Going Old School To Find the Best Eagle to Wear No. 76
To identify the best Eagles to wear uniform number 76, we went old school, as our jersey countdown to kickoff continues and the calendar shows 76 days until the Eagles are scheduled to open the regular season on Sept. 13 against that Washington team.
All three players in our rankings played in bygone decades, including our second-ranked player, Bucko Kilroy, who comes in at No. 3, and has a great backstory that you can find as you read on.
Two players from the modern era finished runner-up.
It’s all here:
Current number 76:
Albert Huggins. This number could be changing hands before the summer is over depending on whether or not Huggins can make the roster or practice squad. The Eagles are loaded at Huggins position of defensive tackle, so he will need a strong camp to put himself in the “keep” conversation.
Top 3 to wear number 76:
Bob Brown. One of the NFL’s all-time greats, but the two ahead of him are all-time Eagles greats.
Drafted second overall out of Nebraska in 1964, “The Boomer” started 64 games at right tackle over five seasons for the Eagles. He was a first-team All-Pro in three of those five seasons and may have been named a four-time first-team All-Pro if not for playing just eight games in 1967.
He asked for a trade from the Eagles and was sent to the L.A. Rams in a five-player deal on May 12, 1969. Philly sent Brown and cornerback Jim Nettles to L.A. for offensive tackle Joe Carollo, guard Don Chuy, and DB Irv Cross. Brown ended his 10-year career with the Raiders.
He went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Bucko Kilroy. Never had to leave his hometown of Philadelphia to play football, Kilroy was from the city’s Port Richmond area, went to Northeast Catholic High School, Temple University (despite being recruited by Notre Dame) then signed with the Eagles in 1943 after going undrafted and spent 13 years with them.
At Temple, he played both offensive and defensive lines, and did with the Eagles, too, starting 103 games, playing in 134, and helping them win championships in 1948 and 1949. Kilroy, whose real name is Francis Joseph, helped the Owls beat rivals Penn State, Bucknell, and Villanova in the same year for the first and only time in school history.
In 1942 and part of 1943 he served in the Merchant Marines and he was often called one of the toughest, if not the dirtiest, players of that era.
Jerry Sisemore. How does Sisemore get ranked ahead of Brown, who is in the Hall of Fame? Simple. Sisemore made 155 starts for Philly and played his entire 12 seasons with the Eagles and is widely regarded as one of the best offensive linemen in team history.
The third overall pick in the 1973 draft out Texas, Sisemore was a fixture at right tackle, though he played two seasons (1976 and 77) art right guard.
Sisemore was the starter at right tackle in Super Bowl XV against the Raiders.
Runner-ups:
Barrett Brooks and John Welbourne. These two may be more familiar to newer generations of Eagles fans, with Welbourne coming in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft and playing five years at left guard for Philly and Brooks arriving in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft and playing four years at both tackle spots for the Eagles.
Others:
Lester McDonald, John Eibner, Len Szafaryn, Volney Peters, J.D. Smith, Joe Carollo, Adam Schreiber, Broderick Thompson, Alonzo Ephraim, Calvin Armstrong, Stacy Andrews, Reggie Wells, Phillip Hunt, and Allen Barbre.
