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Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles have, in recent years, suffered through many disappointments and heartaches as they watch their team struggle to find its way into the elite echelon of professional football. The Eagles, first founded in 1933 when Bert Bell was allowed to buy into the National Football League, have – at times – seemed poised to surge past their competitors in the National Football Conference and win that Super Bowl trophy that has for so long eluded them. Their only two appearances to date – in 1980 and 2004 – both resulted in losses. In fact, their best years, some would argue, came during the era of Head Coach Earle “Greasy” Neale.

Creating the Draft

The Eagles were perennial losers when Earle was brought in as Coach. Not only could they not win enough games to be taken seriously; they couldn’t even begin to recruit quality players to enable them to build toward a better future. In 1935, Bell concocted a plan that he thought could greatly benefit his Eagles team. Of course, his pitch to the NFL was premised upon achieving a greater degree of parity in the League. That pitch was simple and involved a planned draft system wherein the worst teams in each season would have first choice of new talent graduating from the college ranks. Despite the fact that the Eagles’ first use of a draft pick involved selecting a man whose first choice was medical school rather than professional football, the Draft is still a critical part of professional football to this very day.

Neale builds a team

Once the team got beyond its disastrous first use of the draft, they would see a steady improvement in their fortunes over the next decade. Within six years, they rose from the depths of last place in their division to the best in their class. In addition, Neale’s coaching involved a degree of innovation that has seldom been seen before or since. That innovation was important in ensuring that players like Tommy Thompson and the great Steve van Buren had a system built around them that would enable them to compete at the highest level. By the end of the 1940s, Neale’s Eagles competed for three consecutive championships in the NFL, including wins in first 1948 and then again in 1949. In fact, those two titles were accomplished in a dominating fashion, as their opponents were held scoreless in both contests.

Defense and Legacy

Neale’s defense was, of course, legendary. The so called “Eagle Defense” was copied and implemented by other teams in the NFL for many years, and eventually evolved into what is now known as the 4-3 – a defense that many teams still use to this day. For his work with the Eagles and his many contributions to the sport, Neale was honored with induction into the Hall of Fame in 1969.

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