DeSean Jackson Leads the Rankings at No. 10, but Mike Boryla's Story is Better
Let’s get it out there right away – DeSean Jackson is the top-ranked player to wear the No. 10 in Eagles history, as our jersey countdown to kickoff arrives at that number, and in 10 days the Eagles will open the regular season.
Jackson has a chance to add to the number’s luster this season, in what he and the Eagles hope is a successful comeback tour after a season to forget last year that saw him play just six percent of the team’s snaps due to injury.
There are seven pages in the Eagles’ 2020 media guide dedicated to Jackson, who will turn 34 on Dec. 1.
No telling how many pages were devoted to Mike Boryla when he played for Philadelphia from 1974-76. I’m guessing one, two tops.
Boryla is our third-ranked player to wear No. 10 and has a unique Pro Bowl story. He represented the NFC in 1975 despite playing just seven games, not reaching 1,000-yards passing and throwing six touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, the league MVP, was initially named the conference's starter in the game, but he begged out with a sore arm while Dallas Cowboys QB Roger Staubach, fresh off a Super Bowl X loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, also declined, citing sore ribs.
After that, NFL officials tried to convince Archie Manning and Steve Bartkowski to play in the game, but both said no, citing sore arms.
So, the league landed on Boryla, who had already enrolled in New York University’s law school and had his schedule set. Boryla put NYU Law on hold and played in the Pro Bowl. Not only did he play, but, according to broadcaster Howard Cosell, Boryla should have been the MVP, an award that went to Billy “White Shoes” Johnson.
Boryla led the NFC to a come-from-behind win.
"I remember I was in the locker room after the game, and Howard Cosell, who I'd known from being interviewed before, came in and said, 'Mike, I'm really sorry that you didn't get MVP,'" said Boryla in an interview with Fox Sports in 2016. "He said they had already voted for the winner of the MVP award before I even got in. So, Billy won the car, but he said I was actually the MVP."
Here’s more on No. 10:
Current number 10 and No. 1 in the rankings:
1. DeSean Jackson. See above, and here’s more: Jackson has the most touchdowns of 60-plus yards in NFL history with 24, one ahead of Jerry Rice. He is also second with the most 50-plus touchdowns with 31, five behind Rice’s total, and he has 10,420 career receiving yards with 55 touchdowns.
2. King Hill. The QB played three years in the NFL before coming to Philadelphia in 1961 and spent eight years with the Eagles, mostly has a backup who played in 71 games with 18 starts.
3. Mike Boryla. Boryla faded into obscurity pretty much after that 1975 Pro Bowl, playing behind some porous Eagles O-lines in his three seasons with Philadelphia.
"I'd started a number of games with a very poor offensive line in Philadelphia, and I would always be incredibly sore and physically hurt after a game," said Boryla. "And (the Pro Bowl) was the first game I ever played in my life where I didn't even get touched. I had never experienced that before.”
Runner-up:
Koy Detmer. The backup QB spent nearly his entire nine-year career with the Eagles and mostly the holder for kicker David Akers. Detmer had three touchdown passes in an important win over the 49ers in 2002 after taking over for an injured Donovan McNabb and in 1999and had three TDs in a game in a win over the Patriots after taking over for injured Doug Pederson.
It was then that Detmer’s celebration dance – known as “the whuppin’ stick” – became famous.
Others: Swede Ellstrom, George Kavel, Isadore Weinstock, Don Jackson, Maurice Harper, Tommy Thompson, Al Sherman, Frank Tripucka, Adrian Burke, Al Dorow, George Mira, John Walton, Ove Johansson, John Teltschik, Pat Ryan, Jonathan Krause, Chase Daniel, and Mack Hollins.
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