The Philadelphia Eagles are saddened to announce the passing of Leo Carlin, a pioneer in the sports ticketing industry who worked for the Eagles for 55 years and who is a member of the team's Hall of Fame. Mr. Carlin passed away on Wednesday morning at the age of 86.

Born in Atlantic City, N.J., Mr. Carlin joined the Eagles as a part-time member of the 1960 NFL Championship Team's ticketing department and then joined the front office on a full-time basis in 1964. Mr. Carlin was a large part of the team's transitions from Franklin Field to Veterans Stadium in 1971 and then from Veteran Stadium to Lincoln Financial Field for the 2003 season.

A nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, Mr. Carlin helped the Eagles become the first NFL team to merge ticketing with computer data processing. He touched nearly every single Season Ticket Member for many decades with his kind manner, his incredibly positive energy, and his likeability.

"Two of the main factors that allowed Leo to have such a special career and to have an incredible relationship with all of us, I would say, is that we have 70,000 customers," Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie said. "And in most businesses, when you have 70,000 customers, it's hard to maintain it on a personal basis. What struck me about Leo and what made him valuable in so many ways is that he was able to humanize that process.

"He was so passionate about trying to please and service 70,000 customers multiple times a year and he kept the 'personal' in the ticketing world, as opposed to simply a business transaction. He was able to keep the Eagles and our customers and our community as one, and that's pretty special. That's how he dealt with his large extended family, that's how he dealt with his fellow employees, and he was always on a personal basis and a relational basis.

"He was always an incredible ambassador for the Philadelphia Eagles. When I bought the team (in 1994), he was already in charge of ticketing, and as a new owner, I knew nothing about it. It was a wonderful relationship from the beginning where he showed how important it was to have a great relationship with the Season Ticket Members and to treat them like family and to have that relationship all the time."

Born on September 16, 1937, Mr. Carlin graduated from St. Joseph's Prep High School and St. Joseph's University and was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

He and his wife, Kay, had seven children and 22 grandchildren.

Services for Mr. Carlin are as follows: There is a public viewing on Thursday, January 25 from 5-8 PM at D'Anjolell Memorial Home of Broomall (2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall, Pa.) and then a viewing the next morning on Friday, January 26, from 9-10:30 AM with a funeral mass to follow at St. John Neumann Parish on 380 Highland Lane in Bryn Mawr, Pa.