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 - Maxie Baughan

Maxie Baughan, a linebacker for the Eagles and Rams from 1960 to 1970, passed away on August 19, 2023 at age 85.

Baughan was the Eagles' #2 pick in the 1960 draft, and was their starting right linebacker for his first 6 seasons in the league, and was named All-Pro in 5 of those 6 years. He also finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1960. 

 

After the 1965 season he was traded to the Rams for 2 bench players, and began playing for 1st-year head coach George Allen. He retired after 5 seasons in LA, having been named All-Pro in all but his injury-shortened last season with the Rams. 

 

In 1971, Allen became the head coach of the Washington Redskins, and to inject some immediate talent onto his roster, he traded for a slew of his ex-Rams (LB Jack Pardee, MLB Myron Pottios, DT Diron Talbert, G John Wilbur, and the rights to the retired Baughan) in exchange for MLB Marlin McKeever and 7 draft choices. Even so, Baughan spent the '72 and '73 seasons as the defensive coordinator for his alma mater Georgia Tech. 

 

In 1974, Allen convinced Baughan to join the Redskins as a player-coach, and he appeared in 2 games before retiring once again after that season. 

 

He was the defensive coordinator for the Colts from 1975-79 and the Lions from 1980-82, before taking the head coaching job at Cornell University. 

 

Baughan returned to the NFL as the linebackers coach for the Vikings (1991-92), Buccaneers (1992-95), and Ravens (1996-98).

 

CBS Sports obituary  

 

NBC Sports obituary 

 

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.