The History of the Philadelphia Eagles

Are you searching for Philadelphia Eagles throwback jerseys? Over the years, the Philadelphia Eagles jersey has changed many times, from wearing all white during winning seasons to switching back and forth between two different shades of green. The eagle emblem has also changed over the years to keep up with its extraordinary history. This article will look back over the franchise's timeline and point out some of the different throwback jersey styles that the Eagles have donned over the years in the NFL.

The Early Years

In 1933, the Frankfurt Yellow Jackets became the Philadelphia Eagles. A team composed of Lud Wray and Bert Bell became the new owners. They paid approximately $2,500 at the time for the franchise. The new owners got the team's mascot and name from the eagle representing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, the National Recovery Administration. The club won four consecutive games that season and qualified for the National Football League Championship Game.

The first ten years could have been better, and in fact, the team had a rough start. However, their fortune would soon change. Greasy Neale became the Eagles' head coach in 1941.

For one season during 1943, the Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers joined forces and became known as "Phil-Pitt." But fans referred to the team as the "Steagles." Unfortunately, this team combination lasted only one season, and they were back to being separate teams the following year.

Neale coached running back legend Steve Van Buren. Under Neale, the Eagles had three second-place finishes until 1947, when they finally got to play in their first NFL Championship match. They lost that game, however, but for the next two years, they won the championship titles, in 1948 and 1949. Also, in 1949, the Eagles picked up center-linebacker Chuck Bednarik, who helped the team crush the competition for the next six seasons. Alexis Thompson sold the team to 100 different buyers, each paying for their own share that year. This group of shareholders was known as the "Happy Hundred."

The Middle Years

In 1957, the Eagles moved to a larger stadium, Franklin Field Stadium. It could hold over 60,000 fans. In 1958, Buck Shaw became head coach. The team acquired Norm Van Brocklin as its new quarterback in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams in the same year. Along with Tommy McDonald and Bednarik, Brocklin helped them win their third championship in 1960 against the Green Bay Packers. The year 1960 was a fantastic year for the Eagles.

Right after winning the championship, the Eagles didn't get to play another playoff game for 18 years.

In 1978, under head coach Dick Vermeil, the team made it to the playoffs again. Vermeil chose quarterback Ron Jaworski to lead the team to the Eastern title in 1980. In 1981, they made it to their first Super Bowl game but lost to the Oakland Raiders.

Vermeil retired after a few seasons, and Leonard Tose sold the team in 1985. Norman Braman and Ed Leibowitz bought the Eagles and hired Fred Bruney as the new coach. They also acquired Reggie White, a pass rusher.

In 1986, Buddy Ryan became the head coach. He influenced a better performance and attitude of the team with his hard-core style of coaching. The team and the fans loved his attitude. He fired up the defense so much that one of the games was known as the "Body Bag Game." As a result, the Eagles' defense forced nine Washington Redskins players off the field for various injuries.

However, in 1988, the Eagles won the NFL Eastern championship and were in five playoff games over the next few years.

Rich Kotite became head coach in 1991 after being promoted from offensive coordinator. Randall Cunningham, the quarterback, had a knee injury and had to set the season out. Kotite led the team to become the top defensive team in the NFL, but they didn't make the playoffs in 1991.

The Later Years

In 1994, Jeffery Lurie purchased the team for around $200 million. He then fired Kotite and replaced him with Ray Rhodes as head coach in 1995. Rhodes also became Coach of the Year in 1995.

1999 was a good year for the Eagles under the new head coach, Andy Reid. He started the team off on the right foot, and one of his first draft picks was Donovan McNabb as the quarterback. McNabb led the team to eight playoff berths in ten years, including a chance to play in the Super Bowl in 2005. Reid won the coach of the year award in 2000 and 2002. McNabb took the team to the NFC championship game three years in a row. In addition, the Eagles acquired wide receiver Terrell Owens in 2004.

In 2004, the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl for the second time in their franchise history. But they lost to the New England Patriots.

Michael Vick became the quarterback in 2010. Chip Kelley replaced Andy Reid as head coach in 2013. Chip Kelley comes from the University of Oregon. However, he was only the head coach for a couple of years before Doug Pederson became the head coach in 2016. He added Carson Wentz to the team as a quarterback in that draft. In 2017, the Eagles won their first Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, scoring 41-33. The backup quarterback, Nick Foles, led the team to victory.

The Evolution of the Eagle’s Jerseys Over the Years

Philadelphia Eagles throwback jerseys can come in many different unique styles.

The team wore a blue and yellow uniform when they were still known as the Yellow Jackets. In 1941, the Eagles used a black and gray jersey with contrasting sleeves. Later in 1943, when the squad united with the "Steagles," they changed the colors to white and green. The numbers were then embroidered larger than in previous years by the Eagles.

In 1948, the Eagles' logo changed to a flying eagle holding a football. In 1955, the team added silver eagle wings to the helmet, and the primary jersey color returned to green. In 1975, the club added three stripes to the jersey: white, gray, and green. The numbers of the players are on their shoulder pads too.

The jersey was redesigned with short sleeves and a black outline for the player numbers, and the club eliminated the stripes in 1986. In 1987, the new eagle held the football, but the eagle looked to the left, and they drew it in more detail.

However, they changed the logo in 1996 to the current theme, a silver bald eagle head with a black and green outline and trim colors. In 1998, the team jerseys returned to a more dominant green color.

In 2014, the Eagle's changed the shade of green to more of a teal green. Today, the team has the usual midnight green, silver, black, and gray with white numbers and blue stripes on the bottom, making it an iconic Eagle's uniform.

At Custom Throwback Jerseys, we offer an extensive selection of Philadelphia Eagles jerseys featuring all the Eagles star players from the past, as well as player jerseys of all the other NFL teams. Whether you’re looking to showcase your admiration for your favorite player or are in the market for a custom jersey fitted with your own name and number, we’ve got you covered.

We also carry throwback team player jerseys from all the other major sports , including MLB, NBAL, & NHL. Feel free to check out our entire inventory of throwback jerseys and spruce up your wardrobe.