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.

  

Philadelphia Eagles obituary  

 

Philadelphia Inquirer obituary 

 

RIP - Leroy Keyes

Leroy Keyes, the Eagles' 1st-round pick in 1969, passed away on April 15, 2021 at age 74.

Keyes finished 3rd and 2nd in the Heisman voting in his final 2 seasons at Purdue, then for the Eagles he played halfback for 2 seasons, and strong safety for 2 more before being dealt to the Chiefs.  

 

Philadelphia Eagles obituary  

 

ESPN obituary 

 

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?

RIP - Timmy Brown

Timmy Brown, the Eagles' starting halfback for the first half of the 1960s, passed away on April 4, 2020 at age 82.

After 1 game with the Packers in 1959, Brown joined the Eagles in 1960 and returned kicks until cracking the starting lineup in 1962. He was their featured back from 1962-66, and made the Pro Bowl in '62, '63, and '66.

After the 1967 season he was traded to the Colts, and primarily returned kicks. His final game was Super Bowl III against the Jets.

1963 Eagles: Sonny Jurgensen, Pete Retzlaff, Timmy Brown, Tommy McDonald ("We don't need no stinking facemasks!")

Brown became an actor after retiring from football, appearing in both the M*A*S*H movie and TV show, as well as other movies.

Philadelphia Eagles website obituary

Philadelphia Inquirer obituary

ESPN obituary

UPI obituary
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Earl Gros - FB

Earl Gros played fullback for the Eagles for 3 seasons, and was the starter for 2 1/2 seasons.

He was the Packers' 1st-round pick in 1962. After two seasons as a backup (they had Jim Taylor ahead of him), Gros was included in the May 1964 Jim Ringo trade to the Eagles (for linebacker Lee Roy Caffey and a 1st-round pick, which became Donny Anderson).

Gros immediately took over the starting fullback role in Philly. He played all but 1 game from 1964-66, starting 12, 14, and 6 games in that span.

In March 1967 he was traded to the Steelers (with guard Bruce Van Dyke) for receiver Gary Ballman. He rode the bench for a year, then was their starting fullback in '68 and '69.

Earl finished up in 1970, playing 1 game for the Saints before they waived him in September.

These are Gros' 3 Eagles cards (1965-67). By 1967 he was with the Steelers.


Where's Waldo Earl?

(Sitting next to his former Packers' teammate Jim Ringo - #54).

Leroy Keyes - HB/S

Leroy Keyes!  Just the mention of his name invokes groans from long-time Eagles fans.

Keyes was the Eagles' #1 draft pick in 1969, and played for them for four seasons.  Although not a complete bust, he was not very good, considering his 1st-round status.

Even more so when you consider the backstory: The Eagles lost their first 11 games in 1968, then foolishly won 2 of their final 3 games, thereby forfeiting the chance to select O.J. Simpson in the 1969 draft. As if that wasn't bad enough, look who was drafted right behind Keyes, in the chart below!

Keyes started 11 games at halfback in 1969, rushing for 361 yards. He was less than impressive, especially in 1970 when he played 3 games (starting none) and rushed for 7 total yards.

He was switched to strong safety in 1971, and started every game there for the next 2 seasons, picking up six interceptions in '71 and two in '72. The Eagles had seen enough, and would draft strong safety Randy Logan in the 3rd round in 1973.

In May 1973 the Birds pawned him off on the Chiefs, receiving aging defensive end Gerry Philbin in exchange for Keyes and DT Ernie Calloway. He played only 3 games for Kansas City in 1973, then was done.

Keyes had cards in the 1972 and 1973 sets.

Where's Waldo Leroy?

Israel Lang - HB

"Izzy" Lang played for the Eagles for 5 seasons, and was their starting halfback for 2 seasons.

Lang was the Eagles' 18th-round pick in the 1964 draft. After 3 seasons behind Timmy Brown, Izzy was the team's starting halfback in 1967 and 1968. (Actually, Lang only started 7 games in '68. Rookie Cyril Pinder started 5 games that season.)

After contract squabbles, in July 1969 Lang was traded to the Rams for wide receiver Harold Jackson. (What a steal for the Eagles!)

The record shows Lang played 12 games for the Rams in 1969, but started none. His season totals were 1 rush for 1 yard. (I guess he was strictly a special teams player, stuck behind RBs Larry Smith, Les Josephson, Tommy Mason, and Willie Ellison.)

He only had 4 kick returns (3rd on the team), so maybe he was relegated to gunner?

In May 1970 he was traded to the Broncos, but never played for them.

Where's Waldo Izzy?

Timmy Brown - HB

Timmy Brown played for the Eagles for 8 seasons (1960-67) and was their starting halfback for 5 seasons. He also was a kick returner from 1960-67, and punt returner from 1960-64.

He was signed as a free agent before the 1960 season, after being cut by the Packers after his rookie season.

Brown was quite prolific as a kick returner, leading the NFL twice in returns, return yards, and return touchdowns. In 1961 one of his TDs was a 105-yard return, longest in the NFL.

In 1963 he also attempted 3 passes, completing 1 for an 11-yard touchdown.

Timmy made the Pro Bowl in '62, '63, and '65.

In his final season with the Birds (1967), Brown only started 4 of his 7 games, and missed 7 games due to injury. After the season he was traded to the Colts for cornerback Alvin Haymond.

I have all 4 of Brown's Philly Gum cards (1964-67).

After football, Brown became an actor, and appeared in the M*A*S*H movie and a few of the early TV episodes. On the TV show, he played "Spearchucker Jones", the role played by Fred "The Hammer" Williamson in the movie.


Where's Waldo Tim?

Tom Woodeshick - FB

Tom Woodeshick played fullback for the Eagles for 9 seasons, but (surprising to me now) he was the primary starter for only 3 of those seasons.

Woody was drafted by the Eagles in the 8th round in 1963, and played behind others for 4 seasons (Clarence Peaks in '63, Earl Gros from 1964-66). He did start 4 games in 1966, in place of Gros (who would be traded to the Steelers after the season for Gary Ballman).

Tom started 13, 14, and 12 games from 1967-69, and made the Pro Bowl in 1968. (It's amazing that ANY Eagles made the Pro Bowl in 1968, having started off the season 0-12!) He also led the Eagles in rushing each of those 3 seasons (670, 947, 831 yards).

I see now that he played only 6 games in 1970, and started all 6. So I can infer that he missed the other 8 games due to injury, and otherwise would have been the starter all season. (At least he was owed that, having led the team in rushing for 3 seasons.)

Woodeshick returned in 1971 to play 11 games, but started only 5 of them (with 1970's rookie starter Lee Bouggess starting 7 games at fullback in '71).

Tom was cut at the end of training camp in 1972, and was signed by the Cardinals in late-September. After playing 4 games, St. Louis cut him in late-October, ending his 10-year career.

In 1970, he appeared in the movie "M*A*S*H" in the football game scene.

Woodeshick had cards in the '69, '70, and '71 sets. RetroCards also makes a 1966-style card for him (shown above).

I have collected all the 1966 Eagles cards sold by RetroCards:
King Hill - QB
Tom Woodeshick - RB
Ollie Matson - RB
Jim Skaggs - G
Lane Howell - T
Don Hultz - DE
Mike Morgan - LB
Fred Whittingham - LB
Team Leaders (Norm Snead photo)

I also have 2 other King Hill cards they made ('63, '65).


Where's Waldo Tom?

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.

--

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