1971 Eagles

The 1971 Eagles finished with a 6-7-1 record. On the surface that seems like a great improvement from the previous season's 3-10-1 last place finish, but it mattered little because in 1972 they returned to last place with a 2-11-1 record. What a roller coaster! 

These are the cards for the 1971 Eagles. You may be wondering why there is no quarterback card. Long-time veteran Norm Snead was traded to the Vikings in the off-season, and appears on a Vikings card (but in an Eagles' jersey). Snead was replaced by CFL quarterback Pete Liske, but not until just before training camp. 

Aside from not including a quarterback, the position allocation seems a little strange here: 3 running backs, 2 wide receivers (including kick returner Billy Walik instead of veteran starter Ben Hawkins), no offensive linemen, and no middle linebacker.

Except for Tom Woodeshick, Harold Jackson, and Tim Rossovich, all of the cards here are the player's rookie card. The 1970 rookies (Lee Bouggess, Walik, Mark Moseley) appear in the team's current jerseys. Others are shown in the late-1960s' Eagles jersey with stripes around the shoulders.

The 10th Eagles' card in this set is for linebacker Adrian Young, but this is not a photo of Young. It is Rick Duncan, who punted for ONE game in 1968. Why would Topps even have a photo of such a short-short-short timer, but they had trouble finding recent photos for baseball players that were in their 2nd or 3rd full year with a new team? *SMDH*

Details on the individual players can be found in this blog post. 

 

Here are some custom cards I found on the internet:

Pete Liske was the Eagles' #1 QB in 1971 and part of 1972.

Rick Arrington was the 2nd-stringer in 1970 and 1971, then relegated to 3rd string in 1972.

Ron Bull was acquired from the Bears before the 1971 season.

Ron Porter was a starting outside linebacker from 1969-72.

Adrian Young is actually pictured on this card.  The photo is distorted because of enlargement.

Bill Bradley played for the Eagles from 1969-76, and was the starting free safety from 1971-76.

 

RIP - Cyril Pinder

We just discussed Cyril Pinder on this blog 4 posts ago, but now I learned he passed away on January 23, 2021 at age 74.

The Eagles may not have been a very good team from 1966-75, but they had no shortage of colorful player names on the roster: King Hill, Izzy Lang, Floyd Peters, Joe Lavender, and Cyril Pinder, among others. 

 

Pinder was drafted by the Eagles in 1968, to replace the departed Timmy Brown. After sharing the load with Lang and Leroy Keyes for 2 seasons, Cyril was the team's leading rusher in 1970. He brought that tidbit to the bargaining table before the following season, and was promptly given a ticket to Chicago. 

 

He played for the Bears and Cowboys from 1971-73, as well as Chicago's WFL team in 1974-75 before retiring.  

 

Chicago Bears obituary

Cyril Pinder - RB

Cyril Pinder was the Eagles' 2nd-round pick in the 1968 draft. He played in every game in his 3 seasons with the Birds (1968-70), starting 5, 4, and 8 games as he alternated with halfbacks Izzy Lang ('68) and Leroy Keyes ('69), and fullback Tom Woodeshick ('70). 

In 1970 he led the Eagles in rushing with 657 yards, but was traded to the Bears for 2 draft picks during training camp in 1971 because of contract squabbles. The Bears needed some insurance against Gale Sayers' ailing knees. (Ironically, the Eagles replaced him with Ronnie Bull, acquired from the Bears in the same off-season.) 

Pinder played for the Bears for 2 seasons (starting 10 games), then was released in mid-September 1973. Weeks later the Cowboys picked him up and he provided backfield depth through the end of the season. 

Cyril joined the WFL's Chicago team in 1974 and rushed for 925 yards. He was on the team in 1975, until it folded after 5 games.

This 1971 card in Pinder's only Topps card. By this time he was already with the Bears. 

 

Where's Waldo Cyril?

Eagles who also played in the WFL

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I was browsing the 'WFL Rosters' link at the bottom of the right sidebar on this blog, and found these Eagles who also played in the World Football League (1974-75).

The names in green were starters for the Eagles.
Players below the solid line near the end of the list were Eagles after their WFL days. 

The Running Backs

Here are the Eagles' 12 primary running backs from 1966 to 1975. There were quite a few others (such as 1967 #1 draft pick/bust Harry Jones), but these below are all the starters.

We start off with the tandem of Timmy Brown and Earl Gros. Brown played for the Eagles from 1960-67, and was their starting halfback from '62 to '66. Gros was the starting fullback for his 3 seasons with the Eagles (1964-66).

After backing up Brown and Gros in 1966, Izzy Lang and Tom Woodeshick took over as the starting backfield for '67 and '68. Woodeshick led the team in rushing from 1967 to 1969.

Leroy Keyes was the Eagles' #1 pick in 1969. [After an 0-12 start, the Birds won their last 2 games, thus blowing the chance to draft O.J. Simpson.] After a serviceable rookie season, Keyes had an awful 2nd year, then was moved to strong safety for his final 2 seasons with the Eagles. Leroy was 2nd in rushing behind Woodeshick in 1969.

After 2 seasons as the #3 back, Cyril Pinder led the Eagles in rushing in 1970, teaming with rookie fullback Lee Bouggess. Woodeshick and rookie Larry Watkins rounded out the top 4.

Pinder was traded away after the 1970 season, leaving Bouggess as the team's top rusher in 1971. He was joined by halfback Ron Bull, who played his final season with the Eagles after playing for the Bears from 1962-70. As in 1970, Woodeshick and Watkins were the 3rd and 4th backs.

With Bouggess lost for the season due to injury, Bull retired, and Woodeshick traded, the Eagles featured a new set of backs in 1972. Rookie Ron "Po" James led the team in rushing, with Larry Watkins sharing the fullback job with ex-Saint Tony Baker.

James' time at the top was short, with rookie Tom Sullivan taking over the starting halfback job for the next 3 seasons. Sullivan would lead the team in rushing from 1973-75. Norm Bulaich joined the team in 1973, and was the starting fullback for his 2 seasons in Philly ('73-'74). James was the #3 back for the '73 and '74 seasons.

In 1975, Sullivan had a new running mate: Art Malone was brought in from Atlanta as the fullback. Rookie James McAlister was #3 with Po James at #4.

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When Dick Vermeil was hired for the 1976 season, he cleaned house at several positions, including running back. The only holdovers from 1975 were Sullivan and McAllister. Rookies Mike Hogan and Herb Lusk were in the mix, plus newly-acquired veterans Dave Hampton and Bill Olds.

1969 Running backs:

37 - Tom Woodeshick, 20 - Leroy Keyes, 22 - Cyril Pinder, 33 - Ronny Blye, 23 - Harry Jones