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:

1973 Eagles

After a 2-11-1 season in 1972, the Eagles fired their GM (Pete Retzlaff) and Head Coach (Ed Khayat). 

 

In 1973 the Eagles had a new coach (Mike McCormick) a new QB (Roman Gabriel) and the best draft they had in a long time: T Jerry Sisemore (3rd overall) and TE Charlie Young (6th overall) in the 1st round,  Guy Morriss (C) in the 2nd round, and Randy Logan (S) in the 3rd round.  They also picked up Joe Lavender (CB) in the 12th round. 

 

Harold Jackson was traded away for Gabriel, but Harold Carmichael stepped up and led the NFL in receiving. Rookie Charlie Young also had 6 TDs, and 2nd-year running back Tom Sullivan gained 968 yards in his first year as a starter.

 

All this created a buzz among Eagles' fans, and led to a 5-8-1 record and a third place finish, behind the Cowboys and Redskins who were both 10-4.

 

In 1973, Topps greatly expanded their set.  Previously, only about 8 to 10 cards per team were printed. 5 of the 19 Eagles issued by Topps were not with the team in 1973.

 

 

Offense:

Pete Liske was the Eagles' starting QB in 1971 and part of 1972, but with the acquisition of Roman Gabriel, he was released.

Norm Bulaich gained 436 yards in his first of two seasons with the Eagles.

Harold Jackson played 4 seasons for the Eagles (leading the NFL in receiving in '69 and '72), but was traded to the Rams for Roman Gabriel.

Ben Hawkins started the first 4 games, then was traded to the Browns for DE Joe Jones.

Mark Nordquist is once again designated as a center by Topps, but he was the starting right guard.

Jim Skaggs was a reserve, after many years as the starting right guard.

Wade Key was the starting left tackle for 2 seasons, but moved to left guard in 1973.

Steve Smith moved from right tackle in '72 to left tackle in '73 to accommodate rookie Jerry Sisemore.

Tom Dempsey was the Birds' kicker from midway through the '71 season through the '74 season. 

Defense:

Mel Tom was the starting right end from 1968-72.  After 4 games in '73 he was traded to the Bears.

Ernie Calloway was a starter in his first 3 seasons ('69, '70, '71) but only played 5 games in 1972. He and Leroy Keyes were shipped off to the Chiefs before the 1973 season.

Don Hultz was the starter at left end for 3 seasons (65-67) and left tackle for 3 more (70-72), but only played 3 games in 1973.

Steve Zabel was the Eagles' #1 pick in the 1970 draft.  After 1 season as a tight end he was moved to linebacker. He played some middle linebacker one season, but was mostly the starting left LB from '71 to '74.

Ron Porter was a starting outside linebacker from 1969-72, but was traded to the Vikings before the 1973 season.

Al Nelson was the starting left cornerback for the Eagles from 1965 to midway through 1973.

Nate Ramsey played for the Eagles from 1963-72.  He was a starting safety from 65-70, and starting right corner in '64, '71, and '72.

Leroy Keyes was the Eagles' #1 pick in 1969.  After 2 years at HB and 2 at SS, he was traded to the Chiefs before the 1973 season.

Bill Bradley joined the Eagles in 1969, and was their starting free safety (and sometimes punter) from 1971-76. He was their best defensive player until the arrival of Bill Bergey in 1974.

John Reaves was the Eagles' #1 pick in 1972.  He started half the games as a rookie, then backed up Roman Gabriel in 1973.

 

Here are some custom cards I found on the internet:

Roman Gabriel was acquired in the off-season for Harold Jackson. He was the starting QB for 3 seasons (73-75), then backed up Mike Boryla ('76) and Ron Jaworski ('77).

Rick Arrington was the Eagles' backup QB from 1970-72, but was not on the team in '73.

Tom Sullivan was a rookie in 1972.  He was the starting halfback from 1973 to 1977, before giving way to Wilbert Montgomery.  He led the NFL with 11 rushing TDs in 1974.

Larry Watkins played for the Eagles from 1970-72, and was their starting fullback for 8 games in 1972.

Harold Carmichael was a rookie in 1971.  After 2 seasons as the 3rd WR and sometimes-starting tight end, he replaced the departed Harold Jackson as a starting wideout, and led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards in 1973. He played in every game from 1973-81, starting all but 1 of them.

Charle Young was a 1st-round pick for the Eagles in 1973, scoring 6 TDs as a rookie.

7/29 EDIT: Added starting lineup list below (to 1967 - 1972 Eagles posts too)

All players are not listed in the labels below.  Blogger has a max of 200 characters for the labels.  :(

1970 Eagles

1970 was the first year I followed the NFL (and the Eagles in particular), but as I recall, not until midway through the season. 

Oddly enough, I collected football cards in 1967 and 1968, but not again until 1971. (My sports card collecting started with 1967 baseball and football, then the same 2 sports in 1968, but ended after the 1969 baseball season. Then I started up again with 1971 football, and both sports in 1972, before I stopped again until 1981.)

The Eagles finished with a 3-10-1 record in 1970, dead last in the newly-formed NFC East division. It was one game worse than their 4-9-1 finish in 1969. 

From 1968 to 1971, Topps only printed from 7 to 9 cards per team (which is handy when filling 9-pocket pages). 

Since I didn't collect cards in 1970, I only acquired these cards in the past few years, as I was completing my Eagles' team sets for 1964 to 1975.

1970 was the final year for Norm Snead as the Eagles' quarterback. Generally a disappointment since being acquired for Sonny Jurgensen after the 1963 season, he was kicked out of Philly in the spring of 1971.

Tom Woodeshick was the Eagles' starting fullback from 1967-1969, then rode the bench in favor of rookie Lee Bouggess in 1970.

Ben Hawkins was the Eagles' starting flanker from 1966 to 1973.  He may be best known for his dangling chinstrap.

Harold Jackson was acquired from the Rams in 1969, and was probably the Birds' best player in his 4 seasons with the team.  He led the NFL in receiving in '69 and '72.  Harold returned to the Rams after the 1972 season in exchange for QB Roman Gabriel.

Gary Ballman was the Eagles' starting split end in '67 and '68, then moved to tight end with the arrival of Jackson in 1969.

Tim Rossovich was the Eagles' #1 draft pick in 1968 and was the starting left end for his first 2 1/2 seasons.  Midway through 1970 he was moved to middle linebacker.

Dave Lloyd was the Eagles' long-time middle linebacker, but was finally replaced by Rossovich during the 1970 season.  He spent the remainder of his final season as a kicker (kicking off, but not for field goals or extra points).

Al Nelson played 9 seasons for the Eagles (1965-73) and was a starting cornerback every season except for missing all but 1 game in 1967.

Nate Ramsey was the Eagles' strong safety from 1963-70, then played right cornerback for his final 2 seasons with the Eagles.

Ben Hawkins - WR

Ben Hawkins was the Eagles' 3rd-round pick in 1966, and played 8 seasons with the Birds. He was a starting wideout in all but his last season, and played every game during those first 7 seasons.

In 1967, Ben led the NFL with 1265 receiving yards. In 1968 he set a team record with a 92-yard touchdown reception.

In his final season with Philly (1973) he started the first 4 games, then missed the remainder of the season with a broken leg.

Hawkins wrapped up his NFL career with the Browns in 1974, and played with the WFL's Philadelphia Bell in 1975.

He passed away last year at age 73.

Here are all of Ben's cards ('70, '73, '74)


When I was a teen, I had a poster of Hawkins in my room. (I don't remember if it was this one, but here is what I found on the web). He was famous for always playing with his chinstrap unbuckled.

Ben Hawkins story


Where's Waldo Ben?

RIP - Ben Hawkins

I found out yesterday on this blog about the passing of Ben Hawkins, one of the Eagles' top 2 wide receivers from 1967 to 1972.  "Hawk" passed away on October 9th, 2017 at age 73.

Hawkins was the Eagles' 3rd-round pick in 1966, and played in every game from 1966 to 1972. He also played 4 games in 1973, and finished his career with the Browns in 1974.

In 1967 (his first year as a starter) Ben had a career-high 10 touchdowns, and led the NFL with 1265 receiving yards.

In 1968, he scored a touchdown on a 92-yard pass play from King Hill, the 4th longest in team history.

The next year, he scored 4 touchdowns in 1 game, a team record that was tied by Irving Fryar more than 25 years later.

Philly.com obituary

In this blog's sidebar, I have added a memorial gallery of Eagles players from 1966 to 1975.

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 Receivers

Here are the Eagles’ top receivers from 1966-75. Unless otherwise mentioned in the text below, all the other significant pass catchers were running backs.

The Eagles starting receivers in 1966 were Pete Retzlaff (TE), Fred Hill (SE) and Ron Goodwin (FL). Retzlaff’s entire career (1956-66) was as a starter for the Eagles, first as a split end before moving to tight end in 1963. Hill played his entire career (1965-71) with the Eagles, and in 1966 filled in at SE for Ray Poage, the Eagles split end in ’64 and ’65 who missed the ’66 season with a knee injury. Goodwin also played his entire career (1963-68) with the Eagles, and was their starting flanker from 1963-66. Rookie Ben Hawkins was the #4 receiver, almost equaling Goodwin’s catches.

A new group of receivers took over in 1967. Hawkins led the team in receptions from his flanker spot, and was joined by newly-acquired veterans Gary Ballman (SE) and Mike Ditka (TE). Hawkins played for the Eagles from 1966-74, and was a starting wideout every season except his first and last. He led the NFL in receiving yards in 1967. Ballman played for the Eagles from 1967-72, and was a starter every season but his last. After 2 years as a split end, he moved to TE in 1969. Ditka sandwiched his 2 seasons with the Eagles (’67-’68) between stints with the Bears and Cowboys. He was the starting TE in ’67 (although missing 5 games), but was 2nd-team in 1968.

Fred Hill replaced Ditka at tight end in 1968, joining Hawkins and Ballman in the starting lineup.

In 1969, Harold Jackson joined the Eagles (acquired from the Rams in the Bob Brown trade) and immediately became their best player. Jackson played 4 seasons with the Eagles before returning to the Rams in the Roman Gabriel trade. He led the NFL in receiving yards in ’69 and ’72. With the addition of Jackson, Ballman moved to tight end.

All 3 starters (Jackson, Hawkins, Ballman) returned for 1970, although curiously, Ballman led the team in receptions.

With Ballman injured for much of 1971, rookie Harold Carmichael joined the starting group, as the tight end. Carmichael played for the Eagles from 1971-83, and was a starting WR in all but his first 2 seasons.

Jackson, Hawkins, and Carmichael were the top 3 receivers in 1972, although Carmichael split his time between TE and WR. Kent Kramer (an Eagle from 1971-74) was the nominal #1 tight end, although a distant 6th in receptions.

After leading the NFL in receptions and receiving yards in 1972, Jackson was traded back to the Rams. No big loss – Carmichael stepped in as the Eagles’ #1 wide receiver and led the NFL in receiving yards in 1973.

He was joined by #1 draft pick Charlie Young at TE and rookie Don Zimmerman at WR. Young was the Birds’ starting tight end for his first 4 seasons, then was traded to the Rams (see a pattern?) for QB Ron Jaworski. Replacing Hawkins in the lineup, Zimmerman was a serviceable starter for 2 seasons, and a backup for 2 more.

The Eagles used the same 3 receivers in 1974, then 2nd-year man Charlie Smith replaced Zimmerman as the #2 wide receiver in 1975. Smith was a starter from 1975-81.


1969 Receivers:

WR: 29 - Harold Jackson, 18 - Ben Hawkins, 13 - Chuck Hughes, 12 - Kent Lawrence
TE: 85 - Gary Ballman, 86 - Fred Hill, 87 - Fred Brown