that format continued.
The book is 120 pages, all black and white except for the front and back covers, which are illustrated by renowned artist Dick Perez. The front cover features a fold-out extension. The yearbook also includes profiles of the owner, GM, and coaches, as well as the 1970 statistics for all their 1971 opponents, and a box score for every 1970 Eagles game. There is also a section that includes a brief summary of each past Eagles’ season, with the scores of every game. After that is a section listing the Eagles’ all-time records, and finally an all-time Eagles’ roster.
In the middle of the book are the player profiles. Most veterans are shown two to a page, with only Gary Ballman, Pete Liske, Joe Scarpati, and Tom Woodeshick getting their own pages (due to their long career statistics charts). After the veterans, there is a section for rookie profiles. Here they cram as many rookies onto a page as they can. Only 39 of the 56 veterans included in the yearbook actually made the team. 12 of the 43 rookies also made the team, the most successful of which was Harold Carmichael.
As you will see in the sample pages I’ve posted, my trusty red pen was hard at work back then. For the veterans, those that made the team have their number penciled in. The names of those that didn’t were given the strike-through treatment. Rookies making the team were underlined, and numbered.
Front cover:
Sketches by Dick Perez, featuring some events in Eagle history. (Sorry for the blurry left side. It wasn't laying flat on my scanner.)
Inside front cover:
A photo of Veterans Stadium (obviously from a Phillies' game, because the Eagles had not yet played there). Above it are sketches of Tose, Retzlaff, Jerry Williams, Arrington, Woodeshick, Ramsey, Ballman, Bouggess, Porter, Calloway, Tom, Harris, Pettigrew, Bradley, Hawkins, Hart, Jackson, and Rossovich.
(All were starters except QB Arrington. I guess Pete Liske hadn't been acquired yet when this page was laid out.)
Back cover:
Eagles in the Hall of Fame. Clockwise from top left are Greasy Neale, Pete Pihos, Norm Van Brocklin, Chuck Bednarik, Alex Wojciechowicz, Bert Bell, and Steve Van Buren.
The first few pages:
Sample player profiles:
Sunday, August 20, 2023
RIP - Maxie Baughan
Maxie Baughan, a linebacker for the Eagles and Rams from 1960 to 1970, passed away on August 19, 2023 at age 85.
Baughan was the Eagles' #2 pick in the 1960 draft, and was their starting right linebacker for his first 6 seasons in the league, and was named All-Pro in 5 of those 6 years. He also finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1960.
After the 1965 season he was traded to the Rams for 2 bench players, and began playing for 1st-year head coach George Allen. He retired after 5 seasons in LA, having been named All-Pro in all but his injury-shortened last season with the Rams.
In 1971, Allen became the head coach of the Washington Redskins, and to inject some immediate talent onto his roster, he traded for a slew of his ex-Rams (LB Jack Pardee, MLB Myron Pottios, DT Diron Talbert, G John Wilbur, and the rights to the retired Baughan) in exchange for MLB Marlin McKeever and 7 draft choices. Even so, Baughan spent the '72 and '73 seasons as the defensive coordinator for his alma mater Georgia Tech.
In 1974, Allen convinced Baughan to join the Redskins as a player-coach, and he appeared in 2 games before retiring once again after that season.
He was the defensive coordinator for the Colts from 1975-79 and the Lions from 1980-82, before taking the head coaching job at Cornell University.
Baughan returned to the NFL as the linebackers coach for the Vikings (1991-92), Buccaneers (1992-95), and Ravens (1996-98).
Sunday, June 18, 2023
RIP - Bob Brown
Bob Brown, the Eagles' All-Pro tackle in the mid-1960s, passed away on June 16, 2023 at age 81.
Brown was the 2nd overall pick in the 1964 draft, and was the Eagles' starting right tackle from 1964-68. He started every game as an Eagle, except for missing 6 games in 1967 due to injury.
He was named First Team All-Pro in '65, '66, and '68.
Brown requested a trade after the 1968 season, and was dealt to the Rams. He also made First-Team All-Pro in both seasons with LA.
Traded to the Raiders after 1970, he was Oakland's starting right tackle during his 3 seasons there.
Brown was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004.
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
RIP - Frank LeMaster
Frank LeMaster, an Eagles' linebacker from 1974-1982, passed away on March 23, 2023 at age 71.
LeMaster was the Birds' 4th-round pick in 1974. He played every game from 1974-1982, starting none as a rookie but starting every game thereafter. He started on the left side for 2 seasons, then when Dick Vermeil went to a 3-4 defense in 1977, LeMaster moved inside, joining Bill Bergey.
After missing all of 1983 due to injury, he was traded to the 49ers in 1984 but did not make the team.
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
RIP - Gary Pettigrew
Gary Pettigrew, a defensive lineman for the Eagles from 1966-74, passed away on January 21, 2023 at age 78.
Pettigrew was a 2nd-round pick in 1966, and started 10 games at right defensive end in each of his first 2 seasons.
In 1968 the Birds revamped their defensive line, putting 1968 #1 pick Tim Rossovich at LE and 2nd-year man Mel Tom at RE. Pettigrew moved to right DT, where he stayed for the next few years.
Starting all 14 games in 1968, he was limited to 6 starts in 1969, missing 7 games due to injury.
In 1970 he again started every game at RDT, but the next 2 seasons found him mostly riding the bench, behind regulars Don Hultz, Ernie Calloway (in '71), and Houston Antwine ('72), only starting 6 of his 13 games in '71 and 2 of his 13 games in '72.
Gary was back in the lineup in 1973, starting 12 of his 14 games, but this time at left tackle.
After 4 games (no starts) in 1974, he was traded to the Giants, and retired after the season.
Monday, December 26, 2022
RIP - Pete Liske
I just learned today that Pete Liske, the Eagles' starting QB in 1971 and 1972, passed away on February 12, 2022 at age 79.
Liske played college ball at Penn State, then was drafted by the Eagles and Jets in 1963. He signed with the Jets, and played 2 games for them (1 start) in 1964.
After 4 seasons in the CFL, Liske joined the Broncos in 1969 and played 7 games (2 starts) that season, and 11 games (9 starts) in 1970.
Before the 1971 season, Denver acquired QBs Don Horn (from the Packers) and Steve Ramsey (from the Saints), so Liske was expendable.
He was traded to the Eagles, where he replaced the departed Norm Snead. Liske played all 28 games in his 2 seasons with the Eagles, starting 10 games in 1971 and 7 in 1972, before he was replaced by #1 draft pick John Reaves.
With the Birds' acquisition of Roman Gabriel after the 1972 season, Liske was again expendable, and returned to the CFL for 3 more seasons until retiring after 1975.
Liske was a back judge in the NFL from 1983-88, and was the athletic director at the University of Washington (1985-92), University of Idaho (1992-96), and University of Toledo (1996-2000). In 2001 he returned to Penn State in a fund-raising role.
Monday, October 3, 2022
RIP - Herb Lusk
Herb Lusk, a halfback for the Eagles from 1976-78, passed away on September 19, 2022 at age 69.
Lusk (nicknamed "The Praying Tailback") was the first player to kneel in the end zone to pray following a touchdown.
He was the Eagles' 10th-round pick in 1976. The Eagles were without their first 3 picks that year due to past trades for Roman Gabriel and Bill Bergey. Still, they had 15 picks in the 17-round draft, but wasted 9 of them on players who never played a game in the NFL. A 10th player played 7 games the following season, but not for the Eagles.
So, Dick Vermeil's 1st draft boiled down to 5 players: Carl Hairston (7th round), FB Mike Hogan (9th), TE Richard Osborne (9th), Lusk (10th), and LB Terry Tautolo (13th). Only Hairston made long-term contributions.
Lusk played behind veteran HB Tom Sullivan and FB Mike Hogan in '76 and '77. Although Sullivan was traded after the 1977 season, Wilbert Montgomery had been drafted that year, and jumped over Lusk into the starting halfback job in 1978. Lusk was only used as a kick returner in '78 and had no rushes.
No matter, Lusk had planned to only play for 3 years, then enter the ministry. For the past 40 years, he was the pastor at a church in North Philadelphia.
Sunday, September 18, 2022
RIP - Guy Morriss
Guy Morriss, the Eagles' iron-man center from 1973 to 1983, passed away on September 5, 2022 at age 71.
Morriss was the Birds' 2nd-round pick in 1973. Although a guard in college, he was converted to a center as a rookie, and started 9 of 14 games that season.
He played in all 159 games during his tenure with the Eagles, and after his rookie season, he started all but 1 game.
Waived after the 1983 season, he played 4 more years as the Patriots' backup center.
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