Eagles in College All Star Game 1961

[LeonardRachiele]

The Philadelphia Eagles, after winning the NFL Championship in 1960, were in the College All star Game in August of 1961.   Their Head Coach, Buck Shaw, retired as did their quarterback Norman Van Brocklin.  Van was named Player of the  Year in 1960.  For all of his faults, he had enough sense to retire when still on top.   After a 7-1 start in 1961, the Eagles lost three of their next five with the defense falling apart. They finished  10-4, one half game behind the first place New York Giants.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 5, 1961- The Philadelphia Eagles, bristling from a greeting of boos from the fans, proved their National Football League championship pride Friday night by harpooning the College All-Stars 28-14. They beat a good collegiate football squad after a pro like probe of its weakness-pass defense. The Eagles, booed by many of the 65,000 fans as they trotted onto the rain-soaked sod of Soldier Field, showed their detractors they could do it without the golden arm of Norm Van Brocklin- the quarterback who led them to the NFL crown last year, then quit and became coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

The All-Stars suffered a severe stroke of bad luck during warmups before the game, televised and broadcast by ABC.  Navy's Joe Bellino, a key man in their strategy of attack, slipped while going down for a pass and pulled a right leg muscle. The All-American halfback, who would begin a four-year stint in the Navy as an ensign, wanted his last game a big one. He sat it out on the bench. "The turf gave way and so did the muscle," he said. "But, gosh, how I wish I could have played." Bill Brown (Illinois-Chicago Bears) ran back the opening kickoff 39 years, and Norm Snead (Wake Forest-Washington Redskins) hit Aaron Thomas (Oregon State-San Francisco 49ers) with a 42-yard pass that went to the Eagles' 12. It looked as if the All-Stars were primed, but they were pushed back to the 17, and the quickie strike was dead.

Minutes later, the Eagles got the ball on their 20. Sonny Jurgensen, Van Brocklin's understudy, was caught trying to pass. Then he flipped the ball behind. him like a globetrotter basketball player. Pete Retzlaff took it for 13 yards. It touched off an 80-yard drive in seven plays, capped by Jurgensen's 27-yard touchdown pass to Tommy McDonald. He was completely in the open. McDonald snared two more Jurgensen tosses, each for 24 yards for touchdowns, and Retzlaff took one for 25 yards. The Eagles led 21-0 at halftime and made it 28-0 with their fourth touchdown with four minutes left in the game. Then Bill Kilmer (UCLA-49ers) brought the collegians to life with passes from the short punt spread formation. In six plays they surged 75 yards. Kilmer capped it with an 18-yard scoring pitch to Glynn Gregory (SMU-Dallas Cowboys).

Then guard Dick Grecni (Ohio U-Cleveland Browns) intercepted a King Hill pass and lumbered 57 yards for a touchdown. "Had we scored on that first play, we'd have had them on the run," said All-Star Head Coach Otto Graham. "I'd like to play them again- and on a dry field, I think we'd beat them." Coach Nick Skorich said: "Our guys were concerned about being somewhat downgraded while the stars were being touted, and we went out to justify our championship."