There have been bigger, stronger, faster, and let's face it, more talented players than Gregg Garrity who have worn an Eagles uniform. However, it would be very difficult to find one who played the game with more heart than he did.

Garrity was acquired by the Eagles midway through the 1984 season when the Steelers tried to put the second-year receiver through waivers - a calculated risk which paid big dividends for Philadelphia and Garrity.

"It was kind of a surprise. Everything just happened so fast," said Garrity. "The Eagles called me probably six hours (after being waived). Pittsburgh evidently tried to hide me by sending me through waivers because we were pretty depleted on the offensive line with people getting injured and then they were going to bring me back the next day. It didn't work out that way. But to be honest with you, I'm more than happy with what happened.

"Both teams were pretty equal as far as talent goes, but Philly seemed to have a couple of the younger guys like the Mike Quicks, who were fairly young in the league, but very, very good and really helped the team. In Pittsburgh, the older guys were starting to retire, so they were young but pretty good. And Philly was kind of in a transition, also."

That transition reached a summit two seasons later in the person of Buddy Ryan. Arriving from the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, where he was the defensive coordinator, Ryan became Philadelphia's new head coach. And he did not waste any time demonstrating who was in charge.

"Buddy came in and kind of laid the law down. We had a minicamp down in Tampa and he just beat the crap out of us basically," laughed Garrity. "I don't know if it was a voluntary or mandatory deal or whatever it was. I guess from what (assistant coach) Jeff Fisher said, it started out with just basically having meetings and getting to know us to basically having meetings and two-a-days, not in pads, but he ran us pretty hard.

"He kind of looked at a lot of the guys and saw whether they were his type or not. He wanted guys that were just basically hard-nosed, that would give you everything on every play, aggressive guys. Fortunately for me, he felt that I was the type of player that he wanted around."

During that first season, one thing Ryan wanted to see was Garrity fielding punts, something he had not done during his first three years in the NFL.

"They tried all kinds of guys back there. I think he felt my hands were good enough that at least I'd catch the ball and if we could get eight to 10 yards (per return), that was a big bonus," said Garrity, who averaged 11 yards per return in '86. "I don't think he liked guys that let the ball hit the ground. Back in those days it was the old turf and they might get a 12-yard roll against you. Jeff Fisher worked with me a lot because he did that in Chicago when he was playing and it really helped me out. I got fairly comfortable with it, but still it's not a good job to have. You get these crazy linebackers that could run as fast as you and you're looking up at the ball and as soon as you catch it, they're on you."

The highlight of Garrity's career as a punt returner came against the Los Angeles Raiders on November 30, 1986. Garrity's 76-yard return for a touchdown lifted the Eagles to a 33-27 over a Raiders team who had won eight of their last nine games. Named Philadelphia's special teams MVP for that game, his return at that time was the second longest in the team's history, trailing Tommy McDonald's 81-yard return in 1959. Now Garrity's return ranks tied for the fifth longest in franchise history.

In 1988, Garrity was part of an Eagles team which made the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. What was the key to the turnaround?

"I think the stability of the coaching. We knew Buddy was going to be there," Garrity said. "We definitely had some superstars, but you only have a handful or so of those and then everyone else has got to kind of fill in and know their roles. I think everyone also believed in the system and their teammates. We had a great defense and a strong offense. Unfortunately, we kind of blew it in the playoff games. I still believe that for those couple years, our team was the best in the NFL; but like they say, on any given Sunday, anyone can beat anyone else. Unfortunately, that happened to us."

In addition to his role as punt returner, Garrity was also a dependable third-down possession receiver.

"I didn't get a ton of balls, but when they did throw it my way, I did everything I could to catch it," he said. "I felt that anything that was even close to me I should catch, and I think they knew that. I wasn't the one that was going to go streaking down the field on a post or a fly or an out to beat the guys, but I'd do whatever I could underneath to get that first down and keep the drive going."

Two of Garrity's fondest memories from his six seasons in Philadelphia came against the same team, the Cardinals. That, however, was the only similarity.

"One year in St. Louis, at the end of the game, they came with a blitz with I don't know how many seconds to go, and Jaws (quarterback Ron Jaworski) hit me on a hot route. I broke one tackle and got tackled on the 2-yard line and we lost the game,"" Garrity said. ""And then the next year, we played them in Philly and with I don't know how many seconds to go, I caught the game-winning touchdown. So that was kind of a sweet revenge-type thing.

"The fans were always very fair to me, maybe because when I screwed up, I admitted it. I didn't try to blame it on anyone else. I tried to give them everything I could. I know I didn't have close to even some of the talent of some of these guys, but I tried to make up for it with my heart and desire. I think the fans saw that and maybe appreciated it a little bit."

Now making his home in the Wexford, Pa., area with his wife, Linda, the Garrity's have two children: Samantha and Gregg Jr. Gregg Sr. owns and operates a construction business called "All Hands On Deck."

"I started it right after I retired, doing a lot of decks and exterior structures and now we do additions," Garrity said. "It's blown up into a total renovation-type company. There are four guys on the crew and myself, and we just pound things out. We can do almost everything: plumbing, electrical, roofing, the whole gamut of things."