| 1947 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Greasy Neale |
| Home field | Shibe Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–4 |
| Division place | 1st NFL American |
| Playoff finish | Won
Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 21–0 Lost NFL Championship (at Cardinals) 21–28 |
The 1947 Philadelphia Eagles season was the Eagles' 15th in the league. The team improved on its previous output of 6–5, winning eight games. [1]
The team qualified for the playoffs for the first time in fifteen seasons.
Off season
For the second year in a row, the Eagles traveled to Saranac Lake High School Field/Eagles Residence, in Saranac Lake, New York to hold training camp. Greasy Neale liked having the Eagles train away from Philadelphia; the team only trained near its homebase when there were wartime travel restrictions during World War II.
Under Neale, the Eagles trained in Wisconsin, upstate New York and Minnesota when they could travel.
NFL draft
The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The NFL started a lottery that allowed for a bonus pick for the first pick in the draft. The NFL continued this practice until 1958.
The Eagles made twenty-nine selections during the draft's thirty-two rounds, holding the sixth or seventh slots in the rounds in which they had picks.
The top two picks in the draft were derived from a lottery bonus pick as the number-one pick by the NFL champion Chicago Bears was Bob Fenimore, a back who attended Oklahoma A&M.
With the number-two pick, the Detroit Lions selected 1946 Heisman Trophy-winner Glenn Davis, a halfback from Army. He was unable to play, however, due to his required military service.
Cal Rossi, a running back from UCLA was drafted again in 1947 with the fourth pick by the Washington Redskins. He had been chosen in error with the ninth pick in the 1946 draft while he was still a junior in college. He declined to play pro football.
Future NFL Hall of Famers who were included in this draft where Dante Lavelli (12th round), Art Donovan (22nd round) and Tom Landry (20th round). Some of the players who were drafted were signed by All-America Football Conference teams.
Draft
This table shows the Eagles selections, what picks they had that were traded away, and the teams that ended up with those picks. It is possible that those Eagles' picks ended up with those teams via trades made by the Eagles with other teams. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
| 1947 Philadelphia Eagles draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Neill Armstrong | E | Oklahoma A&M | |
| 3 | 19 | Bill Mackrides | QB | Nevada | |
| 5 | 30 | George Savitsky | T | Penn | Played with Eagles beginning in 1948 |
| 7 | 51 | Tony Yovicsin | E | Miami (FL) | |
| 8 | 61 | Al Satterfield | T | Vanderbilt | |
| 9 | 71 | Bob Leonetti | G | Wake Forest | |
| 10 | 80 | Ulysses Cornogg | T | Wake Forest | |
| 11 | 91 | Alex Sarkisian | C | Northwestern | |
| 12 | 102 | Jerry D'Arcy | C | Tulsa | |
| 13 | 110 | John Hamberger | T | SMU | |
| 14 | 121 | Al Johnson | QB | Hardin–Simmons | Played with the Eagles in 1948 |
| 15 | 132 | Joe Cook | B | Hardin–Simmons | |
| 16 | 140 | Jeff Durkota | FB | Penn State | |
| 17 | 152 | Hubert Shurtz | T | LSU | |
| 18 | 161 | Hal Bell | B | Muhlenberg | |
| 19 | 170 | T. J. Campion | T | Southeastern Louisiana | |
| 20 | 182 | Fred Hall | G | LSU | |
| 21 | 191 | Jim Clayton | T | Wyoming | |
| 22 | 200 | George Blomquist | E | NC State | |
| 23 | 212 | Joe Haynes | C | Tulsa | Played with the Buffalo Bills (AAFC) |
| 24 | 221 | Stanton Hense | E | Xavier | |
| 25 | 230 | Johnny Kelly | B | Rice | |
| 26 | 242 | H. J. Roberts | G | Rice | |
| 27 | 251 | Phil Cutchin | B | Kentucky | |
| 28 | 261 | Charley Wakefield | T | Stanford | |
| 29 | 272 | Dick Langenbeck | T | Cincinnati | |
| 30 | 281 | Bernie Winkler | T | Texas Tech | |
| 31 | 288 | Bill Stephens | T | Baylor | |
| 32 | 298 | Mike Kalosh | E | La Crosse State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye | ||||||
| 2 | September 28 | Washington Redskins | W 45–42 | 1–0 | Shibe Park | 35,406 | Recap |
| 3 | October 5 | New York Giants | W 23–0 | 2–0 | Shibe Park | 29,823 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | at Chicago Bears | L 7–40 | 2–1 | Wrigley Field | 34,338 | Recap |
| 5 | October 19 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 24–35 | 2–2 | Forbes Field | 33,538 | Recap |
| 6 | October 26 | Los Angeles Rams | W 14–7 | 3–2 | Shibe Park | 36,364 | Recap |
| 7 | November 2 | at Washington Redskins | W 38–14 | 4–2 | Griffith Stadium | 36,591 | Recap |
| 8 | November 9 | at New York Giants | W 41–24 | 5–2 | Polo Grounds | 29,016 | Recap |
| 9 | November 16 | Boston Yanks | W 32–0 | 6–2 | Shibe Park | 26,498 | Recap |
| 10 | November 23 | at Boston Yanks | L 14–21 | 6–3 | Fenway Park | 15,628 | Recap |
| 11 | November 30 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 21–0 | 7–3 | Shibe Park | 37,218 | Recap |
| 12 | December 7 | Chicago Cardinals | L 21–45 | 7–4 | Shibe Park | 32,322 | Recap |
| 13 | December 14 | Green Bay Packers | W 28–14 | 8–4 | Shibe Park | 24,216 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Playoffs
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Game recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 21 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 21–0 | Forbes Field | 35,729 | Recap |
| Championship | December 28 | at Chicago Cardinals | W 21–28 | Comiskey Park | 30,759 | Recap |
Roster
(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)
| = 1947 Pro All-Star [3] |
|
| NO. | Player | AGE | POS | GP | GS | WT | HT | YRS | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greasy Neale | 56 | Coach | 1947 record 8–4–0 |
NFL-Eagles Lifetime 37–34–4 |
7th | West Virginia Wesleyan | |||
| Neill Armstrong | 21 | E-DB | 12 | 1 | 189 | 6–2 | Rookie | Oklahoma State | |
| Al Baisi | 30 | G | 2 | 0 | 217 | 6–0 | 7 | West Virginia | |
| Alf Bauman | 27 | DT-T | 2 | 0 | 228 | 6–2 | Rookie | Northwestern | |
| Larry Cabrelli | 30 | E-DB | 6 | 0 | 194 | 5–11 | 6 | Colgate | |
| T.J. Campion | 29 | T | 5 | 0 | 235 | 6–2 | Rookie | Southeastern Louisiana | |
| Russ Craft | 26 | DB-HB | 10 | 4 | 178 | 5–9 | 1 | Alabama | |
| Noble Doss | 27 | HB | 9 | 0 | 186 | 6–0 | Rookie | Texas | |
| Otis Douglas | 36 | T | 12 | 3 | 224 | 6–1 | 1 | William & Mary | |
| Jack Ferrante | 31 | E-DE | 11 | 6 | 197 | 6–1 | 6 | none | |
| John Green | 26 | DE-E | 12 | 1 | 192 | 6–1 | Rookie | Tulsa | |
| Roger Harding | 24 | C-LB | 6 | 0 | 217 | 6–2 | 2 | California | |
| Jack Hinkle | 30 | B | 3 | 0 | 195 | 6–0 | 7 | Syracuse | |
| Dick Humbert | 29 | E-DE | 11 | 1 | 179 | 6–1 | 5 | Richmond | |
| Jim Kekeris | 24 | T | 10 | 2 | 257 | 6–1 | Rookie | Missouri | |
| Bucko Kilroy | 26 | G-MG-T-DT | 12 | 9 | 243 | 6–2 | 4 |
Notre Dame, and Temple | |
| Ben Kish | 30 | B | 12 | 8 | 207 | 6–0 | 7 | Pittsburgh | |
| Pete Kmetovic | 27 | HB | 5 | 0 | 175 | 5–9 | Rookie | Stanford | |
| Bob Krieger | 28 | E | 7 | 2 | 190 | 6–1 | 5 | Dartmouth | |
| Bert Kuczynski | 26 | E | 3 | 0 | 196 | 6–0 | 3 | Pennsylvania | |
| Vic Lindskog | 33 | C | 10 | 1 | 203 | 6–1 | 3 | Stanford | |
| Jay MacDowell | 28 | T-DE | 12 | 3 | 217 | 6–2 | 1 | Washington | |
| Art Macioszczyk | 27 | FB | 11 | 2 | 208 | 6–0 | 3 | Western Michigan | |
| Bill Mackrides | 22 | QB | 8 | 0 | 182 | 5–11 | Rookie | Nevada-Reno | |
| Duke Maronic | 26 | G | 4 | 0 | 209 | 5–9 | 3 | none | |
| Pat McHugh | 28 | DB-HB | 9 | 1 | 166 | 5–11 | Rookie | Georgia Tech | |
| Joe Muha | 26 | FB-LB | 12 | 12 | 205 | 6–1 | 1 | Virginia Military Institute | |
| Cliff Patton | 24 | G-LB | 12 | 12 | 243 | 6–2 | 1 | TCU | |
| Pete Pihos | 24 | E-DE | 12 | 12 | 210 | 6–1 | Rookie | Indiana | |
| Hal Prescott | 27 | E | 11 | 2 | 199 | 6–1 | 1 | Hardin–Simmons | |
| Bosh Pritchard | 28 | HB | 11 | 5 | 164 | 5–11 | 5 |
Georgia Tech, and VMI | |
| Vic Sears | 29 | T-DT | 7 | 5 | 223 | 6–3 | 6 | Oregon State | |
| Allie Sherman | 24 | QB | 11 | 0 | 170 | 5–11 | 4 | Brooklyn | |
| Ernie Steele | 30 | HB-DB | 12 | 5 | 187 | 6–0 | 5 | Washington | |
| Gil Steinke | 28 | HB | 6 | 3 | 175 | 6–0 | 2 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | |
| Dan Talcott | 26 | T | 8 | 0 | 235 | 6–3 | Rookie | UNLV | |
| Tommy Thompson | 31 | QB | 12 | 1 | 192 | 6–1 | 7 | Tulsa | |
| Steve Van Buren+ | 27 | HB | 12 | 7 | 200 | 6–0 | 3 | LSU | |
| Don Weedon | 28 | G | 12 | 0 | 220 | 5–11 | Rookie | Texas | |
| Boyd Williams | 25 | C | 6 | 0 | 218 | 6–3 | Rookie | Syracuse | |
| Al Wistert+ | 27 | T-G-DT | 12 | 12 | 214 | 6–1 | 4 | Michigan | |
| Alex Wojciechowicz | 32 | C-LB-E | 12 | 11 | 217 | 5–11 | 9 | Fordham | |
| John Wyhonic | 28 | G | 12 | 2 | 213 | 6–0 | 1 | Alabama | |
| 41 Players Team Average |
27.6 | 11 | 205 | 6–0.5 | 2,7 |
- Link to all time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history
Standings
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Philadelphia Eagles | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 6–2 | 308 | 242 | W1 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 6–2 | 240 | 259 | W1 | |
| Boston Yanks | 4 | 7 | 1 | .364 | 3–4–1 | 168 | 256 | L2 | |
| Washington Redskins | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3–5 | 295 | 367 | W1 | |
| New York Giants | 2 | 8 | 2 | .200 | 1–6–1 | 190 | 309 | L1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
References
- ^ 1947 Philadelphia Eagles
- ^ "1947 Philadelphia Eagles Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ Players are identified as a 1947 Pro All-Star.
External links
- Byrum Saam (narrator), Football Highlights of 1947: Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia Eagles Football Club via YouTube.com (Video.)