# 1951 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1951 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 19th in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 6–6, winning only four games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

## Off Season

The Eagle hired Bo McMillin who took on the challenge of returning the Philadelphia Eagles to their previous glory was hired on February 8, 1951. However, after just two games (both wins), McMillin underwent surgery for what was believed to be ulcer troubles. The verdict was far worse: stomach cancer, which ended his coaching career. Assistant coach Wayne Miller took over as head coach for the rest of the year. He would resign weeks before the 1952 season citing health as the reason for stepping down.

### NFL Draft

The 1951 NFL draft was held on January 18–19, 1951. This draft would be for players coming out of college and because Baltimore Colts folded after the 1950 season. The NFL placed their players in the 1951 NFL draft. The draft was 30 rounds with eleven teams picking. There was a total of 362 players drafted. 27 former Colts players were drafted including Y. A. Tittle by San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles would rotate getting the 5th, 6th and 7th picks through the rounds as a results of their 6–6 record in 1950, tying them with Pittsburgh and Detroit.
With the lottery bonus pick as the #1 pick of the draft, the New York Giants choose Kyle Rote a Halfback from Southern Methodist University The 2nd pick in the draft was made by the Chicago Bears. This was the Baltimore Colts 1st round pick that would have had, that was earlier traded to Chicago. With this pick they choose Bob Williams a Quarterback from the Notre Dame.
With their 1st pick as the 7th selection in the 1st round the Eagles choose, Ebert Van Buren, brother of Steve Van Buren, a Fullback/Halfback out of LSU.

### Player selections

The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
| = Pro Bowler | = Hall of Famer |
| Rd | Pick | Player | Position | School | Rd | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 7 | Ebert Van Buren | Back | LSU | 1 | 8 | Chet Mutryn | Back | Xavier |
| 2 | 21 | Pick Taken by | Washington | Redskins | 3 | 32 | Al Bruno | End | Kentucky |
| 4 | 43 | Fran Nagle | Back | Nebraska | 5 | 57 | Jack Dwyer | Back | Loyola (CA) |
| 6 | 68 | Ken Farragut | Center | Mississippi | 7 | 79 | Frank Boydston | Back | Baylor |
| 8 | 93 | Jack Richards | End | Arkansas | 9 | 104 | Denny Doyle | Guard | Tulane |
| 10 | 116 | Louis Schaufele | Back | Arkansas | 11 | 130 | Bob Pope | Tackle | Kentucky |
| 12 | 141 | Henry Rich | Back | Arizona State | 13 | 152 | Pete Mastellone | Center | Miami (FLA) |
| 14 | 166 | Bobby Walston | End | Georgia | 15 | 177 | Bobby North | Back | Georgia Tech |
| 16 | 188 | Hal Hatfield | End | USC | 17 | 202 | Hal Waggoner | Back | Tulane |
| 18 | 213 | Bill Weeks | Back | Iowa State | 19 | 224 | Jack Bove | Tackle | West Virginia |
| 20 | 238 | John Glorioso | Back | Missouri | 21 | 249 | Neal Franklin | Tackle | SMU |
| 22 | 260 | Jack Rucker | Back | Mississippi State | 23 | 274 | Jack Bighead | End | Pepperdine |
| 24 | 285 | Tony Kotowski | End | Mississippi State | 25 | 296 | Glenn Drahn | Back | Iowa |
| 26 | 310 | Billy Stewart | Back | Mississippi State | 27 | 321 | Bob Winship | Tackle | Rice |
| 28 | 332 | Marv Stendel | End | Arkansas | 29 | 346 | Roscoe Hansen | Tackle | North Carolina |
| 30 | 357 | John "Model-T" Ford | Quarterback | Hardin–Simmons | | | | | . |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 30 | at Chicago Cardinals | W 17–14 | 1–0 | Comiskey Park | 16,129 | Recap |
| 2 | October 6 | San Francisco 49ers | W 21–14 | 2–0 | Shibe Park | 23,432 | Recap |
| 3 | October 14 | at Green Bay Packers | L 24–37 | 2–1 | City Stadium | 18,489 | Recap |
| 4 | October 21 | at New York Giants | L 24–26 | 2–2 | Polo Grounds | 28,656 | Recap |
| 5 | October 28 | Washington Redskins | L 23–27 | 2–3 | Shibe Park | 20,437 | Recap |
| 6 | November 4 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 34–13 | 3–3 | Forbes Field | 19,649 | Recap |
| 7 | November 11 | at Cleveland Browns | L 17–20 | 3–4 | Cleveland Stadium | 36,571 | Recap |
| 8 | November 18 | Detroit Lions | L 10–28 | 3–5 | Shibe Park | 25,350 | Recap |
| 9 | November 25 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–17 | 3–6 | Shibe Park | 15,537 | Recap |
| 10 | December 2 | at Washington Redskins | W 35–21 | 4–6 | Griffith Stadium | 23,738 | Recap |
| 11 | December 9 | New York Giants | L 7–23 | 4–7 | Shibe Park | 19,342 | Recap |
| 12 | December 16 | Cleveland Browns | L 9–24 | 4–8 | Shibe Park | 16,263 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. |||||||||

## Game recaps
### Game 2 vs San Francisco 49ers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Eagles | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Date: October 6, 1951
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: degrees, wind mph
Game information :
1st quarter
49ers – Verl Lillywhite 60 yard rush (Gordie Soltau kick), 49ers 7 – 0
Eagles – Jim Parmer 4 yard rush (Bobby Walston kick), Tied 7 – 7
2nd quarter
No Scoring
3rd quarter
Eagles – Clyde Scott 49 yard pass from Adrian Burk (Bobby Walston kick), Eagles 14 – 7
4th quarter
Eagles – Clyde Scott 28 yard pass from Adrian Burk (Bobby Walston kick), Eagles 21 – 7
49ers – Verl Lillywhite 11 yard pass from Y.A. Tittle (Gordie Soltau kick), Eagles 21–14
Team Stats
First downs – SF 14 – Phila 13
Rush-yards-TDs – SF 37–174–1 – Phila 34–97–1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT – SF 11–24–109–1–2 – Phila 14–28–239–2–2
Sacked-yards – SF 2–20 – Phila 1–11
Net pass yards – SF 89 – Phila 228
Total yards – SF 263 – Phila 325
Fumbles-lost – SF 3–2 – Phila 3–1
Turnovers – SF 4 – Phila 3
Penalties-yards – SF 3–35 – Phila 5–35
American Conference Standing
Philadelphia (2–0–0)
New York (1–0–1)
Chicago Cards & Cleveland Browns (1–1–0)
Pittsburgh (0–1–1)
Washington (0–2–0) :

### Game 9 vs Pittsburgh Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Eagles | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Date: November 25, 1951
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: degrees, wind mph
Game information :
1st quarter
Steelers – Joe Geri 24 yard field goal, Steelers 3 – 0
Steelers – Fran Rogel 1 yard rush (Joe Geri kick), Steelers 10 – 0
2nd quarter
Eagles – Pete Pihos 16 yard pass from Adrian Burk (kick failed) Steelers 10 – 6
Steelers – Lynn Chandnois 37 yard pass from Chuck Ortmann (Joe Geri kick) Steelers 17 – 6
3rd quarter
No Scoring
4th quarter
Eagles – Jim Parmer 15 yard rush (Bobby Walston kick), Steelers 17 – 13
Team Stats
First downs – Pitt 17 – Phila 18
Rush-yards-TDs – Pitt 38–156–1 – Phila 46–164–1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT – Pitt 13–29–167–1–3 – Phila 11–28–145–1–4
Sacked-yards – Pitt 0–0 – Phila 1–9
Net pass yards – Pitt 167 – Phila 136
Total yards – Pitt 323 – Phila 300
Fumbles-lost – Pitt 1–0 – Phila 2–1
Turnovers – Pitt 3 – Phila 5
Penalties-yards – Pitt 4–30 – Phila 5–57
American Conference Standing
Cleveland Browns (8–1–0)
New York (6–2–1)
Washington (4–5–0)
Pittsburgh (3–5–1)
Philadelphia (3–6–0)
Chicago Cards (2–7–0) :

### Game 12 vs Cleveland Browns

The Eagles lost for the 4th time to the former AAFC member. They were out played by the American Conference champions Cleveland Browns, as they could only manage a net passing yard total of 8 yards for the game on 9 completions. The Eagles forced the Browns to turn the ball over 4 times, and sacked Otto Graham in the end zone for a safety as the only bright points of the game for the Eagles.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Date: December 16, 1951
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: degrees, wind mph
Game information :
1st quarter
Browns – Dante Lavelli 12 yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick), Browns 7 – 0
2nd quarter
Browns – Lou Groza 21 yard field goal Browns 10 – 0
3rd quarter
Browns – Carl Taseff 1 yard rush (Lou Groza kick) Browns 17 – 0
Eagles – Safety, Graham tackled in end zone by Stickel Browns 17 – 2
4th quarter
Browns – Rex Bumgardner 18 yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick) Browns 24 – 2
Eagles – Bobby Walston 11 yard pass from Adrian Burk (Bobby Walston kick), Browns 24 – 9
Team Stats
First downs – Cleve 15 – Phila 9
Rush-yards-TDs – Cleve 32–96–1 – Phila 30–65–0
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT – Cleve 12–29–179–2–1 – Phila 9–24–96–1–0
Sacked-yards – Cleve 4–32 – Phila 10–88
Net pass yards – Cleve 147 – Phila 8
Total yards – Cleve 243 – Phila 73
Fumbles-lost – Cleve 3–3 – Phila 5–2
Turnovers – Cleve 4 – Phila 2
Penalties-yards – Cleve 8–74 – Phila 2–10
American Conference Standing
Cleveland Browns (8–1–0)
New York (6–2–1)
Washington (4–5–0)
Pittsburgh (3–5–1)
Philadelphia (3–6–0)
Chicago Cardinals (2–7–0) :

## Standings

NFL American Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cleveland Browns | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 | 9–0 | 331 | 152 | W11 |
| New York Giants | 9 | 2 | 1 | .818 | 7–2–1 | 254 | 161 | W4 |
| Washington Redskins | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–5 | 183 | 296 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 7 | 1 | .364 | 3–5–1 | 183 | 235 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3–6 | 234 | 264 | L2 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 0–8 | 210 | 287 | W1 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL National Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Los Angeles Rams | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–2 | 392 | 261 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 5–2–1 | 255 | 205 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 5–4–1 | 336 | 259 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–2 | 286 | 282 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 1–8 | 254 | 375 | L7 |
| New York Yanks | 1 | 9 | 2 | .100 | 1–7–2 | 241 | 382 | L2 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

## Playoffs

The Philadelphia eagles finished with a 4–8–0 record and failed to make it to the 1951 NFL Championship Game. The game was played between the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams in Los Angeles on December 23, 1951, with an attendance of 59,475.

## Roster

(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)
| = 1951 Pro Bowl | = Hall of Famer |
| NO. | Player | AGE | POS | GP | GS | WT | HT | YRS | College |
| | Bo McMillin | 56 | Coach | 2 | $_{record}$ 2–0 | 163 | 5–9 | 1st | Centre |
| | Wayne Millner | 38 | Coach | 10 | $_{record}$ 2–8 | 189 | 6–1 | 1st | Notre Dame |
| 80 | Neill Armstrong | 25 | E-DB | 12 | | 189 | 6–2 | 4 | Oklahoma State |
| 74 | Walt Barnes | 33 | G | 12 | | 238 | 6–1 | 3 | LSU |
| 60 | Chuck Bednarik+ | 26 | LB-C | 12 | | 233 | 6–3 | 2 | Pennsylvania |
| 10 | Adrian Burk | 24 | QB-Punter | 12 | 12 | 190 | 6–2 | 1 | Baylor |
| 36 | Gerry Cowhig | 30 | LB-FB-DB | 11 | | 215 | 6–2 | 4 | Notre Dame |
| 33 | Russ Craft | 32 | DB-HB | 12 | | 178 | 5–9 | 5 | Alabama |
| 53 | Ken Farragut | 23 | C-LB | 11 | | 240 | 6–4 | Rookie | Mississippi |
| 64 | Mario Giannelli | 31 | MG-G | 10 | | 265 | 6–0 | 3 | Boston College |
| 86 | Bud Grant | 24 | E-DE | 12 | | 199 | 6–3 | Rookie | Minnesota |
| 89 | John Green | 30 | DE-E | 1 | 0 | 192 | 6–1 | 4 | Tulsa |
| 73 | Roscoe Hansen | 22 | T-DT | 9 | | 215 | 6–3 | Rookie | North Carolina |
| 78 | Mike Jarmoluk | 29 | DT-T-MG | 12 | | 232 | 6–5 | 5 | Temple |
| 76 | Bucko Kilroy | 30 | G-MG-T-DT | 12 | | 243 | 6–2 | 8 | $_{NotreDameTemple}$ |
| 52 | Vic Lindskog+ | 37 | C | 11 | | 203 | 6–1 | 7 | Stanford |
| 88 | Jay MacDowell | 32 | T-DE | 12 | | 217 | 6–2 | 5 | Washington |
| 39 | Bill Mackrides | 26 | QB | 6 | | 182 | 5–11 | 4 | Nevada-Reno |
| 67 | John Magee | 28 | G | 12 | | 220 | 5–10 | 3 | $_{La-Lafayette,Rice}$ |
| 49 | Pat McHugh | 32 | DB-HB | 8 | | 166 | 5–11 | 4 | Georgia Tech |
| 81 | Red O'Quinn | 26 | DB-E | 5 | | 195 | 6–2 | 1 | Wake Forest |
| 43 | Jim Parmer | 25 | FB-HB | 11 | | 193 | 6–0 | 3 | $_{OklahomaState,TexasA&M}$ |
| 35 | Pete Pihos | 28 | E-DE | 12 | | 210 | 6–1 | 4 | Indiana |
| 21 | Al Pollard | 23 | HB-FB | 6 | | 196 | 6–0 | Rookie | $_{Army,LoyolaMarymount}$ |
| 30 | Bosh Pritchard | 32 | HB | 6 | | 164 | 5–11 | 9 | Georgia Tech,VMI |
| 11 | John Rauch | 24 | QB-DB | 4 | | 195 | 6–1 | 2 | Georgia |
| 40 | Frank Reagan | 32 | B | 12 | | 182 | 5–11 | 10 | Pennsylvania |
| 68 | Ray Romero | 24 | G | 7 | | 213 | 5–11 | Rookie | Kansas State |
| 31 | Dan Sandifer | 24 | DB-HB | 12 | | 190 | 6–1 | 3 | LSU |
| 27 | Clyde Scott | 27 | HB-DB | 12 | | 174 | 6–0 | 2 | Arkansas,Navy |
| 79 | Vic Sears | 33 | T-DT | 12 | | 223 | 6–3 | 10 | Oregon State |
| 72 | Dick Steere | 24 | G | 5 | | 240 | 6–4 | Rookie | Drake |
| 75 | Walt Stickel | 29 | T-DT | 11 | | 247 | 6–3 | 5 | $_{PennsylvaniaTulsa}$ |
| 45 | Joe Sutton | 27 | DB-HB | 11 | | 180 | 5–11 | 2 | Temple |
| 17 | Ebert Van Buren | 27 | DB-LB-FB-HB | 12 | | 210 | 6–2 | Rookie | LSU |
| 15 | Steve Van Buren | 31 | HB | 10 | | 200 | 6–0 | 7 | LSU |
| 83 | Bobby Walston | 23 | E-HB-K | 12 | | 190 | 6–0 | Rookie | Georgia |
| 44 | Norm Willey | 24 | DE-G-E | 11 | | 224 | 6–2 | 1 | Marshall |
| 70 | Al Wisert | 31 | G-T-DT | 12 | | 214 | 6–1 | 8 | Michigan |
| 41 | Frank Ziegler | 28 | HB-DB | 12 | 0 | 175 | 5–11 | 2 | Georgia Tech |
| | 38 Players Team Average | 27.8 | | 12 | | 206.1 | 6–1.0 | 3.4 | |
* Bo McMillin resigned after 2nd game because of stomach cancer
* Bud Grant is also in Canadian Football Hall of Fame

## Postseason

* Wayne Millner resigns before 1952 season after training camp