| 1947 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Greasy Neale |
| Home stadium | Shibe Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–4 |
| Division place | 1stNFL American |
| Playoffs | WonDivisional Playoffs (atSteelers) 21–0 LostNFL Championship (atCardinals) 21–28 |
The1947Philadelphia Eagles season was the Eagles' 15th in theleague. The team improved on itsprevious output of 6–5, winning eight games.[1]
The team qualified for the playoffs for the first time in fifteen seasons.
For the second year in a row, the Eagles traveled to Saranac Lake High School Field/Eagles Residence, inSaranac 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.
The1947 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 championChicago Bears wasBob Fenimore, a back who attendedOklahoma A&M.
With the number-two pick, theDetroit Lions selected 1946Heisman Trophy-winnerGlenn Davis, a halfback fromArmy. He was unable to play, however, due to his required military service.
Cal Rossi, arunning back fromUCLA was drafted again in 1947 with the fourth pick by theWashington 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 whereDante Lavelli (12th round),Art Donovan (22nd round) andTom Landry (20th round). Some of the players who were drafted were signed byAll-America Football Conference teams.
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 theBuffalo 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 onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 28 | Washington Redskins | W 45–42 | 1–0 | Shibe Park | 35,406 | Recap | |
| 2 | October 5 | New York Giants | W 23–0 | 2–0 | Shibe Park | 29,823 | Recap | |
| 3 | October 12 | atChicago Bears | L 7–40 | 2–1 | Wrigley Field | 34,338 | Recap | |
| 4 | October 19 | atPittsburgh Steelers | L 24–35 | 2–2 | Forbes Field | 33,538 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 26 | Los Angeles Rams | W 14–7 | 3–2 | Shibe Park | 36,364 | Recap | |
| 6 | November 2 | atWashington Redskins | W 38–14 | 4–2 | Griffith Stadium | 36,591 | Recap | |
| 7 | November 9 | atNew York Giants | W 41–24 | 5–2 | Polo Grounds | 29,016 | Recap | |
| 8 | November 16 | Boston Yanks | W 32–0 | 6–2 | Shibe Park | 26,498 | Recap | |
| 9 | November 23 | atBoston Yanks | L 14–21 | 6–3 | Fenway Park | 15,628 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 30 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 21–0 | 7–3 | Shibe Park | 37,218 | Recap | |
| 11 | December 7 | Chicago Cardinals | L 21–45 | 7–4 | Shibe Park | 32,322 | Recap | |
| 12 | December 14 | Green Bay Packers | W 28–14 | 8–4 | Shibe Park | 24,216 | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | ||||||||
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 21 | atPittsburgh Steelers | W 21–0 | Forbes Field | 35,729 | Recap | |
| Championship | December 28 | atChicago Cardinals | L 21–28 | Comiskey Park | 30,759 | Recap |
(All timeList of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)
| = 1947Pro 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 |
| 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 | |