Philadelphia Eagles
The Frankford Athletic Association organized itself in May 1899 within the parlor of the Suburban Club. A single share cost ten dollars, while contributing memberships ranged from one to two and a half dollars for the general public. This community-based non-profit donated all excess income to local charitable institutions under its charter. The original association disbanded before the 1909 football season, but players kept the team together as the Loyola Athletic Club. They revived the Frankford name again in 1912 to become the Frankford Athletic Association once more. By the early 1920s, these Yellow Jackets gained a reputation as one of the best independent teams in the nation. In 1922, Frankford absorbed the Philadelphia City Champion Union Quakers of Philadelphia. That year, they captured the unofficial championship of Philadelphia. During the 1922 and 1923 seasons, the Yellow Jackets compiled a six-win, two-loss, one-tie record against National Football League teams. This success led to the Association being granted an NFL franchise in 1924. Despite winning the NFL championship in 1926, midway through the 1931 season, the Yellow Jackets went bankrupt and ceased operations. After over a year of searching for a replacement, the league granted an expansion franchise to Bert Bell and Lud Wray. Their group paid an entry fee of three thousand five hundred dollars and assumed eleven thousand dollars in debt owed by the defunct organization. Drawing inspiration from the Blue Eagle logo of the National Recovery Administration, Bell and Wray named their new franchise the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles originally intended to play at Shibe Park but struck a deal with the Phillies to begin playing at the Baker Bowl instead. They played their first game on the 15th of October 1933, against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds and lost fifty-six to zero. Over the course of their first decade, the team never won more than four games in any single season. Their best finish came in 1934 when they tied for third place in the East division.
In December 1940, Bell intervened to stop the sale of Art Rooney's Steelers to Alexis Thompson. Rooney then acquired half of Bell's interest in the Eagles. A series of events known as the Pennsylvania Polka saw Rooney and Bell exchange their entire Eagles roster and territorial rights to Thompson for his entire Steelers roster and Pittsburgh rights. Greasy Neale years began after Thompson hired him as head coach. During the first years under Neale, the Eagles struggled, finishing the 1941 season with a two-win, eight-loss, one-tie record. In 1942, there was no improvement as the team finished 2, 9. Player shortages stemming from U.S. entry into World War II made it difficult to fill rosters in 1943. The team merged with the Steelers to form the Phil-Pitt Combine, known as the Steagles. Neale continued coaching alongside Steelers head coach Walt Kiesling. They finished the 1943 season with a five-win, four-loss, one-tie record before dissolving the merger at season's end. In 1944, the Eagles led by running back Steve Van Buren had their first winning season in team history. After two second-place finishes in 1945 and 1946, the team reached the NFL Championship game for the first time in 1947. Van Buren, Pete Pihos, and Bosh Pritchard fought valiantly but lost to the Chicago Cardinals twenty-eight to twenty-one at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Undeterred, the young team rebounded in 1948 to return to the NFL Championship game. With home-field advantage and a blinding snowstorm on their side, the Eagles won their first title against the Chicago Cardinals seven to zero. The only score came in the fourth quarter when Steve Van Buren ran for a five-yard touchdown. Prior to the start of the 1949 season, the Eagles were sold to a syndicate of one hundred buyers known as the Happy Hundred. Each paid three thousand dollars for a share of the team. James P. Clark was noted as the leader of this group, while Leonard Tose remained an unsung investor. In 1949, the Eagles returned to the NFL Championship game for a third consecutive year. They won fourteen to zero for their second consecutive title game shutout. Running back Steve Van Buren rushed for one hundred ninety-six yards on thirty-one carries. Chuck Bednarik was selected as the first overall pick in the 1949 NFL draft. An All-American lineman from the University of Pennsylvania, Bednarik would become one of the greatest players in Eagles history.
In 1986, head coach Buddy Ryan arrived with a fiery attitude that sparked team performance and ignited the fan base. He immediately infused the team with his hard-as-nails attitude, making them known for tough defense and tougher attitudes. Ryan began rejuvenating the team by releasing several aging players including Ron Jaworski. Randall Cunningham took his place despite a five-win, ten-loss, one-tie season. The 1987 season saw another strike which shortened play by one game. Substitutes who filled in for strikers performed poorly and were crushed forty-one to twenty-two by the Dallas Cowboys. After the strike, the regular Eagles' 1987 team won a thirty-seven to twenty revenge game against Dallas. The season record stood at seven wins and eight losses, three games played by substitutes. The Eagles reached the playoffs in 1988 but lost to the Chicago Bears in the Fog Bowl due to inclement weather. They lost twenty to twelve. The following two years saw playoff appearances as well, yet the team never made it past the first round. This failure frustrated fans since the squad was widely regarded as among the most talented in the league. On offense, they were led by quarterback Cunningham, tight end Keith Jackson, and fullback Keith Byars. Their defense is commonly acknowledged as among the greatest in league history and the best to never win a championship. Two 1989 matches with Dallas became known as the Bounty Bowls. Both were won easily by the Eagles while the Cowboys finished one win and fifteen losses that year. Ryan insulted new Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson by placing a bounty on their kicker. Eagles fans threw snowballs at him during these games. On the 12th of November 1990, during a Monday Night Football game at Veterans Stadium, the Eagles defeated Washington twenty-eight to fourteen. The defense scored three of the team's four touchdowns. This lopsided game was labeled the Body Bag Game referencing injuries inflicted on Redskins players. Running back Brian Mitchell finished the game as the Redskins' quarterback after starters were knocked out. Washington returned to Philadelphia in the playoffs to defeat the Eagles twenty to six ending their season. Ryan was fired on the 7th of January 1991, replaced by offensive coordinator Rich Kotite. All Pro defensive tackle Jerome Brown died in an automobile accident on the 25th of June 1992. The team dedicated the 1992 season to bring it home for Jerome. They finished second in the NFC East with eleven wins and five losses. Reggie White left via free agency in the off-season. Gang Green defense defined the team featuring Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner, Wes Hopkins, Mike Golic, Byron Evans, Eric Allen, Andre Waters, and Mark McMillian.
Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles on the 6th of May 1994, for an estimated one hundred eighty-five million dollars. In his first season, the team went seven wins and nine losses missing the playoffs. Rich Kotite was fired and replaced by Ray Rhodes who successfully lured Ricky Watters to join as a free agent. Rhodes's first season saw the Eagles lose three of four games before rebounding to finish ten wins and six losses. They overwhelmed Detroit fifty-eight to thirty-seven in the Wild Card Round but lost thirty to eleven to Dallas in the next round. This marked Randall Cunningham's last game as an Eagle. He scored the only touchdown of that game and the last postseason score for six years. In 1996, uniform colors changed from kelly green to midnight green. A week five Monday night game at Veterans Stadium against the Cowboys resulted in a season-ending knee injury to Rodney Peete. The transition to Ty Detmer and Watters followed. Brian Dawkins was chosen in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft. After a six-win, nine-loss, one-tie campaign in 1997, the bottom fell out in 1998 with a three-win, thirteen-loss record. Home attendance declined while fan revolt grew over sagging morale. Lurie fired Rhodes and hired Andy Reid from Green Bay. Reid drafted Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb with the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft. Many fans booed the selection believing they should have picked Ricky Williams instead. The 1999 season featured two home games failing to sell out leading to TV blackouts until local business owners bought remaining tickets. Week five on the 10th of October 1999, against Dallas represented the final play of Michael Irvin's career. Eagles safety Tim Hauck drove him into turf leaving him motionless. Fans applauded his departure rather than his serious cervical spine injury. Irvin announced retirement after the incident. The team finished 5, 11 that year. The 2000 regular-season opener in Dallas became known as the Pickle Juice Game due to extreme heat reaching nearly 120 degrees Fahrenheit. An Eagles trainer had players drink pickle juice to retain moisture. The experiment succeeded as Philadelphia won forty-one to fourteen while multiple Cowboys players sat unable to handle the climate. The game marked the beginning of Philadelphia's domination of the NFC East division. In 2004, the Eagles acquired Terrell Owens in a controversial three-way deal. Owens caught three touchdowns in their season opener against New York. He ended up with exactly one thousand two hundred receiving yards and fourteen touchdown receptions before an ankle injury ended his season prematurely. McNabb threw for thirty-eight hundred seventy-five yards and thirty-one touchdowns with only eight interceptions making him the first quarterback to throw thirty or more TD passes and fewer than ten interceptions in a single season. They advanced to Super Bowl XXXIX where they faced New England. Although McNabb threw three touchdowns and three hundred fifty-seven yards, the Patriots outscored them twenty-four to twenty-one sealing fate with an interception with forty-six seconds left.
The Eagles started off the 2017 season with a ten-win, one-loss record finishing thirteen wins and three losses including a nine-game winning streak. Starting quarterback Carson Wentz left a Week 14 game against Los Angeles Rams with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Backup Nick Foles took over for the rest of the season. Foles led a comeback from a twenty to seven deficit against New York Giants scoring four touchdowns to win thirty-four to twenty-nine. Despite struggling in last two games throwing a touchdown and two interceptions, Philadelphia clinched the number one seed. Foles led the Eagles past Atlanta Falcons fifteen to ten in Divisional Round. In NFC Championship game, they dominated Minnesota Vikings and their league best defense thirty-eight to seven again having been betting underdogs. The team traveled to Minneapolis to compete in Super Bowl LII against Tom Brady and New England Patriots. In second quarter, Philadelphia faced fourth-and-goal on one-yard line with thirty-eight seconds left. They attempted a trick play similar to one that had failed for Patriots earlier. It became most memorable play of game. As Foles stepped up to running back position, Clement took direct snap and pitched ball to tight end Trey Burton who threw to Foles wide open in right side of end zone. Foles caught ball making him first quarterback ever to catch touchdown pass in Super Bowl. The ensuing extra point gave Eagles twenty-two to twelve lead. Scoring play came to be known as Philly Special. The Eagles went on to win forty-one to thirty-three capturing first Super Bowl Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history and first championship since 1960 ending third-longest active drought at fifty-seven years. Foles won MVP going twenty-eight for forty-three with three hundred seventy-three passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and one receiving touchdown. He became first backup quarterback to start and win Super Bowl since Tom Brady won as backup for Drew Bledsoe in 2002's Super Bowl XXXVI. Combined seventy-four points scored was one point shy of record set in Super Bowl XXIX in 1995. Game marked only second time combined teams scored seventy or more points.
In 1985, Leonard Tose was forced to sell the Eagles to Norman Braman and Ed Leibowitz for reported sixty-five million dollars to pay off over twenty-five million dollars in gambling debts at Atlantic City casinos. By 1994, team owner Norman Braman had become largely unpopular among local fans and polarizing presence in front office. Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles on the 6th of May 1994, for estimated one hundred eighty-five million dollars. In December 2024, the Eagles became one of first teams in NFL to sell ownership stake to outside investors. The deal sold eight percent of franchise at valuation of eight billion three hundred million dollars. The franchise has sold out every home game continuously since 1999 season. They rank among best teams in NFL for attendance. The team plays its home games at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Since formation, they have appeared in playoffs thirty-two times winning seventeen division titles including fourteen in NFC East. They appeared in four pre-merger NFL Championship Games winning three of them in 1948, 1949, and 1960. They also appeared in five Super Bowls winning Super Bowls LII and LIX.
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Common questions
When was the Philadelphia Eagles franchise originally organized?
The Frankford Athletic Association organized itself in May 1899 within the parlor of the Suburban Club. This community-based non-profit later became the Philadelphia Eagles after receiving an NFL franchise in 1924.
Who founded the modern Philadelphia Eagles team and when did they start playing?
Bert Bell and Lud Wray purchased the defunct Frankford Yellow Jackets franchise to form the Philadelphia Eagles on the 15th of October 1933. They played their first game against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds and lost fifty-six to zero.
What year did the Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl title?
The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII on the 5th of February 2018 by defeating the New England Patriots forty-one to thirty-three. Nick Foles served as the backup quarterback who led the comeback from a twenty to seven deficit to secure the victory.
How much did Jeffrey Lurie pay for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1994?
Jeffrey Lurie bought the Philadelphia Eagles on the 6th of May 1994 for an estimated one hundred eighty-five million dollars. He replaced owner Norman Braman who had become unpopular among local fans due to gambling debts.
Where do the Philadelphia Eagles play their home games today?
The Philadelphia Eagles play their home games at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The team has sold out every home game continuously since the 1999 season.