“You know how I used to tell you about Van Buren scoring that touchdown back in ’48?....That touchdown got me through thirty years at that factory…”
-- Frank Papale, from the movie “Invincible.”
And, indeed, there it is, in this iconic photograph....Steve Van Buren, still the greatest player in the 78-year history of the Philadelphia Eagles, scoring the only touchdown in the so-called "Blizzard Bowl," the 1948 NFL Championship Game in which the Birds downed the Chicago Cardinals 7-0 at North Philadelphia's (even-then run-down) Shibe Park. It was the first time that Eagles, a sorry franchise for most of their first 15 years, were the champions of pro football; little did the 28,864 fans who braved the elements that Sunday realize that Philadelphia's beloved men in green would win the title only twice more in the next 63 years (including the following year in a monsoon at the L.A. Coliseum, when Van Buren added to his legend by running for 198 yards).
It happened 63 years ago today -- December 19, 1948.
I'm looking to find people who were there that day -- maybe your grandfather or your dad or just maybe even you...yes, you.
Why? For the last 51 weeks, I've been obsessed with the story of how the Eagles won their first title in such a hellacious snowstorm. You surely remember the trigger for all of this -- the blizzard of Dec. 26, 2010, when the Eagles, with their multi-multi-million-dollar glitzy Lincoln Financial Field and all the technology of the 21st Century, wimped out and postponed a nationally televised game against the Vikings. I wrote a scathing front-page article attacking the move that was famously adopted by Ed Rendell, who called America "a nation of wusses" for not playing in the snow. At the time, there was much talk of the 1948 game and of Van Buren (who, coincidentally, turned 90 in a Lancaster nursing home that same week). That's understandable. What a metaphor for the last three-quarters of a century! How did pro football's "Greatest Generation" -- children of the Great Depression who put their games on hold to win a World War -- stage a football game in a raging blizzard -- and win. A few of you may know the remarkable backstory of the 1948 Eagles, but if you don't...let's just say for now it's an even better story than you might imagine.
Today, I'm thrilled to announce a multi-pronged journalistic project based on the Eagles and their 1948 championship win. In mid-to-late January, in that endless period running up to the Super Bowl, I plan to publish an Amazon Kindle Single, my second one, retelling the events of Dec. 19. 1948. In addition, I am expecting that some pieces of the story -- including an important and poignant epilogue -- will appear in the pages of the Daily News and (hopefully) the new Sports Week. Just this weekend, LeSean "Shady" McCoy's feat in breaking Van Buren's 66-year-old Eagles single season touchdown record (in more games, a la Babe Ruth and Roger Maris) has a new generation of fans trying to grasp the epic accomplishments of the Birds who played before most of us were born. I'm hoping this will be the definitive accounting of that great 1948 world championship team.
Despite the passage of so much time, I suspect there are at least a couple hundred fans who were at 21st and Lehigh that afternoon who are still here to tell the tale. I want so very much to hear from them. My email address is bunchw@phillynews.com and my phone number at the paper is 215-854-2957. Let me know, because if you were a part of that story on Dec. 19, 1948, I think you'll want to be part of this story, too.
(Note: If you watch the video below, I should point out that the long Eagles touchdown pass -- to end Jack Ferrante on the first play from scrimmage -- was called back because Ferrante was offsides. Didn't want anyone to get confused!)
UPDATE: Since the purpose of this post (crowdsourcing...look it up!) is radically different from the usual fare here, off-topic posts are not allowed -- for the FIRST and hopefully the LAST time in Attytood history. Sorry -- on-topic coments are more than welcome.)
bunch on Football? awesome...maybe now we will be spared his lefty rants for a little while.— soccerdad1150- Next Monday, 51 years ago the Eagles actually won their biggest game and I WAS there. The Eagles beat the Packers for their last Championship!!! The Packers went on to be a legendary team and the IGGLES...well we know that story!!— sarah89
- Wait until Bunch finds out Van Buren was a Republican.— journalismIsDead
I know Will Bunch wrote this in a hurry yesterday, because he flew off this morning to make connections to Pyongyang, North Korea. He will be one of the chief mourners...blubbering and sobbing at the funeral of our recently departed pop bellied, beauffont haired dictator, Kim Jong Il. Bring us back at T-shirt, OK Attywood?"— Yermak29- @ Yermak29 ... maybe Will can catch a soccer game, or whatever they do in North Korea. He will feel like OWS is still alive and well.— RufusG
- I'm certain my Dad was there--he loved the Eagles.— crystalrainbowspirit1
- Yo! Yermak 29 .... what happened to your post? I forgot to tell you that I thought it was pretty funny.— RufusG
- Chuck Bednarik was the greatest Eagle ever, both on and off the field.— TomM
- Will, doesn't understand that in today's society that everyone is subject to being sued by people that sue if their coffee is too hot. It's like a rite of passage for some people. If the Eagles played in that game last year the only winners would have been Gov Rendel and his lawyer friends. You know, the bottom feeding lechers of society.— RufusG
- Vann Buren wasn't big. I don;t think he was even 6 foot, but a heckuva runner. When he retired after a devastating knee injury, he left holding the record for TDs scored in a career. Met him once in later years. My brother was a big fan before he even played with the Eagles, when he was at LSU. I have his framed picture of Van Buren in his Tigers uniform. My brother met him at a party and told him how big a fan he was. Van Buren thought he was too young to know much, but Bobby rattled off college stats and always wore Steve''s number when he played any ball. Needless to say, Van Buren was impressed a guy from Norristown was one of his biggest fans.
Game day story. Steve woke up in his West Philly apartment, saw the snow and figured they'd call the game. He decided to hop the subway anyway just to make sure. Fans came out of the stands to help clear the field.— mike l - Couldn't happen today.. fans would slip.. Bunch would write articles how the poor people were robbed by not being able to sue. Unions would argue about their jobs shoveling being taken away... ... . — stevejones
- Great stuff, Mike L., thanks -- actually he was about 6'1" and between 200 and 210 pounds at his peak, which, believe it or not, was considered very big for a running back in those days. Before Van Buren, few if any running backs had mixed power and speed the way that he did, although his body paid a tremendous price for all those hits in the leather helmet era.— will
- Thanks, Crystal -- ask him! If he was there, I'd love to talk to him.— will
- will, that was his listed size, but I met him in the early seventies and at 5'10"and 200lbs, I was slightly bigger than he was. But remember the old cliche, its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. And he was always a gentleman.— golfntommy
- Yup -- there won't be another like him.— will
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
E-mail Will by clicking here.
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