This is just a sampling of some of the greatest Eagles stories ever told as chronicled by Eli Kowalski in his 2008 book called “Looking Back: 75 Years of Eagles History”…
Here are my favorites of Eli’s favorites:
“I remember this so vividly—it was 1957, Bill Stribling got hurt in my rookie year in the ninth game and they put me out there at wide receiver in his place. I caught two TD passes, a 61-yarder and a 25-yarder. So our offensive coordinator Charlie Gauer comes up to me after the game and says, “I think we found a spot for you.”‘—Tommy McDonald, Eagles HOF WR
“About the Eagles 1960 Championship team, they got the most out of their ability and played way over their heads, no doubt about it. I’ve never seen a team that had so much camaraderie. Those guys really loved each other. They fought like hell among themselves sometimes, but at the same time, they loved each other…They weren’t the best team in the league and they weren’t the best team in their own division. But they were the best every Sunday.”—the late Bill Campbell, Eagles broadcaster
“My favorite memory is the playoff win over New Orleans in the SuperDome. We had lost Jerome Brown prior to that season so getting to the playoffs and getting the win was special. We were losing that game in the 4th quarter and scored 26 points in the last 11 minutes of the game.”—Randall Cunningham, Eagles QB 1985-1996
“My biggest memory was a play that was called back…during my rookie year I beat the Redskins’ Darrell Green on a go route down there at RFK Stadium. The play went for 60 yards but was nullified by a procedure penalty. But it gave me the confidence that I could play in the NFL.”— Fred Barnett, Eagles WR 1990-1995
“It was my rookie year at the Vet against the Cowboys. I was running full speed while covering a kickoff and caught kick returner Reggie Swinton as he tried to sprint through what he thought was an opening in the coverage. I nearly killed him with the hit. I also had an interception in the game. My teammates started treating me differently after that game because they realized I could help them win. That hit and interception let me know I could play on the pro level.”— Sheldon Brown, Eagles cornerback
“It was a Monday Night Football game in 1974 and the Cowboys were ahead 10-0 and on the verge of scoring again when Doug Dennison tried to go off tackle from the 4-yard line for a score, but I hit him chest-high with everything I had and it was a sound like “Thud!”… He coughed up the ball and Joe “The Bird” Lavender picked it up and ran 96 yards the other way for a score. We went on to win the game 13-10. It was the first time in years that we beat Dallas.”—Bill Bergey, Eagles LB 1974-1980
“We were trailing the New York Giants and hadn’t really done anything that day. We were preparing for a punt return and I was up at the line of scrimmage. I was responsible for faking like I was going for a blocked punt, then get back downfield and block guys who were trying to get to Brian Westbrook. The punt was high and there was a Giants player who was about to get in Westbrook’s face but Brian didn’t signal for a fair catch—so I had to go get the guy. I ran as hard as I could and got just a little bitty piece of his shoulder. It slowed him up just enough to allow BWest to get to the sideline. Westbrook took it all the way down the sideline and we won the game on that return. It turned around our season and we went on to go to the playoffs.”— Ike Reese, Eagles 1998-2004
“It was 1992 and we were trailing the New York Giants and there was a drizzling rain falling. I was about to receive the punt. All I remember was weaving side to side to beat the Giants defenders as I returned that punt 87 yards for a TD. At the end of the run I put a move on punter Sean Landeta and that play ended his season because he hurt his knee when he bit on my fake. After I scored, I started punching the goal post. I did it as a tribute to my father, who was watching the game and who always wanted me to become a pro boxer.”—Via Sikahema, Eagles 1992-93
“It was the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship game and I rolled out to my right and looked for Chad Lewis to make his cut outside. I spotted him and let the ball go. I knew if he caught it we were going to the Super Bowl. When he came down with the ball and the refs signaled “touchdown”, I knew we had finally got over the hump and secured a place in the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Chad hurt his foot on the play and wasn’t able to play in the Super Bowl. But it was something I will never forget because we had been to the NFC Championship game three other times and had come up short. This was our time—we had all worked so hard to get there.”—Donovan McNabb, Eagles QB 1999-2009
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