1952 Philadelphia Eagles season

1952 Philadelphia Eagles season
Head coach	Jim Trimble
Owner	Happy Hundred
Home field	Shibe Park
Results
Record	7–5
Division place	2nd NFL American
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1952 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 20th in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 4–8, winning seven games.^[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

Off Season

Head coach Wayne Millner took over, for ailing head coach Bo McMillin in 1951, would resign 0n September 8, 3 weeks before the 1952 season started, siting health as the reason for stepping down.

NFL Draft

The 1952 NFL Draft was held on January 17, 1952. Picks made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans franchise. There were 12 teams picking for 32 rounds.

The Eagles made the 4th pick in each round and made 31 picks in the 32 rounds they had picks in. The New York Yanks had the Eagles pick in the 5th round.

The Los Angeles Rams received this year's Lottery bonus pick. The Rams used it to pick Bill Wadea Quarterback out of Vanderbilt University. The Eagle used there number 4 pick in the 1st round to take Johnny Brighta Back of Drake University. Johnny Bright, was chosen before fellow backs and future NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame members Frank Gifford from University of Southern California and Hugh McElhenny out of University of Washington, passed up playing for the Eagles. Bright later commented:

“

I would have been their (the Eagles') first Negro player. There was a tremendous influx of Southern players into the NFL at that time, and I didn't know what kind of treatment I could expect.[2]

”

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.

= Pro Bowler [3]

= Hall of Famer

=Canadian Football Hall of Famer

Rd	Pick	Player	Position	School		Rd	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	5	Johnny Bright	Back	Drake		2	17	Jim Weatherall	Tackle	Oklahoma
3	29	Lum Snyder	Tackle	Georgia Tech		4	41	Chuck Ulrich	Tackle	Illinois
5	53	Pick Taken By	New York	Yanks		6	65	Dick Lemmon	Back	California
7	77	John Thomas	End	Oregon State		8	89	Wayne Robinson	Center	Minnesota
9	101	Maury Nipp	Guard	Loyola (CA)		10	113	Gerry McGinley	Guard	Pennsylvania
11	125	Ralph Goldston	Back	Youngstown State		12	137	Jack Blount	Tackle	Mississippi State
13	149	Ed Hamilton	Back	Kentucky		14	161	Bob Stringer	Back	Tulsa
15	173	Malcolm Schmidt	End	Iowa State		16	185	Jim Brewer	Guard	North Texas State
17	197	John Weigle	End	Oklahoma State		18	209	Ed Romanowski	Back	Scranton
19	221	Talbott Trammell	End	Washington & Lee		20	233	Bobby Blaik	Back	Army/Colorado College
21	245	Les Wheeler	Guard	Abilene Christian		22	257	Johnny Turco	Back	Holy Cross
23	269	Maury Schnell	Back	Iowa State		24	281	Joe Tyrrell	Guard	Temple
25	293	Bob Kelley	Center	West Texas State		26	305	Bob Albert	Back	Bucknell
27	317	Chuck Hill	Back	New Mexico		28	329	Johnny Brewer	Back	Louisville
29	341	Tony "Zippy" Morocco	Back	Georgia		30	353	Don Stevens	Back	Illinois

Regular Season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
1	September 28, 1952	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–25
2	October 4, 1952	New York Giants	L 31–7
3	October 12, 1952	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 26–21
4	October 19, 1952	Cleveland Browns	L 49–7
5	October 26, 1952	at New York Giants	W 14–10
6	November 2, 1952	at Green Bay Packers	L 12–10
7	November 9, 1952	Washington Redskins	W 38–20
8	November 16, 1952	Chicago Cardinals	W 10–7
9	November 23, 1952	at Cleveland Browns	W 28–20
10	November 30, 1952	at Chicago Cardinals	L 28–22
11	December 7, 1952	Dallas Texans	W 38–21
12	December 14, 1952	at Washington Redskins	L 27–21

Game Recaps

Week 1: @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles 31 (1–0–0)  at  Pittsburgh Steelers 25 (0–1–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Philadelphia Eagles	14	3	7	7	31
Pittsburgh Steelers	0	12	0	13	25

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 28, 1952
• Game time: EST
• Game attendance: 22,501
• Recap and Stats

Game information

1st Eagles Bud Grant 84-yard pass from Adrian Burk (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 7 – Pitt 0 Eagles Frank Ziegler 4-yard pass from Adrian Burk (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 14 – Pitt 0 2nd Steelers Jim Finks 20-yard rush (kick failed) Phila 14 – Pitt 6 Eagles Bobby Walston 32-yard field goal Phila 17 – Pitt 6 Steelers Ed Modzelewski 1-yard rush (kick failed) Phila 17 – Pitt 12 3rd Eagles Frank Ziegler 3-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 24 – Pitt 12 4th Steelers Jim Finks 1-yard rush (Gary Kerkorian kick) Phila 24 – Pitt 19 Eagles Pete Pihos 25-yard pass from Adrian Burk (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 31 – Pitt 19 Steelers Ray Mathews 27-yard pass from Jim Finks (kick failed) Phila 31 – Pitt 25

Week 2: vs New York Giants

Week 2: New York Giants 31 (2–0–0)  vs  Philadelphia Eagles 7 (1–1–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
New York Giants	7	14	7	3	31
Philadelphia Eagles	7	0	0	0	7

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: October 4, 1952
• Game time: EST
• Game attendance: 22,512
• Recap and Stats

Game information

1st Giants Bob McChesney 18-yard pass from Frank Gifford (Ray Poole kick) Phila 7 – NY 0 Eagles John Brewer 71-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 7 – NY 7 2nd Giants Joe Scott 30-yard rush (Ray Poole kick) Phila 14 – NY 7 Giants Bill Stribling 20-yard pass from Charlie Conerly (Ray Poole kick) Phila 21 – NY 7 3rd Giants Joe Scott 10-yard rush (Ray Poole kick) Phila 28 – NY 7 4th Giants Ray Poole 16-yard field goal Phila 31 – NY 7

Week 3: vs Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 2:Philadelphia Eagles 26 (2–1–0)  vs  Pittsburgh Steelers 21 (0–3–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pittsburgh Steelers	7	7	7	0	21
Philadelphia Eagles	3	10	0	13	26

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: October 12, 1952
• Game time: ? pm EST
• Game attendance: 18,648
• Recap and Stats

Game information

1st Eagles Bobby Walston 25-yard field goal Pitt 0 – Phila 3 2nd Eagles Bobby Walston 20-yard field goal Pitt 0 – Phila 6 Steelers Lynn Chandnois 93-yard kickoff return (Gary Kerkorian kick) Pitt 7 – Phila 6 Eagles John Brewer 1-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) Pitt 7 – Phila 13 3rd Steelers Ray Mathews 25-yard pass from Jim Finks (Gary Kerkorian kick) Pitt 14 – Phila 13 4th Steelers Elbie Nickel 54-yard pass from Jim Finks (Gary Kerkorian kick) Pitt 21 – Phila 13 Eagles Bud Grant 17-yard pass from Fred Enke (Bobby Walston kick) Pitt 21 7 – 20 Eagles Bobby Walston 24-yard field goal Pitt 21 – Phila 23 Eagles Bobby Walston 19-yard field goal Pitt 21 – Phila 26

Week 4 vs Cleveland Browns

Week 4:Cleveland Browns 49 (3–1–0)  at  Philadelphia Eagles 7 (2–2–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cleveland Browns	14	7	21	7	49
Philadelphia Eagles	7	0	0	7	14

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: October 19, 1952
• Game time: ? pm EST
• Game attendance: 27,874
• Recap and Stats

Game information

1st Browns Len Ford unknown-yard fumble return (Lou Groza kick) Cleve 7 – Phila 0 Browns Pete Brewster 47-yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick) Cleve 14 – Phila 0 2nd Browns Sherman Howard 35-yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick) Cleve 21 – Phila 0 3rd Browns Dub Jones 63-yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick) Cleve 28 – Phila 0 Browns Mac Speedie 8-yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick) Cleve 35 – Phila 0 Browns Dub Jones 16-yard rush (Lou Groza kick) Cleve 42 – Phila 0 4th Browns Horace Gillom 11-yard pass from George Ratterman (Lou Groza kick) Cleve 49 – Phila 0 Eagles Ralph Goldston 4-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) Cleve 49 – Phila 7

Week 5 @ New York Giants

Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles 37 (1–0–0)  at  New York Giants 25 (0–1–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Philadelphia Eagles	0	14	0	0	14
New York Giants	3	0	7	0	10

at Polo Grounds, Upper Manhattan, New York City, New York

• Date: September 28, 1952
• Game time: ? PM EST
• Game attendance: 21,458
• Recap and Stats

Game information
1st Giants Ray Poole 30-yard field goal Phila 0 – NY 3 2nd Eagles Bibbles Bawel 52-yard punt return (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 7 – NY 3 Eagles Bobby Walston 19-yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 14 – NY 3 3rd Giants Bud Sherrod unknown-yard fumble return (Ray Poole kick) Phila 14 – NY 10

Week 6 @ Green Bay Packers

Week 1: Green Bay 12 (3–3–0)  vs  Philadelphia Eagles 10 (3–3–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Philadelphia Eagles	3	0	0	7	10
Green Bay Packers	6	0	0	6	12

at City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: November 2, 1952
• Game time: ? PM EST
• Game attendance: 10,149
• Recap and Stats

Game information
1st Eagles Bobby Walston 23-yard field goal Phila 3 – Green Bay 0 Packers Breezy Reid 21-yard pass from Babe Parilli (kick failed) Phila 3 – Green Bay 6 4th Eagles Russ Craft 32-yard interception return (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 10 – Green Bay 6 Packers John Martinkovic 5-yard blocked punt return (kick failed) Phila 10 – Green Bay 12

Week 7 vs Washington Redskins

Week 7:Philadelphia Eagles 38 (4–3–0)  vs  Washington Redskins 20 (4–3–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Washington Redskins	0	7	6	7	20
Philadelphia Eagles	14	14	7	3	38

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, PA

• Date: November 9, 1952
• Game time: ? PM EST
• Game attendance: 16,932
• Recap and Stats

Game information

1st Eagles Don Stevens 56-yard punt return (Bobby Walston kick) 0 7 Eagles Bud Grant 7-yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Bobby Walston kick) 0 14 2nd Redskins Johnny Williams 74-yard punt return (George Buksar kick) 7 14 Eagles John Huzvar 1-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) 7 21 Eagles Mike Jarmoluk 16-yard fumble return (Bobby Walston kick) 7 28 3rd Eagles Bud Grant 4-yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Bobby Walston kick) 7 35 Redskins Chuck Drazenovich 1-yard rush (kick failed) 13 35 4th Eagles Bobby Walston 26-yard field goal 13 38 Redskins Hugh Taylor 55-yard pass from Harry Gilmer (George Buksar kick) 20 38

Week 8 vs Chicago Cardinals

Week 8: Philadelphia Eagles 10 (5–3–0)  vs  Chicago Cardinals 7 (3–5–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chicago Cardinals	0	7	0	0	7
Philadelphia Eagles	0	10	0	0	10

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, PA

• Date: November 16, 1952
• Game time: ? PM EST
• Game attendance: 18,406
• Recap and Stats

Game information
2nd Eagles Pete Pihos 12-yard fumble return (Bobby Walston kick) Chi 0 – Phila 7 Cardinals Cliff Anderson 14-yard pass from Charlie Trippi (Joe Geri kick) Chi 7 – Phila 7 Eagles Bobby Walston 20-yard field goal Chi 7 – Phila 19

Week 9 @ Cleveland Browns

Week 9: Philadelphia Eagles 28 (4–3–0)  at  Cleveland Browns 20 (4–3–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Philadelphia Eagles	14	0	0	14	28
Cleveland Browns	7	3	10	0	20

at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

• Date: November 23, 1952
• Game time: ? PM EST
• Game attendance: 28,948
• Recap and Stats

Game information

1st Eagles Frank Ziegler 3-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 7   –   Cleve 0 Eagles Bobby Walston 3-yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Bobby Walston kick)Phila 14   –   Cleve 0 Browns Mac Speedie 28-yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick) Phila 14   –   Cleve 7 2nd Browns Lou Groza 18-yard field goal Phila 14   –   Cleve 10 3rd Browns Mac Speedie 48-yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick) Phila 14   –   Cleve 17 Browns Lou Groza 19-yard field goal Phila 14   –   Cleve 20 4th Eagles Ralph Goldston 2-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 21   –   Cleve 20 Eagles Ralph Goldston 2-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) Phila 28   –   Cleve 20

Week 10 @ Chicago Cardinals

Week 10:Chicago Cardinals 28 (4–6–0)  vs  Philadelphia Eagles 22 (6–4–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Philadelphia Eagles	0	3	12	7	22
Chicago Cardinals	0	14	14	0	28

at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: November 30, 1952
• Game time: ? PM CST
• Game attendance: 13,577
• Recap and Stats

Game information

2nd Eagles – Bobby Walston 35-yard field goal       PHIL 3 – 0 Cardinals – Johnny Karras 4-yard pass from Charlie Trippi (Joe Geri kick)      Tied 3 – 7 Cardinals -Volney Peters 10-yard fumble return (Joe Geri kick)       CHI C 3 – 14 3rd Eagles – Safety, Matson tackled in end zone by E. Van Buren       CHI C 5 – 14 Cardinals – Ollie Matson 13-yard rush (Joe Geri kick)       CHI C 5 – 21 Eagles – Bobby Walston 19-yard field goal       CHI C 8 – 21 Cardinals – Ollie Matson 79-yard kickoff return (Joe Geri kick)       CHI C 8 – 28 Eagles – Bobby Walston 8-yard pass from Adrian Burk (Bobby Walston kick)       CHI C 15 – 28 4th Eagles – Bud Grant 30-yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Bobby Walston kick)       CHI C 22 – 28

Week 11 vs Dallas Texans

Week 11: Philadelphia Eagles 38 (7–4–0)  vs  Dallas Texans 21 (0–10–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dallas Texans	0	7	0	14	21
Philadelphia Eagles	17	7	14	0	38

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, PA

• Date: December 7, 1952
• Game time: ? PM EST
• Game attendance: 18,376
• Recap and Stats

Game information

1st Eagles John Huzvar 5-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick)        Dallas 0  –   Phila   7 Eagles Bud Grant 41-yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Bobby Walston kick)    Dallas 0   –   Phila   14 Eagles Bobby Walston 29-yard field goal    Dallas 0  –   Phila   17 2nd Eagles Ebert Van Buren unknown-yard fumble return (Bobby Walston kick)    Dallas 0  –   Phila   24 Texans Buddy Young 1-yard rush (Pat Cannamela kick)    Dallas 7  –   Phila   24 3rd Eagles Bud Grant 23-yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Bobby Walston kick)     Dallas 7  –   Phila   31 Eagles Vic Sears 9-yard interception return (Bobby Walston kick) ,    Dallas 7  –   Phila   38 4th Texans Stan Williams 24-yard fumble return (Pat Cannamela kick) ,    Dallas 14  –   Phila   38 Texans Dick Wilkins 42-yard pass from Frank Tripucka (Pat Cannamela kick) ,    Dallas 21  –   Phila   38

Week 12 @ Washington Redskins

Week 12: Washington Redskins 27 (4–8–0)  vs  Philadelphia Eagles 21 (7–5–0)  – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Philadelphia Eagles	7	7	0	7	21
Washington Redskins	7	7	0	13	27

at Griffith Stadium Washington, D.C.

• Date: December 14, 1952
• Game time: ? PM EST
• Game attendance: 22,468
• Recap and Stats

Game information

1st Eagles – Frank Ziegler 19-yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Bobby Walston kick) Redskins – Gene Brito 23-yard pass from Eddie LeBaron (George Buksar kick) 2nd Eagles – Al Pollard 2-yard rush (Bobby Walston kick) Redskins – Johnny Williams 38-yard interception return (George Buksar kick) 4th Eagles – Mike Jarmoluk 45-yard interception return (Bobby Walston kick) Redskins – Hugh Taylor 16-yard pass from Eddie LeBaron (George Buksar kick) Redskins – Eddie LeBaron 1-yard rush (kick failed)

Standings

NFL American Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	8	4	0	.667	7–3	310	213	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	7	5	0	.583	6–4	252	271	L1
New York Giants	7	5	0	.583	5–4	234	231	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	7	0	.417	4–5	300	273	L1
Chicago Cardinals	4	8	0	.333	3–7	172	221	L2
Washington Redskins	4	8	0	.333	4–6	240	287	W2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Playoffs

With a record of 7 – 5 the Eagles fall 1 game back of Cleveland and fail to make the playoffs. Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams would tie for National Division have to play a Division Championship game before meeting Cleveland in the 1952 NFL Championship Game

1952 Roster

(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)

= 1952 Pro Bowl [4]

= Hall of Famer

NO.	Player	AGE	POS	GP	GS	WT	HT	YRS	College
	Jim Trimble	35	COACH	1952 record 7–5–0	NFL-Eagles Lifetime 7–5–0			1st	Indiana University
81	Bibbles Bawel	22	DB	12	0	185	6–1	Rookie	Evansville
60	Chuck Bednarik+	27	LB-C	12	0	233	6–3	3	Pennsylvania
36	John Brewer	24	FB	12	0	230	6–4	Rookie	Louisville
10	Adrian Burk	25	QB	12	3	190	6–2	2	Baylor
33	Russ Craft*	33	DB-HB	12	0	178	5–9	6	Alabama
17	Fred Enke	28	QB	9	0	208	6–1	4	Arizona
53	Ken Farragut	24	C-LB	12	0	240	6–4	1	Mississippi
27	Neil Ferris	25	DB-HB	8	0	181	5–11	1	Loyola Marymount
22	Ralph Goldston	23	HB-DB	9	0	195	5–11	Rookie	Youngstown State
86	Bud Grant	25	E-DE	12	0	199	6–3	1	Minnesota
62	Bill Horrell	22	G	4	0	222	5–11	Rookie	Michigan State
38	John Huzvar	23	FB	12	0	247	6–4	Rookie	North Carolina State, and Pittsburgh
78	Mike Jarmoluk	30	DT-T-MG	12	0	232	6–5	6	Temple
76	Bucko Kilroy	31	G-MG-T-DT	12	0	243	6–2	9	Temple
67	John Magee	29	G	12	0	220	5–10	4	La-Lafayette, and Rice
68	Maury Nipp	22	G	10	0	219	6–0	Rookie	Loyola Marymount
89	Bob Oristaglio	28	DE-E	4	0	214	6–2		Pennsylvania
43	Jim Parmer	26	FB-HB	6	0	193	6–0	4	Oklahoma State
35	Pete Pihos+	29	E-DE	12	0	210	6–1	5	Indiana
21	Al Pollard	24	HB-FB	12	0	196	6–0	1	Army
62	Knox Ramsey	26	G	3	0	216	6–1	4	William & Mary
82	Joe Restic	25	E	3	0	180	6–2	Rookie	Villavova
52	Wayne Robinson	22	LB-C	12	0	225	6–2	Rookie	Minnesota
65	Dan Rogas	26	G-DT-T	10	0	230	6–1	1	Tulane
27	Clyde Scott	28	HB-DB	2	0	174	6–0	3	Arkansas, and Navy
79	Vic Sears	34	T-DT	12	0	223	6–3	11	Oregon State
73	Lum Snyder	22	T	11	0	228	6–5	Rookie	Georgia Tech
20	Don Stevens	24	HB	11	0	176	5–9	Rookie	Illinois
44	Bob Stringer	23	LB-FB	12	0	197	6–1	Rookie	Tulsa
45	Joe Sutton	28	DB-HB	10	0	180	5–11	3	Temple
11	Bobby Thomason	24	QB	12	9	196	6–1	3	VMI
69	Joe Tyrrell	23	G	2	0	215	5–11	Rookie	Temple
31	Ebert Van Buren	28	DB-LB-FB-HB	12	0	210	6–2	1	LSU
83	Bobby Walston	24	E-HB-K	12	0	190	6–0	1	Georgia
63	Norm Willey	25	DE-G-E	12	0	224	6–2	2	Marshall
75	Frank Wydo	28	T-DT	12	12	225	6–4	5	Cornell
41	Frank Ziegler	29	HB-DB	11	0	175	5–11	3	Georgia Tech
88	Jack Zilly	31	DE-E	12	0	212	6–2	5	Notre Dame
	38 Players Team Average	26.1		12		208.2	6–1.2	2.4

Post Season

At the end of the season, Bud Grant was offered a pay raise in his contract. He chose to play football in the CFL(Canadian Football League) instead. He had a career worthy of being named to the CFL's Hall of Fame as a player. Later on he made the Pro Football Hall of Fame as coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

Awards and Honors

Pro Bowl Players

• Chuck Bednarik and Pete Pihos both make the Pro Bowl 1st team.
• Russ Craft and Bucko Kilroy selected to the Pro-Bowl team as back-ups.

League Leaders

• Bud Grant finishes 2nd in Receptions with 56.
• Bud Grant finishes 2nd in Receiving Yards with 997 yds.
• Adrian Burk leads league in number of Punts with 83 and 40.2 yds avg
• Bobby Walston finishes 2nd with 11 Field Goals made.

References

1. 1952 Philadelphia Eagles
2. Soutar, Ted. "CFL Legend: Johnny Bright". CFL.ca. Retrieved August 12, 2006.
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 1952 All-Star.