Throughout the storied history of the Philadelphia Eagles franchise a plethora of excellent running backs have passed through the ranks. They have included greats like Wilbert Montgomery, Timmy Brown, Tom Woodeshick, Keith Byars, Herschel Walker, Ricky Watters and current Eagles superstar Brian Westbrook among others. But there is one football expert that feels Steve Van Buren was simply the greatest ever. 

"With all do respect to Wilbert Montgomery who was a great running back, there is no question that Steve Van Buren was the greatest Eagles running back ever," said Pro Football Hall of Fame sports writer and author of The Eagles Encyclopedia Ray Didinger. 

Didinger continued: "Steve is such a special person. I never met a superstar so humble and modest like Steve. A couple years ago, NFL Films was doing a story on the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and they had a lunch-in at the Hall of Fame. And all the guys were mingling and the room got real loud. Then Steve walked in the room, and the place went silent. And all these great players like Jim Brown, Jim Taylor, every single person in that room wanted to shake Van Buren's hand. That to me spoke volumes about the respect everyone had for Steve and his place in NFL history. I'll never forget that moment."

The greatest of his era: running back Steve Van Buren

"People often asked me why I would want to come to Philadelphia because their team had some tough seasons. But I knew in my heart that Philadelphia was the place for me," said Van Buren whose rookie contract was worth $4,000.

During a four-year stretch from 1940-43, the Eagles accumulated a combined record of 10-31-2. However, in Van Buren's rookie season the squad went 7-1-2 under head coach "Greasy" Neale. In 1948, Van Buren would lead Philadelphia to the championship as the Eagles won their first NFL title in a blinding snowstorm at Shibe Park. Ironically, Van Buren almost missed the game figuring the game would be postponed due to the inclement weather. However, when he was informed by Neale that the game was still on, Van Buren took public transit and then walked an additional seven blocks in knee-deep snow to get to the game. 

Thank goodness he arrived because Van Buren would score the game's lone touchdown, a 5-yard run, as the Eagles were won 7-0. 

"Everybody thinks that run was great because I did it in a snowstorm. But it wasn't tough because the offensive line gave me a huge hole and I was never touched," said Van Buren who tallied 5,860 rushing yards and 69 rushing touchdowns during his Eagles' career. 

During that first championship season, Van Buren earned the nicknamed "Wham-Bam" for his quick and punishing running style. He led the league that season in rushing attempts (201), yards (945) and touchdowns (10) as the team finished 9-2-1 and world champions. 

One year later, the Eagles won their second consecutive NFL Championship when No. 15 turned in perhaps the greatest performance by a running back in a NFL Championship game against the L.A. Rams.

"Players from the Rams came up to me before the game, and said 'Van Buren were going to kill you.' So that motivated me even more, I was not going to let my teammates down," said Van Buren, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

It was Van Buren who killed the Rams' hopes for a title as he rushed for an NFL Championship record 196 yards, sprinting through mud and torrential rains in the Los Angeles Coliseum helping the Eagles win 14-0.

"Winning back-to-back titles felt good for different reasons. I was happy for "Greasy" Neale and to win it for the city, and my teammates. It was great knowing that everybody was trying to defeat the defending champions, and no matter how hard they tried they couldn't knock us off our perch. It was a great feeling," recalled the 87-year-old Van Buren.

Didinger put Van Buren's great championship performance against the Rams in perspective: "That Rams defense was very solid, and they (Rams) later played in the 1950-1951 title games. But Steve's performance on that day was legendary and I wish that game was played during today's 'Television Era' for everyone to see, to run on a mudded field and taking a train from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and running as sharp as he did. It was a great feat by a tremendous athlete. For those who never saw Steve play, imagine a modern-day (former Redskins star) John Riggins - a big, powerful, runner who can do it all."

Eagles Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik, who was a rookie on that 1949 team, stated it best when talking about the 75th Anniversary Team running back. 

"Steve Van Buren was my hero, I felt honored just to be his teammate," said Bednarik. "He was a great running back and an even better person. When we played the Rams for the 1949 Championship, they were the glamour boys of the NFL. They were a great team. But he just put us on his shoulders, and absolutely ran wild on that day."