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1948 Philadelphia Eagles season

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1948 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerLex Thompson
Head coachEarle "Greasy" Neale
Home fieldShibe Park
Results
Record9–2–1
Division place1st NFL Eastern
Playoff finishWon NFL Championship
(vs. Cardinals) 7–0

The 1948 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Eagles repeated as Eastern Division champions and returned to the NFL Championship game, this time defeating the Chicago Cardinals to win their first NFL title.

Off season

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The Eagles travel to New York State to hold training camp at Saranac Lake High School Field in Saranac Lake, New York, in northern New York State near Lake Placid and in the Adirondack Park. As of 2014 the building where the Eagles stayed is still a local landmark and is located on Lake Street in Saranac Lake and it is still called the Eagles Nest.

NFL draft

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The 1948 NFL draft was held on December 19, 1947, five days after the end of the regular season, and nine days before the championship game was played. The Eagles finished the 1947 season with an 8–4 record. Tied with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers they picked 7th, 8th or 9th normally in the 32 rounds that they had picks.

The Washington Redskins had a lottery bonus pick at number one and chose Harry Gilmer, Back out of the University of Alabama. In the first round, the Eagles selected Clyde Scott, a running back from the University of Arkansas.

The Eagles' 26th round pick, Lou Creekmur, did not make the team but ended up becoming a Hall of Fame player for the Detroit Lions.

Many of the draft picks made by NFL teams ended up playing for teams in the rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC).

Player selections

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The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. 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 [1] = Hall of Famer
Rd Pick Player Position School Rd Pick Player Position School
1 8 Clyde Scott Back Arkansas 2 No PICK
3 22 Paul Campbell Quarterback Texas 4 No PICK
5 33 Jack "Moose" Myers Back UCLA 6 42 Howard Duncan Center Ohio State
7 54 Buddy Tinsley Tackle Baylor 8 63 Marty Wendell Guard Notre Dame
9 72 Scott Beasle End Nevada-Reno 10 84 Ray Richeson Guard Alabama
11 93 Gil Johnson Quarterback Southern Methodist 12 102 Bill Wyman Tackle Rice
13 114 Jim Walthall Back West Virginia 14 123 Dick Kempthorn Back Michigan
15 132 Dick Rifenburg End Michigan 16 144 Don Stanton Tackle Oregon
17 153 Ralph Kohl Tackle Michigan 18 162 Aubrey Fowler Back Arkansas
19 174 Rudy Krall Back New Mexico 20 183 Ed Claunch Center LSU
21 192 Negley Norton Tackle Penn State 22 204 Lockwood Frizzell Center Virginia
23 213 Jack Swaner Back California 24 222 Art Littleton End Pennsylvania
25 234 Jim Parmer Back Oklahoma State 26 243 Lou Creekmur Tackle William & Mary
27 252 Bill Stanton End North Carolina State 28 264 Bennie Ellender Back Tulane
29 273 Rex Grossman Back Indiana 30 282 A. B. Kitchens Tackle Tulsa
31 292 Art Statuto Center Notre Dame 32 298 Tom Novak Center Nebraska

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 24 at Chicago Cardinals L 14–21 0–1 Comiskey Park 24,159
2 October 3 at Los Angeles Rams T 28–28 0–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 24,597
3 October 10 New York Giants W 45–0 1–1–1 Shibe Park 22,804
4 October 17 at Washington Redskins W 45–0 2–1–1 Griffith Stadium 35,580
5 October 24 Chicago Bears W 12–7 3–1–1 Shibe Park 36,227
6 October 31 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–7 4–1–1 Forbes Field 32,859
7 November 7 at New York Giants W 35–14 5–1–1 Polo Grounds 24,983
8 November 14 Boston Yanks W 45–0 6–1–1 Shibe Park 22,958
9 November 21 Washington Redskins W 42–21 7–1–1 Shibe Park 36,254
10 November 28 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–0 8–1–1 Shibe Park 22,001
11 December 5 at Boston Yanks L 14–37 8–2–1 Fenway Park 9,652
12 December 12 Detroit Lions W 45–21 9–2–1 Shibe Park 15,322
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game recaps

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Week 1

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Sunday, September 14, 1948

Played at Comiskey Park in Chicago

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Philadelphia Eagles (0–1) 0 7 7 0 14
Chicago Cardinals (1–0) 7 7 0 7 21
SCORING PLAYS PHIL CHI C TIME
1st Cardinals Charlie Trippi 8-yard rush (Pat Harder kick) 0 7
2nd Cardinals Mal Kutner 30-yard pass from Paul Christman (Pat Harder kick) 0 14
Eagles Bosh Pritchard 34-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 7 14
3rd Eagles Pete Pihos 42-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 14 14
4th Cardinals Mal Kutner 64-yard pass from Charlie Trippi (Pat Harder kick) 14 21

Week 2

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Sunday, October 3, 1948

Played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Philadelphia Eagles (0–1–1) 7 14 7 0 28
Los Angeles Rams (1–0–1) 0 0 7 21 28
SCORING PLAYS PHIL LA TIME
1st Eagles Pete Pihos 40-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 7 0
2nd Eagles Pete Pihos 36-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 14 0
Eagles Neill Armstrong 13-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 21 0
3rd Eagles Bosh Pritchard 52-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 28 0
Rams Jack Zilly 27-yard pass from Bob Waterfield (Bob Waterfield kick) 28 7
4th Rams Bill Smyth 3-yard pass from Bob Waterfield (Bob Waterfield kick) 28 14
Rams Bob Hoffman 1-yard rush (Bob Waterfield kick) 28 21
Rams Jack Zilly 20-yard pass from Bob Waterfield (Bob Waterfield kick) 28 28

Week 3

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Sunday, October 10, 1948

Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
New York Giants (1–2–0) 0 0 0 0 0
Philadelphia Eagles (1–1–1) 14 7 3 21 45
SCORING PLAYS NY G PHIL TIME
1st Eagles Steve Van Buren 1-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 7
Eagles Pete Pihos 28-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 14
2nd Eagles Eagles Ernie Steele 32-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 21
3rd Eagles Cliff Patton 27-yard field goal 0 24
4th Eagles Tommy Thompson 1-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 31
Eagles Ben Kish 66-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 38
Eagles Jim Parmer 7-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 45

Week 4

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Sunday, October 17, 1948

Played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Philadelphia Eagles (1–1–1) 14 10 14 7 45
Washington Redskins (2–2–0) 0 0 0 0 0
SCORING PLAYS PHIL WASH TIME
1st Eagles Pete Pihos 19-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 7 0
Eagles Steve Van Buren 1-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 14 0
2nd Eagles Cliff Patton 23-yard field goal 17 0
Eagles Steve Van Buren 3-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 24 0
3rd Eagles Bosh Pritchard 32-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 31 0
Eagles Steve Van Buren 7-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 38 0
4th Eagles Ernie Steele 4-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 45 0

Week 5

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Sunday, October 24, 1948

Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Chicago Bears (4–1–0) 0 0 7 0 7
Philadelphia Eagles (3–1–1) 7 0 0 5 12
SCORING PLAYS CHI B PHIL TIME
1st Eagles Steve Van Buren 8-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 7
3rd Bears Ken Kavanaugh 42-yard pass from Johnny Lujack (Johnny Lujack kick) 7 7
4th Eagles Cliff Patton 38-yard field goal 7 10
Eagles Safety, Luckman tackled in end zone by Barnes 7 12

Week 6

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Sunday, October 31, 1948

Played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, PA

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Philadelphia Eagles (4–1–1) 3 14 0 17 34
Pittsburgh Steelers (2–4–0) 0 7 0 0 7
SCORING PLAYS PHIL PITT TIME
1st Eagles Cliff Patton 42-yard field goal 3 7
2nd Steelers Jerry Shipkey 1-yard rush (Joe Glamp kick) 3 7
Eagles Steve Van Buren 20-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 10 7
Eagles Jack Ferrante 7-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 17 7
4th Eagles Bosh Pritchard 55-yard punt return (Cliff Patton kick) 24 7
Eagles Cliff Patton 23-yard field goal 27 7
Eagles Bosh Pritchard 18-yard fumble return (Cliff Patton kick) 34 7

Week 7

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Sunday, November 7, 1948

Played at Polo Grounds in New York, NY

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Philadelphia Eagles (5–1–1) 7 7 14 7 35
New York Giants (2–5–0) 0 0 7 7 14
SCORING PLAYS PHIL PITT TIME
1st Eagles Pete Pihos 26-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 7 0
2nd Eagles Pete Pihos 34-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 14 0
3rd Eagles Steve Van Buren 6-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 21 0
Giants Joe Scott 11-yard pass from Charlie Conerly (Len Younce kick) 21 7
Eagles Bosh Pritchard 65-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 28 7
4th Eagles Steve Van Buren 3-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 35 7
Giants John Atwood 26-yard pass from Ray Coates (Len Younce kick) 35 14

Week 8

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Sunday, November 14, 1948

Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For third time in the 1948 season, and the second time playing at Shibe Park, the Eagles win a game by the score of 45–0.

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Boston Yanks (2–7–0) 0 0 0 0 0
Philadelphia Eagles (6–1–1) 3 14 7 21 45
SCORING PLAYS BOS PHIL TIME
2nd Eagles Russ Craft 70-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 7
Eagles Jack Ferrante 20-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 14
Eagles Pete Pihos 26-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 21
Eagles Cliff Patton 37-yard field goal 0 24
3rd Eagles Bosh Pritchard 2-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 31
4th Eagles Neill Armstrong 14-yard pass from Bill Mackrides (Cliff Patton kick) 0 38
Eagles Jim Parmer 5-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 45

Week 9

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Sunday, November 21, 1948

Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Washington Redskins (6–3–0) 0 14 0 7 21
Philadelphia Eagles (7–1–1) 14 7 14 7 42
SCORING PLAYS WASH PHIL TIME
1st Eagles Steve Van Buren 6-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 7
Eagles Neill Armstrong 25-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 14
2nd Eagles Jack Myers 29-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 21
Redskins Hal Crisler 30-yard pass from Sammy Baugh (Dick Poillon kick) 7 21
Redskins Hal Crisler 79-yard pass from Sammy Baugh (Dick Poillon kick) 14 21
3rd Eagles Russ Craft 24-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 14 28
Eagles Pete Pihos 19-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 14 35
4th Redskins Dick Poillon 93-yard fumble return (Dick Poillon kick) 21 35
Eagles Jack Ferrante 15-yard pass from Bill Mackrides (Cliff Patton kick) 21 42

Week 10

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Sunday, November 28, 1948

Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Pittsburgh Steelers (3–7–0) 0 0 0 0 0
Philadelphia Eagles (8–1–1) 7 10 0 0 17
SCORING PLAYS PITT PHIL TIME
1st Eagles Eagles Bosh Pritchard 5-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 7
2nd Eagles Pete Pihos 13-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 14
Eagles Cliff Patton 31-yard field goal 0 17

Week 11

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Sunday, December 5, 1948

Played at Fenway Park in Boston, MA

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Philadelphia Eagles (8–2–1) 7 7 0 0 14
Boston Yanks (3–9–0) 10 21 0 6 37
SCORING PLAYS PHIL BOS TIME
1st Eagles Jack Ferrante 14-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 7 0
Yanks Frank Muehlheuser 35-yard rush (Nick Scollard kick) 7 7
Yanks Nick Scollard 35-yard field goal 7 10
2nd Yanks Frank Seno 68-yard pass from Phil Slosburg (Nick Scollard kick) 7 17
Yanks Bill Chipley 38-yard interception return (Nick Scollard kick) 7 24
Eagles Joe Muha 20-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 14 24
Yanks Joe Golding 89-yard interception return (Nick Scollard kick) 14 31
4th Yanks Rudy Romboli 2-yard rush (kick failed) 14 37

Week 12

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Sunday, December 12, 1948

Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Detroit Lions (2–10–0) 0 7 7 7 21
Philadelphia Eagles (9–2–1) 3 14 7 21 45
SCORING PLAYS DET PHIL TIME
1st Eagles Cliff Patton 23-yard field goal 0 3
2nd Eagles Pete Pihos 10-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 10
Eagles Jack Ferrante 66-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 0 17
Lions Bill Dudley 4-yard pass from Clyde LeForce (Merv Pregulman kick) 7 17
3rd Lions Bill Dudley 10-yard pass from Clyde LeForce (Merv Pregulman kick) 14 17
Eagles Steve Van Buren 16-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 14 24
4th Lions John Greene 38-yard pass from Clyde LeForce (Merv Pregulman kick) 21 24
Eagles Jack Ferrante 15-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 21 31
Eagles Jim Parmer 42-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 21 38
Eagles Jack Ferrante 23-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick) 21 45

Standings

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NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Philadelphia Eagles 9 2 1 .818 7–1 376 156 W1
Washington Redskins 7 5 0 .583 5–3 291 287 W1
New York Giants 4 8 0 .333 3–5 297 388 L2
Pittsburgh Steelers 4 8 0 .333 3–5 200 243 L1
Boston Yanks 3 9 0 .250 2–6 174 372 W1

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

Playoffs

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Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
NFL Championship December 19 Chicago Cardinals W 7–0 1–0 Shibe Park 28,864

NFL Championship Game

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The NFL Championship game was played at Philadelphia's Shibe Park on December 19 during a blizzard. Thinking the game would not be played in the blizzard, Steve Van Buren remained home until Eagles coach Earle "Greasy" Neale called him and told him the game was still on. He had to catch 3 trolleys and walk 12 blocks in order to make the game on time.

The paid attendance for the game was 36,309 (28,864 actual), and it was scoreless until early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles recovered a fumble that set up Van Buren's five-yard touchdown at 1:05 into the fourth quarter. The Cardinals disputed that the ball or Van Buren had crossed the snow-covered goal line.

This was the Cardinals' last appearance in any NFL Championship game in the 20th century. There is said to be a curse on the football Cardinals[broken anchor] that followed them from Chicago to St. Louis and on to Arizona.

Roster

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All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history

= 1940 All-Star Selection[2] = Hall of Famer
  • + After name means 1st team selection
NO. Player AGE POS GP GS WT HT YRS College
Earle "Greasy" Neale 58 COACH West Virginia Wesleyan
Neill Armstrong 22 E-DB 12 4 189 6–2 1 Oklahoma State
Walt Barnes 30 G 11 0 238 6–1 Rookie LSU
Russ Craft 29 DB-HB 12 2 178 5–9 2 Alabama
Noble Doss 28 HB 11 0 186 6–0 1 Texas
Otis Douglas 37 T 5 0 224 6–1 2 William & Mary
Jack Ferrante 32 E-DE 12 0 197 6–1 7 none
Mario Giannelli 28 MG-G 12 1 265 6–0 Rookie Boston College
John Green 27 DE-E 12 9 192 6–1 1 Tulsa
Fred Hartman 31 T 12 0 229 6–1 1 Rice, and
Schreiner College
Dick Humbert 30 E-DE 12 0 179 6–1 7 Richmond
Al Johnson 26 QB-P 5 0 6–0 Rookie Hardin-Simmons
Bucko Kilroy 27 G-MG-T-DT 12 12 243 6–2 5 Notre Dame and
Temple
Ben Kish 31 B 9 0 207 6–0 8 Pittsburgh
Vic Lindskog 34 C 12 11 203 6–1 4 Stanford
Jay MacDowell 29 T-DE 12 10 217 6–2 2 Washington
39 Bill Mackrides 23 QB 10 1 182 5–11 1 Nevada-Reno
John Magee 25 G 12 8 220 5–10 Rookie La-Lafayette, and
Rice
Bap Manzini 28 C 3 0 195 5–11 4 St. Vincent
Duke Maronic 27 G 12 1 209 5–9 4 none
Pat McHugh 29 DB-HB 10 1 166 5–11 1 Georgia Tech
36 Joe Muha 27 FB-LB 11 11 205 6–1 2 Virginia Military Institute
Jack Myers 24 FB-QB-LB 12 7 200 6–2 Rookie UCLA
Les Palmer 25 HB 5 0 190 6–0 Rookie North Carolina State
Jim Parmer 22 FB-HB 11 2 193 6–0 Rookie Oklahoma State, and
Texas A&M
65 Cliff Patton 25 G-LB 12 2 243 6–2 2 TCU
35 Pete Pihos 25 E-DE 12 11 210 6–1 1 Indiana
Hal Prescott 28 E 11 0 199 6–1 2 Hardin-Simmons
Bosh Pritchard 29 HB 12 9 164 5–11 6 Georgia Tech, and
VMI
George Savitsky 24 T 12 0 244 6–2 Rookie Pennsylvania
Vic Sears 30 T-DT 12 2 223 6–3 7 Oregon State
Ernie Steele 31 HB-DB 12 2 187 6–0 6 Washington
Gil Steinke 29 HB 2 1 175 6–0 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville
Frank Szymanski 25 C 9 0 225 5–11 3 Notre Dame
11 Tommy Thompson 32 QB 12 4 192 6–1 8 Tulsa
15 Steve Van Buren+ 28 HB 11 8 200 6–0 4 LSU
Al Wistert 28 T-G-DT 12 12 214 6–1 5 Michigan
53 Alex Wojciechowicz 33 C-LB-E 10 1 217 5–11 1 Fordham
Team Totals
37 players
28.1 12 200.0 6–0.4 3.0

Postseason

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NFL Championship Game recap

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1948 NFL Championship Game

Sunday, December 19, 1948

Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Weather: Snow, Blizzard conditions

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Chicago Cardinals (11–2–0) 0 0 0 0 0
Philadelphia Eagles (10–1–1) 0 0 0 7 7
SCORING PLAYS CHI C PHIL TIME
1st Eagles Steve Van Buren 5-yard rush (Cliff Patton kick) 0 7 13:55

Attendance: 36,309 (paid), 28,864 (actual)

Awards and honors

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  • Tommy Thompson leads league in Passing TDs – 25[3]
  • Tommy Thompson leads league in Passer Rating- PHI 98.4
  • Steve Van Buren leads league in Rushing Attempts – 201
  • Steve Van Buren leads league in Rushing Yards – 945
  • Steve Van Buren leads league in Rushing TDs – 10
  • Cliff Patton Leads League in Field Goals Made – 8
  • QB Tommy Thompson, LH Steve Van Buren, RG Bucko Kilroy, RT Al Wistert, RE Pete Pihos, and P Joe Muha are named to numerous All-Pro teams at season's end [4]

Pro Football Hall of Fame members

References

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  1. ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  2. ^ Players are identified as a 1940 All-Star.
  3. ^ "NFL 1948 League stats, awards and more on databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on May 28, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011. database football league leaders for 1948 page
  4. ^ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1948/allpro.htm Pro Football Reference 1948 All-Pro teams page
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