1974 Eagles

After a never-ending string of obituaries, how about if we look at some football cards? 

 

 

The 1974 Eagles posted a 7-7 record, their only non-losing season between 1967 and 1977. The next 2 seasons, they reverted to 4-10 records. 

 

Back in the day, I collected football cards only from 1967 to 1973. I got most of these cards on eBay a few months ago. 

 

It's odd that Topps chose John Reaves as the quarterback, when in the previous season Roman Gabriel started every game and led the league in attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdowns, and made the Pro Bowl. Meanwhile, Reaves was 5 for 19 while playing part of only 1 game.

 

These players were also with the Eagles in 1974:

RIP - Ed Blaine

 Ed Blaine, the Eagles' starting left guard from 1963-66, passed away on March 22, 2026 at age 86. 

 

Blaine was drafted by the Packers in the 2nd round in 1962. After 1 season in Green Bay, he was traded to the Eagles. 

 

Ed played every game during his 4 seasons with the Birds, and started all but one game in '63 and one game in '66. He retired after the 1966 season, at age 26. 

 

He had always intended to only play 5 seasons, then become a doctor. Eventually he became one of the country's leading pharmaceutical researchers.

   

Eagles Cards Update

Today I have updated my "Vintage Eagles Cards Census" chart on this blog's sidebar. In the past few months, I have completed collecting the Eagles cards from '74, '75, and '76, and will be posting those sets on this blog soon. 

I have also added 1977-1980 to the sidebar chart. (I already have most of the 1979 Eagles.) Although not within the time period of this blog, I will be working to complete the Eagles' sets for 1977-1980 and also 1963. 

I also noticed recently that RetroCards.com has added the 49ers to their custom 1967 team sets (to go along with the Cowboys, Packers, Bears, and Saints.) I'm hoping they will eventually get around to the Eagles, not only for '67, but also for the 1969-72 sets.

RIP - Dick Absher

Dick Absher, a middle linebacker who played from 1967 to 1972, passed away on February 25, 2026 at age 81. 

 

Absher was the Eagles’ 5th-round pick in 1967. (Their 1967 draft was a complete washout – more on that below.) 

 

Shortly before his first season he was traded to the Redskins, and played 1 game each for the Redskins and the Falcons. 

Absher played 10 games (no starts) for the Falcons in 1968, then was with the Saints from 1969-71, and was their starting middle linebacker for 21 games from 1969-70. 

 

After spending 1971 on the Saints’ special teams, he wrapped up his career in 1972 in a similar role with the Eagles. 

 

Yahoo Sports obituary

 

The Eagles’ 1967 draft class was a complete bust:

 

The first pick was running back Harry Jones, who played 29 games (5 starts) over parts of 4 seasons with the club. His career rushing total was 85 yards, including zero yards while playing 12 games in 1969. 

 

Their third-round pick was running back Harry Wilson, who played in 6 games (2 starts) over 3 seasons. His career rushing total was 7 yards. 

 

Wide receiver Chuck Hughes was their fourth-round pick. He played 3 seasons with the Eagles on special teams, then spent 1 ¼ seasons with the Lions. In game #3 of his final season, he suffered a heart attack during the game, and is the only player to have died during an NFL game. 

 

Dick Absher was their fifth-round pick, but played for other teams in his first 5 seasons. He returned to the Eagles for his final season, and played in 8 games (no starts). 

 

The Eagles’ picks in round 2 and rounds 6 thru 17 never played in the NFL.

   

RIP - Gerry Philbin

Former Jets' and Eagles' defensive end Gerry Philbin passed away on June 25, 2025 at age 83.

Philbin was the Jets' starting left defensive end from 1964 to 1972, and made All-Pro in '68 and '69. 

 

He finished his NFL career in 1973 with the Eagles, starting 6 of his 13 games. Philbin also played for the WFL's New York Stars in 1974. 

 

I remember watching a show on the NFL Network about the Jets' Super Bowl year. Philbin was one of the 3 players interviewed (along with Joe Namath). Philbin said the Jets had a good team prior to that season, but Namath was unreliable and irresponsible, so the players decided to name Joe as the team captain, to instill some responsibility in him. 

 

It was funny to watch the recent clips of a smiling Namath saying "The guys loved me - they picked me as their team captain", then the clip of Philbin responding that no, many players disliked him. They only made him the captain as a kick in the ass to force him to be responsible.  

 

New York Jets obituary  

 

ESPN obituary 

  

RIP - Ralph Heck

Ralph Heck, a linebacker for the Eagles, Falcons, and Giants from 1963-71, passed away on May 25, 2025 at age 83.

Heck was the Eagles' 11th-round pick in 1963. In his 3 seasons for the Eagles, he played in all but 2 games, while starting 9 times. 

 

He was selected by the Falcons in the expansion draft, and played in every game (no starts) in 1966. From 1967-68 he started 27 games at right linebacker. 

 

Heck played his final 3 seasons with the Giants, starting every game at middle linebacker in 1969, and every game at left linebacker in 1970. In 1971, he started 4 of his 11 games. 

 

Obituary 

   

1965 Eagles

Here are the 1965 Eagles' cards, the 2nd of 4 seasons where the NFL cards were made by the Philadelphia Gum Company. 

This is the 2nd year of the 5-year reign of incompetence by head coach/GM Joe Kuharich. (Some of the moves prior to his first season were to unload Sonny Jurgensen and Tommy McDonald (to division rivals Washington and Dallas, respectively) for lesser players, essentially exchanging quality for quantity. 

The Eagles finished with a 5-9 record in 1965, good for a 5th place tie with the Cardinals (out of 7 teams). 

The Birds had two first-team All-Pro players on the squad - tight end Pete Retzlaff and tackle Bob Brown.

 

Clarence Peaks played 1964 and 1965 with the Steelers, but is still shown in his Eagles' jersey.

The fire sale continued after the season, with Kuharich trading Maxie Baughan and Irv Cross, both Pro-Bowlers in 1965 and both in their mid-20s, to the Rams. In return, they got a big bag of beans: 

for Baughan: 

DT Frank Molden - missed '66 and '67 seasons, then a backup for 1 season 

LB Fred Brown - missed '66 season, then a backup for 3 seasons 

RB Harry Wilson (draft pick) - played in 6 games over 4 seasons 

 

for Cross: 

CB Aaron Martin - played 2 seasons, 1 as a starting CB 

FL Willie Brown - played 1 season (7 games, no starts) 

Meanwhile, Baughan, who was named to 5 Pro Bowls as an Eagle, played in 4 more as a Ram, and Cross was a 3-year starter for the Rams.

RIP - Bill Bergey

 

Bill Bergey, the Eagles' middle linebacker from 1974 to 1980, passed away today, December 25, 2024 at age 79.

Bergey was the Bengals' 2nd-round pick in 1969, and was their starting MLB from his first game (replacing Sherrill Headrick, who two years earlier had also lost his starting MLB job with the Chiefs to Willie Lanier). 

 

Bergey played for the Bengals for 5 seasons, starting every game for 4 seasons and 10 games in 1972. 

 

He was traded to the Eagles before the 1974 season, and started every game for 6 seasons, while starting only 3 games in 1979 (missing 13 games due to injury). 

 

Bergey retired after the 1980 season, his last game being Super Bowl XV. 

 

After his playing career, he did pre- and post-game commentary for Eagles' games for 20 years. Two of his sons played professional lacrosse - one for Philadelphia. 

 

Philadelphia Eagles obituary  

 

ESPN obituary 

   

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.

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.

 

Philadelphia Eagles obituary

 

Obituary 

   

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.

 

CBS Sports obituary  

 

ESPN obituary 

  

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.  

 

New Orleans Saints obituary 

  

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.

New York Times obituary