Timing may be everything, but it also helps if you're a linebacker who happens to hit like Joe Louis in the ring or Joe DiMaggio at the plate. Maxie Baughan couldn't have chosen a better time to be drafted by the Eagles: 1960, the year of the team's last NFL championship.

"Back then, you didn't know who was going to draft you," says Baughan, who was selected in the second round out of Georgia Tech, where he was an All-America. "I had gotten some letters from some teams that they were considering me and that was about it. They wanted to come down and sign me right then, but I said, 'No, I'm not going to do anything until I get back from the Hula Bowl.' And then Bucko Kilroy came down and signed me and that was it. There wasn't any agents or negotiations or that stuff, you were just glad to get what you could get."

Baughan couldn't have reported to Philadelphia's training camp fast enough for head coach Buck Shaw. The coach, however, had to wait until after Baughan played in the annual College All-Star Game in Chicago.

"After the all-star game they were already in camp. We flew to L.A.. They were playing an exhibition game out there and I joined them the day of the first exhibition game," Baughan said. "That first game, I think all I did was cover kicks. Then we practiced all week and went up to San Francisco and played the 49ers and I played then. So I was with them a week before I first played."

LB Maxie Baughan

That was the only time Baughan was idle during his rookie campaign. Becoming a starter at right outside linebacker, he helped Philadelphia post a 10-2 record, its best season in 12 years, and capture the NFL title.

"We had a seasoned veteran team and then Timmy Brown, Ted Dean, myself and a couple other guys were rookies and they worked us in and we got to play," said Baughan. "(Chuck) Bednarik wasn't playing on defense to start with, he was just playing on offense. But then (middle linebacker) Chuck Weber got hurt and he had to come over and play both ways.

"We had guys like Marion Campbell and Jess Richardson and (Tom) Brookshier on defense. And then they traded right before the season started for Don Burroughs, who was one of the best safeties in the league. So I think it was just a combination of something they had probably been doing for two or three years there and then I just happened to be a part of it."

A big part of it. The only rookie among eight Eagles selected to play in the Pro Bowl, Baughan earned four more trips to the all-star game during his next five seasons in Philadelphia. He was also named All-Pro three times. Team-wise, Baughan's first two seasons were the most successful with 10-2 and 10-4 records. The Eagles' best mark over the next four seasons was 6-8 in '64.

What happened?

"We changed coaches and I think that had a lot to do with it," Baughan said. "Got rid of a lot of players. (Sonny) Jurgensen was gone. Of course, (Norm) Van Brocklin was already gone. (Tommy) McDonald was gone. Jess Richardson and Marion Campbell were gone.

"After about three years, a lot of the team was gone. There was a change of coaches and philosophy. I guess they were going to rebuild."

One of the victories that the Eagles collected during those lean years occurred in December '65, in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia set a team record, which still stands, with nine interceptions, and won, 47-13. Baughan was responsible for six of those points, thanks to a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown off of Steelers quarterback Bill Nelsen.

"I caught the ball and I hadn't run with a football in I don't know how many years... since high school. I was glad to get in the end zone," Baughan recalled.

It was a memorable play -- the only touchdown of his career -- but surprisingly the ball isn't a part of his memorabilia today.

"Shoot, no! They'd charge me $50 if I kept that ball," laughed Baughan. "That's one thing. You see all those guys keeping these balls and jerseys and talk about memorabilia and all that stuff. Shoot, you couldn't keep a sock, much less a football or a jersey or any of that stuff. This was a different ballgame. But they did give game balls out and I've got a lot of those things."

Despite receiving his share of game balls and league-wide accolades, following the '65 season Baughan decided that the grass may be greener away from Franklin Field.

"I wasn't happy with the coaches and evidently, they were ready to get rid of me," Baughan said. "I went and told coach (Joe) Kuharich that I'd like to be traded. He said, 'Where would you like to go?' And I said, 'Well, I live in Atlanta, that would be great. Or New York. That's where all the money is. One of those two would be good.'

"So when he called me and told me I was traded, I said, 'Where am I going?' He said, 'L.A.' It couldn't be any further away from where I wanted to go. But George Allen traded for me and the rest is history. It was a great move for me."

Indeed, it was. After being traded for three players, Baughan earned four more trips to the Pro Bowl during his five seasons with the Rams and laid the groundwork for his post-playing career.

"Back then, you were calling your own signals. And just like a quarterback, everything (on defense) was called on the field and I did the signal-calling for us. I spent a lot of time with the coaches so I could think like they did.

'I learned more football from him (Allen) than from anybody I ever knew or played under," Baughan said. "I found out what football was really all about. That's when I decided I wanted to coach."

Returning to his alma mater (Georgia Tech) as an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, Baughan honed his skills for the NFL. First as a player/linebacker coach with Washington.

From there, he coached for the Baltimore Colts and Detroit. Next was a seven-year stint as head coach at Cornell. Then back to the NFL with Minnesota, Tamp Bay, and finally back in Baltimore with the Ravens.

Since retiring in '98, Baughan and his wife, Diane, have made their home in Maryland. They have three sons: Max III, Mark and Matthew; and six grandchildren.