Bobby Walston Clears 'Invincible' Hurdle as Eagles' Best No. 83

It might be an ‘Invincible’ hurdle to overcome for some but Bobby Walston is easily the best No. 83 in Philadelphia Eagles history.

Walston wasn’t played by Mark Wahlberg in the movie but he did play for the franchise for over a decade (1951-62), doubling as a receiver and kicker during a different era of football, one in which Walston was so impactful that he was a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1950s.

Conversely, Vince Papale’s story is so good that Hollywood ran with the baton, but this is an exercise that starts and stops with on-field work. Just as Rudy Ruettiger wasn’t the best at Notre Dame, Papale has to take a back seat as well.

From now until the Eagles begin the season at Washington on Sept. 13, SI.com EagleMaven will do a jersey countdown, listing the current Eagles player to wear the corresponding number to the days left before the season opener. As a bonus, we will list the top three players in team history to have that number.

Here’s what we came up with for No. 83:

Current number 83:

Shelton Gibson. A sixth-round pick in the 2017 draft Gibson is in his second stint with the Eagles after spending the majority of last season on the Cleveland Browns practice squad. He returned to Philadelphia on Jan. 1 ahead of the team's playoff game against Seattle. Gibson faces a tough numbers game after all the offseason additions at WR and his path to a roster spot likely runs through his ability as a gunner on punt coverage.

Top 3 to wear number 83:

3. Vince Papale. The narrative on Papale is played up a bit for the silver screen. He was actually a very accomplished athlete dating back to Interboro High School where he was a standout track star as a pole vaulter and long jumper, even recording a top-10 all-Time Pennsylvania pole vault as a senior. In one season of varsity football, he was also honorable mention in Delaware County.

Papale continued with the track route in college and received a scholarship to St. Joseph’s, which did not have a football program. His rise did start with semi-pro ball but even that is a bit overplayed because Papale was a professional before the Eagles, playing two seasons with the Philadelphia Bell of the old World Football League as a receiver.

The story says Papale lied about his age (28) to get in the door with the Bell but even that is folklore because that organization would have quickly known Papale’s age for things like payroll purposes so he made his mark on merit.

And it was that stint that caught the eye of then-Eagles GM Jim Murray, who got Papale a private workout with Dick Vermeil. At 30 Papale ultimately became the oldest rookie in the history of the NFL to make it with no college football experience. He ended up playing three seasons and 41 of a potential 44 games, recording two fumble recoveries and one 15-yard reception.

All of that is still a great story, but Papale could have easily played college football if he took that path so he was never some schlub who worked his way up from nothing like hundreds of neighborhood players. He was a great athlete who transitioned late and used his athleticism to excel on special teams.

2. Don Hultz. A decade-long versatile contributor on the defensive line from 1964-73, Hultz started 77 of his 119 games with the Eagles, toggling back-and-forth between defensive end and defensive tackle on the left side. As a rookie with the Minnesota Vikings in 1963, Hultz set an NFL record with nine fumble recoveries that still stands almost 60 years later.

1. Bobby Walston. Walston played 12 seasons and is in the organization’s Hall of Fame. He doubled as receiver and kicker with his best season as a pass-catcher coming in 1954 when he amassed 41 receptions for 750 yards and five touchdowns. His top kicking season was in 1957 when he made 75 percent of his field goals, tops in the NFL. His All-Decade team nod was for playing end, however, not as a kicker. Either way, Walston still holds the all-time Eagles record for points scored with 881 and is one of the great players in the franchise’s history.

Runner-up:

Greg Lewis. An undrafted free agent out of Illinois, Lewis stuck with the Eagles as a rookie and spent six seasons with the organization as a player before returning as a coach in 2016, Doug Pederson’s first receiving mentor in what has been a revolving-door job.

Lewis rebounded after getting fired here with Andy Reid in Kansas City as the WR coach for the past three seasons and was a member of the Super Bowl LIV-winning Chiefs staff in January.

Lewis ended up catching 127 passes for 1,699 yards and seven touchdowns with the Eagles. His most famous TD, however, was his only one in Minnesota when he snared a 32-yard Hail Mary from Brett Favre as the Vikings walked off over the San Francisco 49ers in 2009, which won the best play ESPY that year and was subsequently rated as one of the top 100 plays in league history by NFL Media.

Others:

Jack Ferrante, Jack Smith, John Smith, Bill Quinlan, Rodney Parker, Tony Woodruff, Phil Smith, Kenny Jackson, Jimmie Giles, Kevin Bowman, Pat Beach, Michael Young, Ed West, Michael Timpson, Dietrich Jells, Troy Smith, Jeff Thomason, and Marvin McNutt.

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 SBNation Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen