The Philadelphia Eagles are saddened to announce that Hall of Fame receiver Pete Pihos passed away peacefully in his sleep at 1:40 am Tuesday morning at Grace Healthcare in Winston-Salem, NC, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 87 years old.

A member of the Eagles 1948 and 1949 championship teams, Pihos spent his entire nine-year career in Philadelphia, earning six trips to the Pro Bowl and five All-Pro selections. He led the NFL for three-straight seasons in receptions (1953-55), twice in yards (1953, 1955), and once in touchdowns (1953). One of the most memorable moments of his career came in the 1949 NFL Championship game vs. the Rams, when he hauled in the game-winning touchdown catch.

A fifth-round draft choice by the Eagles out of Indiana in 1945, Pihos amassed 373 receptions for 6,519 yards and 61 touchdowns in his career, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Eagles Honor Roll in 1987.

A native of Orlando, FL, Pihos is survived by his ex-wife, Donna Pihos, who has been his caretaker for the past twelve years, their daughter, Melissa Pihos and children from a previous marriage: son, Peter Pihos, Jr. (wife Terry), daughters Nikki Pihos Walker and Lisa-Anne Pihos Mann, and stepson John Wesley Poole (wife Alexis Poole). He was also a grandfather of eight: Christina Pihos, Heather Watson, John Walter Mann IV, Sean Bater, Taylor Maggie Watson, Travis Watson, Camberleigh Bull and Chris Bull.