Sports Then and Now

Wilbert Montgomery

As we prepare for the NFL Playoffs, we remember as the Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month a running back that enjoyed a tremendous playoff run to lead his team to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

Though only 5-foot-10, Wilbert Montgomery was a workhorse running back during his career playing primarily for the Philadelphia Eagles. Read the rest of this entry →

When the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers meet on the football field this weekend the Eagles will be looking to strengthen their playoff position while the 49ers are trying to stay in the hunt for a playoff bid.

In the current decade, the Eagles have made seven playoff appearances, played in five NFC Championship Games and reached Super Bowl XXXIX.  Conversely, the San Francisco 49ers have not made the playoffs since 2002 and have also not recorded a winning season during that stretch.

It is a far cry from the 1980s when the San Francisco 49ers were the unquestioned team of the decade and, after opening the decade with a Super Bowl appearance, the Philadelphia Eagles struggled through a stretch of mediocrity.

By 1989, the 49ers were zeroing in on their fourth Super Bowl Championship of the decade under the guidance of first year head coach George Seifert. The 49ers were a team of superstars at the peak of their talents.

In 1989, Buddy Ryan had the Philadelphia Eagles poised to move to elite status in the NFL.

On the other hand, the Eagles were the brash and bold upstarts led by feisty head coach Buddy Ryan. After winning the NFC East in 1988 and losing to the Chicago Bears in the famous “Fog Bowl”, the Eagles were looking to take the next step in 1989 and push past the perennial champion 49ers.

In our Classic Rewind, we will look at their exciting meeting in the third week of the 1989 season. In many ways, this game would serve as a microcosm of how both franchises fared during that period of NFL history.

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Each week, Sports Then and Now picks one NFL matchup and looks through the history books to find an intriguing past meeting between the two teams. We recap the game and hopefully help reintroduce (or introduce for you younger readers) you to some of the greats (and in some cases not so greats) from the history of professional football.

Since their first meeting during the 1934 season when the Redskins still called Boston home, the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins have played some exciting and memorable games. As NFC East rivals, they play twice annually in games that often have playoff implications.

Until the late 1980s, it surprisingly was not common for both the Redskins and Eagles to be contenders at the same time.

When the Redskins were contending in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Eagles were among the weaker teams in the league. By the time the Eagles became a contender in the late 1940s, the Redskins had already started a stretch in which they recorded only three winning seasons in 22 years.

Despite the struggles of the Redskins, they did give the Eagles a serious run during the 1947 season opener. In a game for the ages, Sammy Baugh connected on five touchdown passes and Eddie Saenz had a 94-yard kickoff return for the Redskins. However, Tommy Thompson threw three touchdown passes and Steve Van Buren scored on a 95-yard kickoff return and a one-yard run as the Eagles held on for a 45-42 victory.

While the Redskins became winners in the 1970s, the Eagles were in the middle of a stretch of 11 seasons without a winning record.

It wasn’t until the late 1980s, with Joe Gibbs guiding the Redskins and Buddy Ryan guiding the Eagles that both teams were at the top of their game at the same time.

Our Classic Rewind for this week looks at a memorable matchup from the second week of the 1989 season when the Eagles shocked the RFK crowd with a dramatic fourth quarter comeback.

This game has particularly special memories for me as I was serving as an intern in the Public Relations Department of the Eagles at the time and had the pleasure of observing the game from the press box.
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Many believed that Michael Vick would be the next superstar of the NFL.

Michael Vick was my favorite non Patriots and Browns (yes they are my second favorite team…..long story) player. He was like Barry Sanders at the QB position. He had amazing runs that left defenders grasping at the air. He was the face, heart, and soul of the Atlanta Falcons. He was the next superstar in the NFL.
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The smile may finally return to Michael Vick's face now that he has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

A team with a long tradition of mobile quarterbacks has added another one to the mix with the signing of Michael Vick by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Of course, the return of Vick to the NFL means the circus will be headed to Philadelphia for at least the next few days as the former top pick has become one of the more polarizing figures in the league following his conviction in 2007 on charges of conspiracy and running a dog-fighting operation.

Vick last played in the NFL in 2006 with the Atlanta Falcons, which originally made him the top pick in the NFL in 2001.

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