1966 Eagles

Previously, I posted the Eagles cards for 1967, 1968, and 1969. I didn't start with the 1966 set because last year I only had a few of them, but I recently completed my Eagles' sets for 1964-66.

I didn't collect any kind of sports cards in 1966 - that all began in 1967. Prior to that, I was collecting Batman, Beatles, Combat, World War II, McHale's Navy, and Green Berets cards. A few Munsters, Superman, and Monkees cards may have also made their way onto my radar. My brother and I also made our own cards - cutting pictures of monsters out of magazines and comic books, and gluing them onto small pieces of cardboard to make "Castle of Frankenstein" cards! 

The Eagles finished in 2nd place in the 8-team East Division with a 9-5 record in 1966. It would be their last winning season until 1978. Meanwhile, they were winning 2 games in '68 and '72, and 3 games in 1970.

The Birds had ONE All-Pro player on the 1966 team - tackle Bob Brown. In addition to Brown, DT Floyd Peters also made the Pro Bowl.

Tight end Pete Retzlaff played the final season of his 11-year career, and Timmy Brown was on the last of his 5 productive seasons as the team's top running back, a string that included 3 Pro Bowl appearances.

What could also be considered a highlight is that QB Norm Snead threw an Eagles-career low 11 interceptions. That number would spike up to the 20-24 range for his last 4 seasons as an Eagle. On second thought, it's probably because he only played 10 games. 2nd-string QB King Hill and 3rd-stringer Jack Concannon each started 2 games.

After the season, the Eagles acquired All-Pro tight end Mike Ditka from the Bears. They offered Chicago their choice of either of their 3 quarterbacks, and the Bears chose 3rd-string Concannon!


Here are all the 1966 Eagles' cards. From 1964-67, Philadelphia Gum (not Topps) made the NFL cards. (Each team had 11 player cards, plus a team photo card and a play card.)

Split end Ray Poage missed the entire season with injuries, and was replaced in the starting lineup by Fred Hill. Poage was traded to the expansion Saints after the season.

Maxie Baughan and cornerback Irv Cross were both traded to the Rams in separate deals prior to the 1966 season.

Earl Gros is tackled before crossing the goal line.