1951 Philadelphia Eagles season

1951 Philadelphia Eagles season
Head coach Bo McMillin 2–0 and
Wayne Millner 2–8
Home field Shibe Park
Results
Record 4–8
Division place 5th NFL American
Playoff finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
< 1950 1952 >

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.[1] 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,[2] 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 [3] = Hall of Famer
Rd Pick Player Position School Rd Pick Player Position School
1 7 Ebert Van BurenBackLSU 1 8 Chet Mutryn
(From Detroit Lions)		BackXavier
221Pick Taken byWashingtonRedskins 3 32 Al BrunoEndKentucky
4 43 Fran NagleBackNebraska 5 57 Jack DwyerBackLoyola (CA)
6 68 Ken FarragutCenterMississippi 7 79 Frank BoydstonBackBaylor
8 93 Jack RichardsEndArkansas 9 104 Denny DoyleGuardTulane
10 116 Louis SchaufeleBackArkansas 11 130 Bob PopeTackleKentucky
12 141 Henry RichBackArizona State 13 152 Pete MastelloneCenterMiami (FLA)
14 166 Bobby WalstonEndGeorgia 15 177 Bobby NorthBackGeorgia Tech
16 188 Hal HatfieldEndUSC 17 202 Hal WaggonerBackTulane
18 213 Bill WeeksBackIowa State 19 224 Jack BoveTackleWest Virginia
20 238 John GloriosoBackMissouri 21 249 Neal FranklinTackleSMU
22 260 Jack RuckerBackMississippi State 23 274 Jack BigheadEndPepperdine
24 285 Tony KotowskiEndMississippi State 25 296 Glenn DrahnBackIowa
26 310 Billy StewartBackMississippi State 27 321 Bob WinshipTackleRice
28 332 Marv StendelEndArkansas 29 346 Roscoe HansenTackleNorth Carolina
30 357 John "Model-T" FordQuarterbackHardin-Simmons .

Regular Season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 30, 1951 at Chicago Cardinals W 17–14
16,129
2 October 6, 1951 San Francisco 49ers W 21–14
23,432
3 October 14, 1951 at Green Bay Packers L 37–24
18,489
4 October 21, 1951 at New York Giants L 26–24
28,656
5 October 28, 1951 Washington Redskins L 27–23
20,437
6 November 4, 1951 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–13
19,649
7 November 11, 1951 at Cleveland Browns L 20–17
36,571
8 November 18, 1951 Detroit Lions L 28–10
25,350
9 November 25, 1951 Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–13
15,537
10 December 2, 1951 at Washington Redskins W 35–21
23,738
11 December 9, 1951 New York Giants L 23–7
19,322
12 December 16, 1951 Cleveland Browns L 24–9
16,263

Game Recaps

Week 2 vs SF 49ers

Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles (2–0–0) vs San Francisco 49ers (1–1–0)
1 2 34Total
49ers 7 0 0714
Eagles 7 0 7721

at Shibe Park on Grass,

  • 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 3 – 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)

Week 9 vs Pitt Steelers

Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles (3–6–0) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (3–5–1)
1 2 34Total
Steelers 10 7 0017
Eagles 0 6 0713

at Shibe Park on Grass,

  • 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)

Week 12 vs Cleve 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.

Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles (4–8) vs Cleveland Browns (11–1)
1 2 34Total
Browns 7 3 7724
Eagles 0 0 279

at Shibe Park on Grass,

  • 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 Cards (2–7–0)

Standings

NFL American Conference
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.

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.

1951 Roster

(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)

= 1951 Pro Bowl [4] = Hall of Famer
NO. Player AGE POS GP GS WT HT YRS College
Bo McMillin56Coach2record
2–0 		1635–91stCentre[5]
Wayne Millner38Coach10record
2–8 		189 6–11stNotre Dame
80Neill Armstrong25E-DB12 1896–24Oklahoma State
74Walt Barnes33G12 2386–13LSU
60Chuck Bednarik+26LB-C12 2336–3 2 Pennsylvania
10Adrian Burk24QB-Punter12121906–21Baylor
36Gerry Cowhig30LB-FB-DB11 2156–24Notre Dame
33Russ Craft32DB-HB12 1785–95Alabama
53Ken Farragut23C-LB11 2406–4RookieMississippi
64Mario Giannelli31MG-G10 2656–03Boston College
86Bud Grant24E-DE12 1996–3RookieMinnesota
89John Green30DE-E101926–14Tulsa
73Roscoe Hansen22T-DT9 2156–3RookieNorth Carolina
78Mike Jarmoluk29DT-T-MG12 2326–55Temple
76Bucko Kilroy30G-MG-T-DT12 2436–28Notre Dame
Temple
52Vic Lindskog+37C11 2036–17Stanford
88Jay MacDowell32T-DE12 2176–25Washington
39Bill Mackrides26QB6 1825–114Nevada-Reno
67John Magee28G12 2205–103La-Lafayette,
Rice
49Pat McHugh32DB-HB8 1665–114Georgia Tech
81Red O'Quinn26DB-E5 1956–21Wake Forest
43Jim Parmer25FB-HB11 1936–03Oklahoma State,
Texas A&M
35Pete Pihos28E-DE12 2106–14Indiana
21Al Pollard23HB-FB6 1966–0RookieArmy,
Loyola Marymount
30Bosh Pritchard32HB6 1645–119 Georgia Tech,VMI
11John Rauch24QB-DB4 1956–12Georgia
40Frank Reagan32B12 1825–1110Pennsylvania
68Ray Romero24G7 2135–11RookieKansas State
31Dan Sandifer24DB-HB12 1906–13LSU
27Clyde Scott27HB-DB12 1746–02Arkansas,Navy
79Vic Sears33T-DT12 2236–310 Oregon State
72Dick Steere24G5 2406–4RookieDrake
75Walt Stickel29T-DT11 2476–35Pennsylvania
Tulsa
45Joe Sutton27DB-HB11 1805–112Temple
17Ebert Van Buren27DB-LB-FB-HB12 2106–2RookieLSU
15Steve Van Buren31HB10 2006–07LSU
83Bobby Walston23E-HB-K12 1906–0RookieGeorgia
44Norm Willey24DE-G-E11 2246–2 1 Marshall
70Al Wisert31G-T-DT12 2146–18Michigan
41Frank Ziegler28HB-DB1201755–11 2 Georgia Tech
38 Players
Team Average 		27.8 12 206.1 6–1.0 3.4

Post Season

References

  1. ↑ 1951 Philadelphia Eagles
  2. ↑ ISBN 978-1-59213-449-6 The Eagles Encyclopedia
  3. ↑ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  4. ↑ Players are identified as a 1951 All-Star.
  5. ↑ http://www.collegefootball.org/famer_selected.php?id=20006|College Hof F