The

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

was the franchise's 16th season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). The Eagles repeated as Eastern Division champions and returned to the

NFL Championship game Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...

, this time defeating the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

to win their first NFL title.

Off season

The Eagles travel to New York State to hold training camp at Saranac Lake High School Field in

Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...

, in northern New York State near Lake Placid and in the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a part of Forest Preserve (New York), New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York (state), New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasur ...

. As of 2014 the building where the Eagles stayed is still a local landmark and is located on Lake Street in Saranac Lake and it is still called the Eagles Nest.

NFL Draft

The

1948 NFL draft The 1948 National Football League Draft was held on December 19, 1947, at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh. This was the second year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous year's winner Chicago Be ...

was held on December 19, 1947, five days after the end of the regular season, and nine days before the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

was played. The Eagles finished the 1947 season with an 8–4 record. Tied with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers they picked 7th, 8th or 9th normally in the 32 rounds that they had picks. The

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

had a lottery bonus pick at number one and chose

Harry Gilmer Harry Vincent Gilmer Jr. (April 14, 1926 – August 20, 2016) was an American football halfback and quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fam ...

Back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column runs ...

out of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

. In the first round, the Eagles selected

Clyde Scott Clyde Luther Scott (August 29, 1924 – January 30, 2018) was an American athlete who competed professionally in the National Football League and earned an Olympic medal in the 110 meter hurdles. He was born in Dixie, Louisiana. Biography ...

, a running back from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. The Eagles' 26th round pick,

Lou Creekmur Louis Creekmur (January 22, 1927 – July 5, 2009) was an American football offensive lineman. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Creekmur played professional football in the National Football League (NFL), principally a ...

, did not make the team but ended up becoming a Hall of Fame player for the Detroit Lions. Many of the draft picks made by NFL teams ended up playing for teams in the rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC).

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

Week 1

Sunday, September 14, 1948 Played at Comiskey Park in Chicago

Week 2

Sunday, October 3, 1948 Played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA

Week 3

Sunday, October 10, 1948 Played at

Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Week 4

Sunday, October 17, 1948 Played at

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Boundar ...

in Washington, DC

Week 5

Sunday, October 24, 1948 Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Week 6

Sunday, October 31, 1948 Played at

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

in Pittsburgh, PA

Week 7

Sunday, November 7, 1948 Played at Polo Grounds in New York, NY

Week 8

Sunday, November 14, 1948 Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania For third time in the 1948 season, and the second time playing at Shibe Park, the Eagles win a game by the score of 45–0.

Week 9

Sunday, November 21, 1948 Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Week 10

Sunday, November 28, 1948 Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Week 11

Sunday, December 5, 1948 Played at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

in Boston, MA

Week 12

Sunday, December 12, 1948 Played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Standings

Playoffs

NFL Championship Game

The NFL Championship game was played at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

on December 19 during a blizzard. Thinking the game would not be played in the blizzard,

Steve Van Buren Stephen Wood Van Buren (December 28, 1920 − August 23, 2012) was a Honduran–American professional football player who was a halfback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from 1944 to 1951. Regarded as a powerf ...

remained home until Eagles coach Earle "Greasy" Neale called him and told him the game was still on. He had to catch 3 trolleys and walk 12 blocks in order to make the game on time. The paid attendance for the game was 36,309 (28,864 actual), and it was scoreless until early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles recovered a fumble that set up Van Buren's five-yard touchdown at 1:05 into the fourth quarter. The Cardinals disputed that the ball or Van Buren had crossed the snow-covered goal line. This was the Cardinals' last appearance in any NFL Championship game in the 20th century. There is said to be a curse on the football Cardinals that followed them from Chicago to St. Louis and on to Arizona.

Roster

''All time

List of Philadelphia Eagles players This is a complete list of American football players who have played for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). It includes players that have played at least one game in the NFL regular season. The Philadelphia Eagles franch ...

in franchise history'' * + After name means 1st team selection

Postseason

NFL Championship Game recap

1948 NFL Championship Game Sunday, December 19, 1948 Played at

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Weather: Snow, Blizzard conditions Attendance: 36,309 (paid), 28,864 (actual)

Awards and honors

* Tommy Thompson leads league in Passing TDs – 25 * Tommy Thompson leads league in Passer Rating- PHI 98.4 * Steve Van Buren leads league in Rushing Attempts – 201 * Steve Van Buren leads league in Rushing Yards – 945 * Steve Van Buren leads league in Rushing TDs – 10 * Cliff Patton Leads League in Field Goals Made – 8 * QB Tommy Thompson, LH Steve Van Buren, RG Bucko Kilroy, RT Al Wistert, RE Pete Pihos, and P Joe Muha are named to numerous All-Pro teams at season's end https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1948/allpro.htm Pro Football Reference 1948 All-Pro teams page

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

members * Alex Wojciechowicz – 1968 *

– 1965 *

Pete Pihos Peter Louis Pihos (; October 22, 1923August 16, 2011) was an American football player and coach. Pihos played college football, principally as an end and fullback, for Indiana University from 1942 to 1943 and 1945 to 1946. He was selected as a ...

– 1970 *

Greasy Neale Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale (November 5, 1891 – November 2, 1973) was an American football and baseball player and coach. Early life and playing career Neale was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Although writers eventually assumed that Nea ...

– 1969 as coach

References

External links

Eagles on Pro Football Reference

Eagles on jt-sw.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1948 Philadelphia Eagles Season National Football League championship seasons Philadelphia Eagles seasons