1951 Philadelphia Eagles 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.

Regular season

Schedule

Game recaps

Game 2 vs San Francisco 49ers

;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

;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.

;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

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)

• 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

References

References

1. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/1951.htm 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. {{College Football HoF