The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles: The Team That They Said Had Nothing but a Championship
The world changed in 1960. The skies opened up. Literally. Sputnik was launched, and the space race was on. Football took to the skies too. The newborn AFL ushered in a wide-open, pass-crazy, high scoring game. Most NFL powers continued to run to daylight, but the 1960 Eagles did not. Their backs averaged fewer yards per carry than any other NFL champ in history. So, under the leadership (some would say spell) of quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, the Eagles concocted what some claim was a prototype West Coast offense. The Birds’ success that year against superior opposition influenced offensive philosophies forevermore. The X’s and O’s of football at the dawn of Kennedy’s New Frontier are fascinating. Yet, what really piqued my interest about Philadelphia’s last NFL champ in 41 years was the strength they had in the intangibles. The Eagles rolled through personnel changes, tragedy, setbacks, disappointments, arguments, dearth of roster talent – all those snags and spats that rip harmony and performance to shreds – with grace and aplomb. For any group in any era, in sport or industry or life, the 1960 Eagles are a provocative case study on overachieving and overcoming adversity. The Eagles came from behind in ten of thirteen games. They handed Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers their only loss in ten post-season tilts. Philadelphia triumphed by drilling down to their bedrock strengths of mutual trust and belief, confidence, versatility, diversity, creativity, and harmony. My book chronicles a human story that emerged from my interviews with every team member.