1 – Misconception

There’s a misconception that the Eagles were a continuation of the Frankford Yellow Jackets . . .

. . . but that wasn’t the case.

The Yellow Jackets began playing in the NFL in 1924. But as the decade of the 1920s gave way to the 1930s, economic fallout from the Great Depression created fiscal hardships that the Yellow Jackets couldn’t overcome. As a result, the Yellow Jackets ceased operations at the end of the 1931 season.

A year-and-a-half passed without an NFL team in Philadelphia.

Then, on July 9, 1933, the NFL found a buyer for a team in Philadelphia and awarded a franchise to a pair of local investors who were lifelong friends from the right side of the tracks:

• De Benneville “Bert” Bell
• James Ludlow “Lud” Wray

To make it clear, Bert Bell and Lud Wray didn’t buy the Frankford Yellow Jackets. They bought a new franchise that they called the Philadelphia Eagles. And because the Yellow Jackets had been dormant for a full season, Bert Bell and Lud Wray disavowed any association with the old Yellow Jackets.

But a misconception arose because:

• The entry fee awarded the Eagles the rights to the former Yellow Jackets players.
• The fact that Lud Wray had played for the Yellow Jackets confused the issue.
• Therefore, it was assumed that Bert Bell and Lud Wray purchased the Frankford Yellow Jackets. But Art Koeninger, a center, was the only Yellow Jacket to play for the Eagles, and Wray never played a down for the Eagles.
• Adding to the confusion, short on discretionary capital, Bell and Wray had the Eagles wear the same powder-blue-and-yellow uniforms worn by the Yellow Jackets.

Why the Eagles?

Bert Bell and Lud Wray chose the eagle as the team’s mascot because it was the insignia that President Franklin D. Roosevelt used for his New Deal program as part of the National Recovery Act of 1933.

And that’s how and when the Eagles came into existence . . . continued next week with an introduction to Bert Bell.

This is Chapter 1 of a 10-chapter, 27-page eBook entitled Birth of the Birds. It is both informative and interesting and can be read in one sitting.

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If you encounter any problems, shoot me an email at barrybowe44@gmail.com.

Barry Bowe is also the author of:

• Born to Be Wild
• 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
• 12 Best Eagles QBs
• Soon-to-be-published sexy, police procedural Caribbean Queen
• Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
• Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow