Are you ready for some football?? Eagles fans are getting pumped, especially after last week’s pre-season win against the Buccaneers. On any given Sunday during football season Philadelphia is a sea of green but have you ever wondered about the history of the Eagles? This week’s Phasinating Philly Phacts are all about those birds!
- The Eagles formed in 1933 when Burt Bell and Lud Wray purchased the former Frankford YellowJackets for only $2,500.
- The two original owners of the team played college football together at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Bell and Wray named the franchise after the Blue Eagle insignia from the National Recovery Administration which was the centerpiece of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.
- World War II made filling the Eagles roster so difficult that in the 1943 season the Eagles combined with the Pittsburgh Steelers gaining such nicknames as Phil-Pitt and the Steagles.
- Retired Eagles uniform numbers are: #5 Donovan McNabb, #15 Steve Van Buren, #20 Brian Dawkins, #40 Tom Brookshier, #44 Pete Retzlaff, #60 Chuck Bednarik, #70 Al Wistert, #92 Reggie White, #99 Jerome Brown
- The Eagles have an intense rivalry with the New York Giants that is the oldest rivalry in the NFC East and one of the oldest in the NFL.
- Eagles fans rank in the top 3 in attendance and have sold out every game since the 1999 season.
- Eagles fans were chosen to be the most intimidating fans according to a Sports Illustrated poll of 321 NFL players.
- Finally for all you long-time fans out there here is an array of former Eagle’s logos!
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