1960 Philadelphia Eagles season

1960 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner	NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship (vs. Packers) 17–13
← 1959 Eagles seasons 1961 →

The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League, and finished with the Eagles' win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFL championship game to get their third league title. The victory over the Packers was also the first and only playoff defeat of the Packers' Vince Lombardi's coaching career. The 1960 season was the Eagles' first postseason appearance since their last NFL championship season of 1949. It was their only postseason appearance in the 28 seasons from 1950 to 1977, and their last NFL title until their victory in Super Bowl LII, 57 years later.

Off Season

On March 13, 1960, there was an expansion draft to stock the Dallas Rangers, who soon changed their name to the "Cowboys."^[1] In this draft the Eagles lost tight end Dick Bielski, tackle Jerry DeLucca, and linebacker Bill Striegel to Dallas.

As since 1951, the Eagles held training camp at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

NFL Draft

The 1960 NFL draft and the 1960 AFL Draft were held separately for college players (the common draft was initiated in 1967).

The NFL Draft was a draft of 20 rounds with 12 teams picking. The Eagles would rotate having the 7th, 8th or 9th pick in the draft rounds, with Chicago and Cleveland. The quickly assembled NFL franchise of the Dallas Cowboys did not have a chance to pick, as the draft was held on November 30, 1959, before they were formed, January 28, 1960.

The AFL draft was a list made the teams of territorial players they claimed first. Then a draft was held by drafting players by position instead of any available player. When Minneapolis left league other AFL teams pursued those picks. Oakland got the rights after they joined the league.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost 4 players to the AFL including 1st round pick Ron Burton, a running back out of Northwestern University. A total of 6 NFL 1st round picks in this draft would sign with the AFL this year.

Player selections

The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick.^[2] It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.

= Pro Bowler[3]

= AFL All-Star[4]

= Hall of Famer

Rd	PICK	PLAYER	POS	SCHOOL		AFL	Rd	Signed
1	9	Ron Burton[5]	Halfback	Northwestern		Boston Patriots	1	Boston
2	20	Maxie Baughan	Linebacker	Georgia Tech		Minneapolis[6]	1	Eagles
3	31	Curt Merz	End	Iowa		New York Titans	1	Dallas Texans
4	40	Washington Redskins	Running back	Wichita State		Buffalo Bills	1	Eagles
4	45	Jack Cummings	Quarterback	North Carolina		Boston Patriots	1
5	56	Don Norton[7]	End	Iowa		Dallas Texans	1	Los Angeles Chargers
6	67	Emmett Wilson	Tackle	Georgia Tech		Buffalo Bills	2
7	81	John Wilkins	Tackle	USC		Denver Broncos	2	Eagles
8	92	Monte Lee	End	Texas
9	103	Pick Taken by Baltimore Colts
10	117	Pick Taken by Detroit Lions
11	129	Pick Taken by Chicago Bears
12	139	Dave Grosz	Quarterback	Oregon		Minneapolis	1
13	153	Dave Graham	End	Virginia		Houston Oilers	2	Eagles
14	164	Ray Petersen	Back	West Virginia		Buffalo	1
15	175	John Wilcox	Tackle	Oregon		Minneapolis	1	Eagles
16	189	Larry Lancaster	Tackle	Georgia		Los Angeles Chargers	2
17	200	Mike Graney	End	Notre Dame		Buffalo Bills	2
18	211	Emory Turner	Guard	Purdue		Dallas	1
19	225	Bob Hain	Tackle	Iowa		Los Angeles Chargers	2
20	236	Ramon Armstrong	Guard	Texas Christian		New York Titans	2	Oakland Raiders

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 13	at Los Angeles Rams	W 20–7	1–0	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	39,480
2	August 21	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–45	1–1	Kezar Stadium	17,677
3	August 27	at Washington Redskins	W 24–6	2–1	Foreman Field	20,132
4	September 3	vs. Detroit Lions	W 40–10	3–1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium	32,500
5	September 9	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 13–34	3–2	Busch Stadium	23,666
6	September 17	Baltimore Colts	W 35–21	4–2	Hershey Stadium	20,125

^[8]

Regular season

During the 1960 season, Chuck Bednarik is perhaps best known for knocking Frank Gifford of the New York Giants out of football for over eighteen months, considered one of the most famous tackles in NFL history.^[9] It occurred late in the game at Yankee Stadium on November 20.^[10][11]

Bednarik was the last player to play the whole game. He averaged 58 minutes a game, starting at center and linebacker in the second half of season.^[12]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 25	Cleveland Browns	L 24–41	0–1	Franklin Field	56,303
2	September 30	at Dallas Cowboys	W 27–25	1–1	Cotton Bowl	18,500
3	October 9	St. Louis Cardinals	W 31–27	2–1	Franklin Field	33,701
4	October 16	Detroit Lions	W 28–10	3–1	Franklin Field	38,065
5	October 23	at Cleveland Browns	W 31–29	4–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	64,850
6	Bye
7	November 6	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–7	5–1	Franklin Field	58,324
8	November 13	Washington Redskins	W 19–13	6–1	Franklin Field	39,361
9	November 20	at New York Giants	W 17–10	7–1	Yankee Stadium	63,571
10	November 27	New York Giants	W 31–23	8–1	Franklin Field	60,547
11	December 4	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 20–6	9–1	Busch Stadium	21,358
12	December 11	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 21–27	9–2	Forbes Field	22,101
13	December 18	at Washington Redskins	W 38–28	10–2	Griffith Stadium	20,558
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

• Friday night (September 30)^[13]
• A bye week was necessary in 1960, as the league expanded to an odd-number (13) of teams (Dallas); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 14 10 7 10 41 Eagles 3 7 0 14 24 Date: September 25 Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia Game attendance: 56,303 Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); Wind 9 mph (14 km/h)

^[14]

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 3 10 0 14 27 Cowboys 3 3 6 13 25 Date: September 30 Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas Game attendance: 18,500 Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C); Wind 11 mph (18 km/h)

^[15]

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 7 7 3 10 27 • Eagles 7 14 0 10 31 Date: October 9 Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia Game attendance: 33,701 Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C); Wind 5 mph (8 km/h)

^[16]

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total Lions 0 3 7 0 10 • Eagles 7 7 0 14 28 Date: October 16 Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia Game attendance: 38,065 Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C); Wind 7 mph (11 km/h)

^[17]

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 7 0 14 10 31 Browns 3 12 7 7 29 Date: October 23 Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio Game attendance: 64,850 Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C); Wind 18 mph (29 km/h)

^[18]

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 0 0 7 7 • Eagles 14 3 7 10 34 Date: November 6 Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia Game attendance: 58,324 Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C); Wind 12 mph (19 km/h)

^[19]

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 3 0 7 3 13 • Eagles 0 3 6 10 19 Date: November 13 Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia Game attendance: 39,361 Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C); Wind 5 mph (8 km/h)

^[20]

Week 9: at New York Giants

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP PHI NYG 1 Giants Morrison 1-yard touchdown run, Summerall kick good 0 7 2 Giants 26-yard field goal by Summerall 0 10 3 Eagles McDonald 35-yard touchdown reception from Van Brocklin, Walston kick good 7 10 4 Eagles 12-yard field goal by Walston 10 10 4 – – – Eagles Fumble recovery returned 38 yards for touchdown by Carr, Walston kick good 17 10 "TOP" = Glossary of American football . 17 10

Week 10: vs. New York Giants

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 17 3 3 0 23 • Eagles 0 17 0 14 31 Date: November 27 Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia Game attendance: 60,547 Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C); Wind 7 mph (11 km/h)

^[21]

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 3 7 3 7 20 Cardinals 0 0 6 0 6 Date: December 4 Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Game attendance: 21,358 Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C); Wind 16 mph (26 km/h)

^[22]

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 0 0 21 21 • Steelers 13 14 0 0 27 Date: December 11 Location: Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game attendance: 22,101 Game weather: 28 °F (−2 °C); Wind 12 mph (19 km/h)

^[23]

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 7 10 7 14 38 Redskins 7 7 7 7 28 Date: December 18 Location: Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. Game attendance: 20,558 Game weather: 29 °F (−2 °C); Wind 3 mph (5 km/h)

^[24]

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Championship	December 26	Green Bay Packers	W 17–13	67,325

NFL Championship

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP GB PHI 1 GB 20-yard field goal by Hornung 3 0 2 GB 20-yard field goal by Hornung 6 0 2 PHI McDonald 35-yard touchdown reception from Van Brocklin, Walston kick good 6 7 2 PHI 15-yard field goal by Walston 6 10 4 GB McGee 7-yard touchdown reception from Starr, Hornung kick good 13 10 4 PHI Dean 5-yard touchdown run, Walston kick good 13 17 "TOP" = Glossary of American football . 13 17

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles	10	2	0	.833	8–2	321	246	W1
Cleveland Browns	8	3	1	.727	6–3–1	362	217	W3
New York Giants	6	4	2	.600	5–4–1	271	261	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	6	5	1	.545	4–5–1	288	230	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	6	1	.455	4–5–1	240	275	L1
Washington Redskins	1	9	2	.100	0–8–2	178	309	L8

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Results

NFL Championship

Personnel

1960 Philadelphia Eagles final roster

	Quarterbacks 9 Sonny Jurgensen QB 11 Norm Van Brocklin QB Running backs 33 Billy Ray Barnes HB 22 Timmy Brown RB 35 Ted Dean FB 26 Clarence Peaks FB 30 Theron Sapp FB Wide receivers 25 Tommy McDonald FL 44 Pete Retzlaff SE Tight ends 87 Dick Lucas E 17 Jerry Reichow E 83 Bobby Walston E/PK		Offensive linemen 60 Chuck Bednarik C/LB 67 Stan Campbell OG 65 Gerry Huth OG 61 Howard Keys OL 54 Bill Lapham C 75 Jim McCusker OT 76 J. D. Smith OT 62 John Wittenborn OG Defensive linemen 78 Marion Campbell DE		Linebackers 55 Maxie Baughan LB 79 Gene Gossage DL 71 Riley Gunnels DL 73 Eddie Khayat DT 29 John Nocera LB 70 Don Owens DT 53 Bob Pellegrini LB 72 Jess Richardson DT 66 Joe Robb DE 51 Chuck Weber LB 71 John Wilcox DT 88 Jerry Wilson DE Defensive backs 40 Tom Brookshier CB 45 Don Burroughs S 21 Jimmy Carr CB 41 Bobby Freeman S 28 Bobby Jackson 27 Gene Johnson Special teams		Practice squad Head coach Buck Shaw Assistant coaches Charley Gauer Jerry Williams Nick Skorich Rookies in italics

^[25]

Postseason

Soon after the championship game against Green Bay, 61-year-old Buck Shaw retired as head coach of the Eagles.^[26] Quarterback and 12-year veteran Norm Van Brocklin retired after the game also and expected to be named head coach, but assistant coach Nick Skorich was promoted;^[27] he led the Eagles for the next three years, through the 1963 season.

Van Brocklin, age 34, was named head coach of the expansion Minnesota Vikings in January 1961.^[28][29] In the 1961 expansion draft the Eagles lost guard Gerry Huth, defensive back Gene Johnson, and center Bill Lapham to Minnesota.

Awards and honors

1960 Pro Bowl Players:

QB – Norm Van Brocklin TE – Pete Retzlaff OE – Bobby Walston FL – Tommy McDonald

DT – Marion Campbell LB – Maxie Baughan LB – Chuck Bednarik CB – Tom Brookshier

League Leaders^[30]

• Norm Van Brocklin finishes 2nd to Johnny Unitas in Passing Attempts, Completions, Yards, and TDs
• Norm Van Brocklin finishes 2nd to Milt Plum in Yards per Attempt and Passer Rating
• Ted Dean leads league in KO Returns and 2nd in Punt Returns

Other Awards

• Chuck Bednarik, All-Pro Selection
• Norm Van Brocklin, Bert Bell Award^[31]
• AP NFL MVP – Norm Van Brocklin
• UPI MVP – Norm Van Brocklin

References

External links

• Eagles on Pro Football Reference
• Eagles on jt-sw.com