The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles season was the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

's 28th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, and finished with the Eagles' win over the Green Bay Packers in the

NFL championship game Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...

to get their third league title. The victory over the Packers was also the first and only playoff defeat of the Packers'

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

'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 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, and their last NFL title until their victory in

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...

, 57 years later.

Off Season

On March 13, 1960, there was an

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansio ...

to stock the

Dallas Rangers The Dallas Rangers were a high-level minor league baseball team located in Dallas, Texas from 1958 to 1964. The team was known by the Dallas Rangers name in 1958, 1959, and 1964 and as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers from 1960 to 1963. It played in ...

, who soon changed their name to the "Cowboys." In this draft the Eagles lost tight end

Dick Bielski Richard Adam Bielski (born September 7, 1932) is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Colts. Bielski played college ...

, tackle Jerry DeLucca, and linebacker

Bill Striegel William Joseph Striegel (May 28, 1936 – July 23, 1992) was an American football offensive guard in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He also was a member of the Oakland Raiders and Boston Patriots in the American Football ...

to Dallas. As since

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

, the Eagles held training camp at

Hersheypark Stadium Hersheypark Stadium is a stadium located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on the grounds of Hersheypark. It opened on May 18, 1939. It is used as a sporting facility, concert venue and location for various other large functions (including a birthday gal ...

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

NFL Draft

The

1960 NFL draft The 1960 National Football League Draft in which NFL teams take turns selecting amateur college American football players and other first-time eligible players, was held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on November 30, 1959. Many players, in ...

and the

1960 AFL Draft The 1960 American Football League draft was held on November 23–24, 1959, in Minneapolis, shortly after the organization of the league, and lasted 33 rounds. An additional draft of 20 rounds was held by the AFL on December 2. Teams were requ ...

were held separately for college players (the common draft was initiated in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

). :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 The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

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 Ronald E. Burton (July 25, 1936 – September 13, 2003) was an American football player in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots. He was a consensus All-American running back at Northwestern University, and is a member of ...

, a running back out of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. 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. 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.

Regular season

During the 1960 season, Chuck Bednarik is perhaps best known for knocking

Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Foo ...

of the New York Giants out of football for over eighteen months, considered one of the most famous tackles in NFL history. It occurred late in the game at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

on November 20. 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.

Schedule

* Friday night (September 30) * A bye week was necessary in , as the league expanded to an odd-number (13) of teams (

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9: at New York Giants

Week 10: vs. New York Giants

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Playoffs

NFL Championship

Standings

Results

NFL Championship

Personnel

Postseason

Soon after the championship game against Green Bay, 61-year-old

Buck Shaw Lawrence Timothy "Buck" Shaw (March 28, 1899 – March 19, 1977) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach for Santa Clara Broncos football, Santa Clara University, the California Golden Bears football, University of Califor ...

retired as head coach of the Eagles. Quarterback and 12-year veteran

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los An ...

retired after the game also and expected to be named head coach, but assistant coach Nick Skorich was promoted; he led the Eagles for the next three years, through the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

season. Van Brocklin, age 34, was named head coach of the expansion

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

in January 1961. In the 1961 expansion draft the Eagles lost guard

Gerry Huth Gerald Bernard Huth (July 23, 1933 – February 11, 2011) was an American football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...

, defensive back Gene Johnson, and center

Bill Lapham William Gaius Lapham (February 2, 1934 – November 8, 2016) was an American football center who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings. He was drafted by the Eagles in the fourt ...

to Minnesota.

Awards and honors

1960 Pro Bowl Players: League Leaders * Norm Van Brocklin finishes 2nd to Johnny Unitas in Passing Attempts, Completions, Yards, and TDs * Norm Van Brocklin finishes 2nd to

Milt Plum Milton Ross Plum (born January 20, 1935) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns (1957–61), Detroit Lions (1962–67), Los Angeles Rams (1968) and New York Giants (1969) of the National Football League (NFL ...

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 * AP NFL MVP – Norm Van Brocklin * UPI MVP – Norm Van Brocklin

References

External links

Eagles on Pro Football Reference

Eagles on jt-sw.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1960 Philadelphia Eagles Season National Football League championship seasons Philadelphia Eagles seasons

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

Philadel