Believe it or not, the beginning of the Eagles 2014 season is rapidly approaching. Players will report back to the NovaCare Complex on April 21 for the start of the Eagles offseason program. Join us as we count down until the Eagles are back in town …
The No. 11 correlated to each one of the Eagles' running backs in 2013. LeSean McCoy scored 11 total touchdowns en route to his franchise-best 2,146 yards from scrimmage. Chris Polk carried the ball 11 times all season, but he was as efficient as could be, scoring touchdowns on three of his 11 carries. Finally, when Bryce Brown scored on a six-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of the regular-season finally (what turned out to be the game-winning score), the touchdown capped off an 11-play Eagles drive.
First Eagle To Wear 11: B Lee Woodruff (1933)
Most Recent Eagle To Wear 11: QB Trent Edwards (2012)
QB Norm Van Brocklin (1958-60)
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1971 features some of the most iconic names in the history of the sport. Jim Brown, Y.A. Tittle and Vince Lombardi were among that group. So too was arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever wear Eagles green – Norm Van Brocklin.
The Dutchman spent the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Rams, playing there from 1949-1957. With the Rams, he had a record of 42-20-3 and was a six-time Pro-Bowl selection, but after the 1957 season, a rift between him and the front office ended with the quarterback being traded to the Eagles.
In Van Brocklin's first season in Philadelphia, the Eagles went 2-9-1, but the fiery signal-caller led the Eagles to a 7-5 record in the following season of 1959, the team's first winning season for the Eagles in five years. Then came the magical season of 1960, when the Eagles went 10-2 and defeated the Green Bay Packers to win the NFL Championship. That game would be Van Brocklin's last in the NFL. He was a Pro Bowl selection in all three of his seasons with the Eagles, finishing his 12-year career with nine Pro-Bowl honors.
After the 1970 season, Van Brocklin became the first head coach for the Minnesota Vikings, coaching there for six seasons before spending seven more years on the sidelines as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. In just 36 games with the Eagles, Van Brocklin accrued 7,497 passing yards, the ninth-most in franchise history. He may be remembered most for his 35-yard touchdown pass to Tommy McDonald on December 26, 1960, which helped lead the Eagles to the top of the football world.
