The Eagles are saddened to learn of the passing of NFL Champion Riley Gunnels, who bled green well after his playing days and passed down his love for the Eagles to his family. He was 87 years old when he died on Monday.
Gunnels was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers to be a defensive tackle in 1959 after starting for three years as an offensive tackle for the University of Georgia. He learned the tricks of the trade, but was released by the Steelers at the end of Training Camp. The Eagles brought him on board in 1960 and he combined the skills he honed in Pittsburgh with his mammoth 6-foot-3, 253-pound frame to serve a key reserve on the championship defense.
"Defensively, we had a good group. We had a lot of determination and turned some bad efforts into good efforts," Gunnels said in an interview for the Where Are They Now? series. "We started out the season kind of bad, kind of got knocked around the first game. And then the second game we played, we felt we should have run away with it to be honest with you. That was against the Cowboys and we just barely won that game (27-25). But then after that we started playing a lot better defensively. Our offense kept playing well, so we won nine straight. We kept the score down on most of those games pretty good.
"We had the best passing offense in the league. We had a great quarterback (Norm Van Brocklin) and some good receivers (Pete Retzlaff, Tommy McDonald, and Bobby Walston). Not that they overpowered people with yardage, but they scored a lot of touchdowns. And we had some real good running backs to make the passing offense work well. Ted Dean, I'll tell you what, he did a lot for that team and just never really got the praise he should have gotten.
"(During the NFL Championship Game against the Packers,) I remember the enthusiasm right from the top of the team all the way through, and the feeling that we had a good shot to win the game. I remember that the leaders on the team led us the right way and pulled us through to win it. Norm Van Brocklin was a good leader."
Gunnels played for the Eagles for five seasons and was named the team's Defensive MVP in 1962. He finished his career on the other side of the state, returning to spend two years with the Steelers before retiring due to a knee injury.
"You know what? We just had fun playing football," Gunnels said. "Back in those days, when you were a Philadelphia Eagle, you never even thought about being traded somewhere else. That was the team you played for and that was your family. I enjoyed every day I played for the Philadelphia fans."
After retirement, Gunnels made his home in South Jersey. He owned and operated a printing company, Signal Graphics, in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. He regularly attended alumni events and was on hand for the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1960 Championship Team in 2010 at Lincoln Financial Field.
He was immensely proud to see both his beloved Eagles and Georgia Bulldogs win championships in recent years.
"I love my dad. He always set the example. He was able to get to where he was by working hard. He put all of his effort into doing things the right way. He would do whatever it took to get to his goal, but he would go about it the right way and treat everybody right," said his son, John Riley Gunnels III. "He was literally a larger-than-life guy. He was a loving guy who led by example. He did everything hard, but was kind and gentle to everybody who wanted it and needed it."
Gunnels is survived by "the love of his life," Kathryn M. Gunnels (nee McClatchy}, daughter Victoria L. LaCasse (nee Gunnels) and husband Joseph LaCasse, son John Riley Gunnels III and wife Bobbi Ann Gunnels (nee Connell), and son Christopher "Skipper" Scott Gunnels, along with five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A Service of Memory and Love will be held on Thursday, December 19 at noon at The Godfrey Funeral Home of Palermo, 644 South Shore Road, Palermo, NJ with a visitation from 11 AM until the time of service.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please make donations to the American Diabetes Association or the Special Olympics.
