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.  :(

1966 Eagles - Bonus Cards

Recently I posted the 1966 Eagles cards from Philadelphia Gum Co. Here are additional 1966 Eagles, printed and sold by RetroCards.

RetroCards makes vintage cards (mostly football) of players who were missing from the Topps or Philly Gum series. Although their focus seems to be on Cowboys, Packers, and Bears, they have made cards for all the NFL teams in 1963 and 1966.

These were the first cards I bought from them. Subsequently, I also bought the '67 Cowboys and Packers, '68 Eagles and Packers, and '71 Cowboys.

Don Hultz - DE/DT

By the way, beginning with Pete Retzlaff, I switched to posting these players in order of tenure with the Eagles (first, all players on board before 1970). Next up is defensive lineman Don Hultz.

Hultz was an Eagle for 10 seasons, 6 as a starter. He was acquired from the Vikings on 5/29/64 along with WR Ray Poage and 2 others for running back Ted Dean and the rights to Oregon QB Bob Berry.

Don was the Eagles' starting left defensive end for 3 games in 1964 and for most of 1965-67. He found a seat on the bench beginning in 1968, replaced by the Birds' #1 pick Tim Rossovich.

After 4 games in 1970, Rossovich moved to middle linebacker and Hultz regained a starting job, this time at left defensive tackle (with Ernie Calloway moving to end). Don continued in the starting lineup through the 1972 season, and played 3 games (1 start) in 1973.

Cut in May 1974, he was picked up by the Bears and finished his career with Chicago that season.

Here are Don's only football cards ('68, '73). Topps had trouble getting current photos of NFL players for their first series in 1968 (having only made AFL cards from 1964-67), so players for NFL teams are shown in 4-year-old photos. I don't know why he is listed as a DE-LB on his 1968 card, since there's no evidence he ever played linebacker.

Where's Waldo Don?

1968 Eagles

1968 is a low point in Eagles' history. (Well, one of them anyway.) After going 9-5 in 1966 and 6-7-1 in 1967, the Birds plummeted to 2-12 in 1968. The team lost their first ELEVEN games, then foolishly won 2 of the final 3 games, thereby blowing their shot at the #1 draft pick (O.J. Simpson).

After that fiasco, not only did the team get a new head coach and new GM, but a new owner as well (Leonard Tose).

The Eagles ended up with the 3rd overall pick, and those knuckleheads chose Purdue running back Leroy Keyes, who was less than adequate in his 4-year Eagles' career. Not only was he no O.J. Simpson, he wasn't even a Tom Woodeshick!

By the way, after the Eagles picked Keyes at #3, THE STEELERS PICKED JOE GREENE AT #4, then the Bengals picked QB Greg Cook at #5.

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Here are the Eagles cards for 1968. After a 4-year hiatus, in 1968 the NFL cards were once again issued by Topps. (From 1964-67, NFL cards were produced by Philadelphia Gum Company, while the AFL cards were produced by Topps.)  Now Topps issued a combined NFL/AFL set beginning in 1968.

The downside for collectors is that while there were 12 cards per NFL team in 1967, now there were only 8 (and AFL teams only had 7 cards each).

The 1968 cards were split into 2 series. In Series 1, the NFL players appeared in the uniform of whatever team they were playing for in 1963, the last year Topps had taken NFL player photos.

Topps used new photos for most of the 2nd series cards:

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The D-Line

Here are the Eagles' defensive lineman (mostly starters) who had football cards in the Topps or Philly Gum sets of the time.

Don Hultz played for the Eagles from 1964 to 1973. The starting left defensive end from '65-'67, he was replaced by #1 draft choice Tim Rossovich in 1968, but regained a starting spot (at LDT) when Rosso was moved to MLB midway through the 1970 season.

Floyd Peters was the starting LDT from 1964-69, except for missing 2/3 of 1968. He made 3 Pro Bowls during his time in Philly.

John Meyers was acquired from the Cowboys after the 1963 season, and started at right tackle from 1964-1967.

Rookie Gary Pettigrew replaced the veteran Bobby Richards at right end to start the 1966 season. After 2 years there, Pettigrew moved inside to RT, starting most of 1968-71 there. After a season on the bench, Gary was the starting left tackle in 1973, and was traded to the Giants after 4 games in 1974.

Mel Tom joined the Eagles as a linebacker in 1967 and was soon converted to a defensive end. He started all but 1 game at right end from 1968 to 1972. After 4 starts in 1973 he was dealt to the Bears.

Tim Rossovich was the Birds' top pick in 1968, and when he wasn't eating glass or setting his hair on fire, he played left end for 2-plus seasons. After 5 games in 1970, he was moved to MLB, replacing the veteran Dave Lloyd.

Ernie Calloway started 8 games at left tackle as a rookie in 1969. After 5 games there in '70, he moved to left end (replacing Rossovich) with Hultz returning to the starting lineup at tackle. In '71 he was a swingman – sharing left end with rookie Richard Harris and right tackle with Pettigrew. He started 5 games in 1972, and that was the end of his career. (I have a recollection that he was traded to the Chiefs, but the record doesn’t show any playing time there.)

Like they did 3 years earlier, the Eagles took a defensive end with their #1 pick in 1971. Richard Harris started 10 games at left end as a rookie and 13 more in his sophomore season. With Pettigrew and Calloway both gone by 1973, Harris started 10 games at right tackle, then played his remaining 4 seasons with the Bears and Seahawks.

Will Wynn was a 7th-round pick in 1973 and started 8 games at right end (replacing the departed Mel Tom). After 27 starts at left end from '74-'75, Wynn started every game on the right side in 1976. After the season, coach Dick Vermeil decided Wynn wasn't "his kind of player" and sent him packing.


Other short-term starters:

Randy Beisler (normally a guard) started 8 games at left D tackle in 1968, his 3rd and last season with the Eagles.

After 11 years with the Patriots, Houston Antwine finished his career with 1 season in Philly (1972), starting 9 games at right tackle as the Birds patched their D-line.

Long-time Jet Gerry Philbin shared the left end job with fellow import Dennis Wirgowski. It was Philbin's final season after 9 with the Jets.

After 3 seasons with the Patriots, Dennis Wirgowski finished his career with 8 starts for the Eagles in '73.

With Pettigrew and Harris leaving after 1973, there were no defensive lineman remaining from prior to 1973.  

Joe Jones started 13 games at right end in his 1st season with the Eagles, and 5 more in 1975.

Defensive tackle Bill Dunstan started 7 games in ’73, 7 games in ’74, and 14 games in ’75.

Ex-Bill Jerry Patton started all 14 games at RDT in 1974, his only season in Philly.

Other Eagles’ draft picks Mitch Sutton (7) and Willie Cullars (1) made a few starts in 1974.

Rich Glover played 1 season (1975) with the Eagles, starting all 14 games at left tackle.

Blenda Gay started 8 games at right end in ’75, and ’13 games at left end in 1976. He was shot and killed in a domestic dispute just after the ’76 season.


The ’74 to ’75 Eagles was the era of ”The $400 Defensive Line” (what with waiver pickups costing $100).

Dick Vermeil began a major housecleaning along the D-line, bringing in Manny Sistrunk and Carl Hairston in 1976, and in 1977 switching to a 3-4, with rookie nose tackle Charlie Johnson joining the team.

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                             (Rossovich also started 25 games at MLB from 1971 to 1972.)


1969 Defensive linemen:

Ends: 82 - Tim Rossovich, 58 - Mel Tom, 83 - Don Hultz
Tackles: 72 - Floyd Peters, 88 - Gary Pettigrew, 57 - Ernie Calloway, 62 - Mike Dirks

Jersey and Helmet Styles

Here are the various styles of jerseys and helmets used by the Eagles during this blog's time period.

 Jerseys:

For most of the 1960s, the Eagles wore a plain green jersey, with small numbers on the sleeves.


At some point prior to 1966, narrow and wide stripes were added to the sleeves.


From 1966 to 1969, the jerseys had double striping around the shoulders. Topps showed this jersey as late as 1973 on some cards.


In 1970 the team went back to the early-1960s look. Just solid green, with no striping.

In 1972 they added a black outline to the numbers.

A major change occurred in 1974, adding lots of stripes to the sleeves and moving the numbers up on top of the shoulders. As time went on, these jerseys became see-through.


 Helmets: The Eagles wore green helmets with silver wings prior to the 1969 season.

For 1969 home games, and all games in 1970 to 1973, they wore white helmets with green wings. The colors were reversed for away games in 1969 - green helmets with white wings.

They went back to green helmets in 1974, this time with two-tone wings.