Believe it or not, the beginning of the 2014 season is rapidly approaching. Players will report back to the NovaCare Complex on April 21 for the start of the Eagles offseason program. Join us as we count down until the Eagles are back in town …
LeSean McCoy is still only 25 years old (turns 26 on July 12), but he is already one of the most prolific running backs in Eagles history and is on pace to shatter the franchise career rushing record. After just five seasons as an Eagle, he ranks fourth on the team's all-time rushing list with 5,473 yards and needs 1,066 more to pass Wilbert Montgomery for first. McCoy's 4.8 yards-per-carry average is the highest in franchise history, and his 39 touchdowns is third. He is coming off a 2013 season in which he cemented himself as one of NFL's best running backs (if not the best), won the rushing title and set the Eagles' single-season record for rushing yards, with 1,607, and total yards, with 2,146. What's more: The sky is the limit for McCoy in Chip Kelly's offense as the program progresses into its second year and beyond.
First Eagle to Wear 25: E Leonard Gudd (1934)
Current Eagle to Wear 25: RB LeSean McCoy (2009-present)
TOMMY McDONALD
A native of tiny Roy, New Mexico (estimated population of 304 according to 2000 U.S. Census), wide receiver Tommy McDonald was a third-round pick of the Eagles (31st overall) in the 1957 NFL Draft following a standout career at the University of Oklahoma (he was a two-time All-America selection and won the Maxwell Award), where his Sooners never lost a game during his time in Norman. Originally selected as a running back, the durable, sure-handed, athletic, shifty and fast 5-foot-9, 176-pound McDonald would go on to become one of the greatest flankers of his generation.
McDonald played seven seasons for the Eagles (1957-63), helping the team to the NFL Championship in 1960 by hauling in a second-quarter 35-yard touchdown reception against the Green Bay Packers. He also recorded over 1,100 yards receiving in 1961 (when he led the NFL) and 1962. McDonald made five straight Pro Bowls as an Eagle (1958-62) and ranks sixth in franchise history in receiving yards (5,499), second in receiving touchdowns (66) and first in yards per reception (19.2). He is a member of the Eagles' 75th Anniversary Team, the Eagles Hall of Fame (1988 inductee), the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1998 inductee), the College Football Hall of Fame (1985 inductee) and Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (2005 inductee).
