Pete Pihos Provides HOF Legacy at No. 35
The Jersey Countdown to Kickoff rolls on with a Hall of Fame legacy even if you have to go back decades to find it.
With 35 days left until the scheduled regular-season opener against the Washington Football Team, one of the NFL’s top players from the 1940s and 1950s represents the Eagles at No. 35, Hall of Fame end Pete Pihos.
A 1940s All-Decade team member, Pihos was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970 after a career that featured six All-Pro berths and consecutive NFL championships in 1948 and 1949.
A two-way player who also played defensive end, Pihos’ entire career (1947 to 1955) was spent in Philadelphia and he was a starter from jump street as a fifth-round pick out of Indiana although he has to wait a year because he was still enlisted in the Army.
Waiting 12 months was more than acceptable for then-head coach Greasy Neale who watched Pihos quickly develop into the top pass-catching threat on the Eagles’ championship teams in the late 1940s despite a very unorthodox catching style.
His final three seasons were actually Pihos’ best with consecutive campaigns of 60-or-more receptions and leading in receiving yards on two occasions with 1,049 in 1953 and 864 in 1955, his final season.
Arguably at the top of his game Pihos retired at 32 to spend more time with his family and was ultimately one of the 11 inaugural inducted into the Eagles Honor Roll in 1987.
Current number 35:
Boston Scott. After proving himself late in the 2019 campaign Scott figures to be a big part of the Eagles offense in 2020 as the main complement to Miles Sanders in the backfield.
Originally selected by New Orleans in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the 5-foot-6 but powerfully built Scott was signed by the Eagles off the Saints practice squad in Week 15 of his rookie season. In 2019, Scott totaled 721 all-purpose yards and ranked second on the team with five rushing touchdowns.
Scott got his opportunity when Jordan Howard went down with a shoulder injury and made the most of it. Over the final month of the season, Scott rushed for 151 yards and added another 199 yards as a receiver out of the backfield, being named NFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 17 after rushing for a career-high three TDs in a division-clinching win over the New York Giants.
“We called him the little big man.” assistant head coach and RB coach Duce Staley said recently when discussing Scott. “He’s small, but he runs big. He has that quick twitch. He can make people miss or he can actually run past you, and his hands are good.”
Top 3 to wear number 35:
3. Ted Dean. The fullback was a Radnor High School product and a fourth-round pick of the Eagles out of Wichita State in 1960. Dean’s rookie campaign was spent as a spot starter on a world championship team, rushing for 304 yards and adding 218 more as a receiver.
Dean made his only Pro Bowl in his second season and spent two more years after that with Philadelphia, finishing his NFL career with one season in Minnesota.
2. Mike Hogan. Hogan was one of the most productive fullbacks the Eagles have had as a ninth-round pick out of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1976. He was a starter for his first three seasons compiling 561, 546, and 607 yards, respectively, in those three seasons. Hogan was also the main blocker for Wilbert Montgomery in 1978 when the latter rusher for over 1,200 yards and made his first Pro Bowl.
Hogan left and spent time in San Francisco and the New York Giants before a seven-game second stint with the Eagles in the 1980 Super Bowl season.
Overall Hogan finished his Eagles career with 1,758 yards rushing in 41 games, 32 of them starts.
1 Pete Pihos. See Above.
Runner-up:
Victor Harris. Anyone nicknamed “Macho” deserves a mention. Harris was a fifth-round pick out of Virginia Tech by the Eagles in 2009 and the organization had high hopes. Harris actually beat out Quintin Demps for the starting free safety job as a rookie before ultimately rotating with Sean Jones.
By his sophomore season, Harris was on the outs, however, and waived after the Eagles gave him a try at cornerback. He played three games for Washington that season and tried to catch on with Pittsburgh before turning his attention to Canada where he developed into a solid player for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Others: Tex Leyendecker, Rich Smith, Forest McPherson, Drew Ellis, Dick Bassi, Ray Poage, Adrian Young, Perry Harrington, Mike Kullman, Mark Konecny, Kevin Bouie, Deauntae Brown, Anthony Marshall, Edwin Watson, Chris Warren, Bruce Perry, Nick Graham, Trevard Lindley, Denzel Rice, Terrell Watson, and Trae Elston.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportMap Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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