I was saddened to hear about the passing of the greatest Eagles player of All-Time, Chuck Bednarik. He played the game of the football like it was meant to be played and he never came off the field, playing offense and defense.
The NFL Hall of Famer had a passion for the game all the way to the end. Chuck still had the fire in him as a senior citizen. He wasn’t afraid to give him opinion and Chuck wasn’t thrilled about some of today’s players who are making big money but not giving big effort on the field.
I know with as fiery as he was as a senior citizen, he must have been a handful during his prime. Many say he was the greatest Eagles player of all-time.
Jeffrey Lurie: “With the passing of Chuck Bednarik, the Eagles and our fans have lost a legend. Philadelphia fans grow up expecting toughness, all-out effort and a workmanlike attitude from this team and so much of that image has its roots in the way Chuck played the game. He was a Hall of Famer, a champion and an all-time Eagle. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this time.”
Don Smolenski: “So many of the timeless moments in Eagles history are associated with Chuck Bednarik. He played his entire career in Philadelphia, college and pro, and he lived his entire life here and in the Lehigh Valley. He was a proud competitor and a dedicated and devout family man who loved Eagles fans as much as they loved him. He left his mark on this team and will forever be a legend within this organization.”
Chip Kelly: “I have had the opportunity to spend time with Chuck Bednarik, who is truly one of the most unique players that this game has ever seen. The foundation of this organization and this league is built on the backs of past greats, with Chuck at the forefront. The way he played the game with an endless passion and tenacity helped establish the standard of excellence that this organization stands for; one that we strive to achieve each and every day.”
RIP Chuck Bednarik…
I remember growing up during the 70’s, My Dad always telling me how Great
Chuck Bednarik was and how he was Best Player of All-Time for the Eagles
RIP Concrete Charlie….War Hero, All-American College Player, NFL HOF Player, 2 time Champion with the Eagles. Ranks as one of the toughest players in the game. I never saw him play in his day, but from all reports he was dominant at both center and linebacker. Always outspoken about the game, he remained a tough guy up until his last days.
There you go Jake, all that saber rattling for nothing.
Great title G, you know your history! One of the best lines from Chuck was when he was asked about Deion also being a two way player, Chuck laughed n said ‘He couldn’t tackle my wife’ classic Chuck!
Sorry hot air…. Chuck greatest eagle of all time. Plain and simple.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and predict Jake posts something along the lines of “well, it’s about time” or “I can’t believe it took you this long”
Is the Gcobb.Com “National Boycott” Officially Over ?
Sorry about my rant on not mentioning the above. Well done!
He deserves to be remembered and honored.
Is there a Statue of Chuck Bednarik outside the Linc anywhere?
If Not, they should put one up in his memory and honor
I believe his is at Franklin Field.
I do not know about the Linc..Chuck committed an act of heresy and treason when he openly rooted against the Eagles against the Falcons because Lurie would not buy/invest in his book. $ over allegiance?
I think that you are right EHL. It probably would make more sense to have it there anyway since he played in that stadium for both Penn and the Eagles. You are also correct about him being upset about the book and the Eagles not buying a bunch to give away….IMO Chuck was wrong for publicly expressing his anger about the slight.
Jim Brown in a taped interview praised Chuck as a top 3 all time linebacker, a good friend and a great person. He remembered most the hit that knocked Frank Gifford of the Giants unconscious and the change of position from running back to receiver. Great idea Paulman. He deserves a statue.
I have relatives that worked with Chuck at Warner Cement Company. Many people don’t know that Chuck got his nickname “Concrete Charlie” because he worked off-seasons at Warner Cement Company.
Back in the days when Chuck played in the NFL, even pro bowl players had to work a second job….boy, things have changed…
Truly the best Eagles player of all time. Here is a guy who made only 27K per year playing football and had to get a part time job in the concrete business to make ends meet. Maybe some of these rookies and other under deserving players will take note of what a real player football player is made of..
Played every down.,.was the best MLB in his era and best center…. Missed 4 games in 14 years…. Whole career an eagle, Penn grad and war hero… Yeah I’d say greatest eagle ever….anyone who argues it is just stupid..
NOW LETS GO BACK TO KELLY GREEN. MAKE IT HAPPEN MR. LURIE!!
The greatest Eagle has just passed. But I want to give mourning fans a glimmer of hope. This franchise is clearly cursed. From losing the SB to a wild card team, to the Fog Bowl, to losing Randall when we had one of the greatest defenses of all time in ’91, to injuries to key players in the playoffs throughout Reid’s tenure (Vincent in ’01, McNabb in ’02, Westbrook in ’03, TO and Chad Lewis in ’04). CURSED! A very long and freakish run of bad luck that compares with the futility of the RedSox to come that close so many times in the last 35 years, to have what it takes but just not be able to bring it home.Cursed by Lombardi because he lost his only post season game to us and never wanted us to have his trophy. And on the last play of that game, Concrete Charlie sat on Jim Taylor so the Packers couldn’t run another play from our nine yard line. Every curse has something that breaks the spell. Maybe the greatest Eagle ever who played a big part in the Packer’s loss had to pass for Vince to lift the curse. Maybe we can get that trophy now. I respect that his family is going through a rough time but the dude was a few weeks short of 90. He had a damn good run. Everyone has to die someday. RIP Concrete Charlie. You truly were the greatest Eagle with Dawkins, Reggie and Van Buren on the Mount Rushmore of this franchise. Thanks for the memories.
Here it is Jake you whiney little twink bitch you should have been the first one posting on this thread, but your not. Showing your nothing, but an insignificant mentally unstable drama whore.
jake is exposed…everyone now knows who he truly is…
a racist.
GCobb is wrong…the greatest Eagle to ever put on the uniform was the late, great Reggie White. There is no doubt about it
Reggie played at a level no other Eagle has ever reached…his excellence and dominance is well recognized by people who seen both Reggie and Charley play…and off the field…Reggie didn’t root against the Eagles nor make racist slurs…
Reggie White…the greatest Eagle to have ever played!
Kool, give it up! Your getting buried! Now u got former players saying who the greatest Eaglle was, who would know better Than someone who was actually out there, to be great at s certain position is an accomplishment but to be great at two positions? Not even close! It’s ok, you can have your opinion n no one is gonna argue Reggies greatness but as an Eagle he’s number two.
when Reggie died many of the former players were saying the he was the ‘greatest’ Eagle…your right…its not even close…Reggie’s greatness goes beyond what Concrete Charley accomplished…
The greatest Eagle no doubt is Reggie White
The two position argument is ridiculous…Charley weighed 230 pounds…how do you think he would have done trying to block Reggie…it would have been a massacre!
The sentimental stuff with Charley goes out the window with me due to his racist statements…I will accept…he is a great Eagle…despite his rooting against the Eagles and racist statements…I’ll even give him second place…but first place belongs to Reggie White…
Racist, says the other racist! Hmmmm…..
Wow I heard all these racist comments cause they didn’t put up a post for the man god rest his soul but with that said had to n word this n word that for only 20 comments I hope it was worth it to be a racist
Let us all pause ,and not besmirch concrete Charlie’s legacy by stirring up hatred and race.Theres a time back in his day ,where until the mid 60s ,the nations capital had ownership that wouldn’t let a person of race play on the nations capital football team.Hatred and ignorance and prejudice ,are too freely attached as “tag lines” I heard some say Chip was racist for keeping Cooper but expelling shady ,desean ,maclin..What substantive arguments we make seemingly are convenient ,when in essence none of us know a damn thing about chip kelly and wether he has hate in his heart .why don’t we make more m nation of the honor kelly showed for a fallen African American policeman ? Let’s stop putting tags on people and just assume we are all ,someone’s father ,mother ,brother sister ,husband ,mother or child..let’s pay tribute to a great Eagle and show that brotherly love judges all of us ,by our character and not the color of our skin..
Half assed , way late and pussy assessment of the greatest to ever lace them up
we know why gcobb
I thought you were boycotting the sight. How can you expect anyone to follow your lead if you do not set the example.
Should be “Site” .. in case some of you thought that “Sight” just didn’t look right.. Carry on .. Good Point EHL…
You are correct on “site” I realized it last night after I posted, just tired of worrying about it on here…not a term paper or research paper to be published so whatever. If you check all my other posts whenever I mention “site” , I spell it correctly..no big deal.
Desert, stop it, call a spade a spade
You are a spade!!
you’ve been exposed
jaketheracistdog
you are a disgraceful, miserable, piece of crap
a bigoted, racist
did you attend your KKK meeting jake…
crawl back into your bitter hole
You are complete trash
A spade ,a spade ..only matters to me if I have 5 of them and a flush..you,and I want the same thing.A tribute for a man who wasnt black or white ,but Green,kelly green to be exact..I pay homage to veterans ,that’s heroic..playing a game for money was the love of his life ..
Jake ..I think you are assessing wether G..Cobb was a day late ..yes Id agree ..but to infer ,anything I strongly disagree .
First off theres not one poster on here that has ever seen Chuck Bednarik play so stop acting like you know what your talking about, Bednarik was the greatest Eagle to play because of longevity and folk lure. But outside of Philly nobody even knows who the fuck he is. Hes not like Butkus, Jim Brown or Deacon Jones who everyone knows. Reggie White is one of the top 3 DE to ever play the game and arguably the best, Bednarik isn’t even close in that category. When they run films on the best LBsof all time or centers Bednarik isn’t mentioned. Bednarik is the best Eagle ever because of longevity and what he meant to the Eagles but clearly not the best player ever, if that makes sense.
actually people in the know such as jim brown absolutely know that he was the real deal– best of my knowledge jim brown isn’t from philly…
he was the BEST MLB of his era and the BEST center of his era…
The difference between Bednarik and Reggie White, as far as being the greatest Eagle is that Bednarik won two NFL Championships with the Eagles.
certainly there is that!
Why is anyone comparing players from completely different era’s? It’s a asinine argument, what’s next Steve Van Buren vs Shady McCoy? Reggie White was the number 1 DE in the modern era with Deacon Jones being the only one you could compare him too.
good point- its a discussion i guess prompted by the title of the article…
it is fun to compare players of different eras– there is no ‘winner’ of such an argument —
any player who makes NFL films and John Facenda (sp) narrating it automatically gets a few extra points!
I believe the article was prompted by the idiotic postings of a few posters who obviously lost their damn mind, by the way John Facenda was the greatest voice ever and there is noooo disputing that. lol
you will not get an argument from me on that one!
you know with the ‘overload’ of sports on tv now the brilliance of facenda and nfl films was such a treat back in the day!
I disagree Biggy… G-Man and many of the Writers on Gcobb.com usually are not Posting many New Articles up over the Weekends during the Off-Season..
True Paulman you’re probably right on that one.
I agree Biggie, comparing players who played 40 years apart makes no sense. Everyone can have their favorites, but just like with ice cream, it is a matter of personal taste. These are both great men who have received the ultimate recognition that their profession gives with enshrinement in the HOF. These are both great Eagles who gave much to the city and region. The debate can go on forever because in the end it is only an opinion because they both played in different eras. Next we can argue Sid Luckman versus Sammy Baugh versus Johnny U or Joe Montana to Peyton Manning. Each were great and accomplished in their own time, and each was claimed to be the best QB when they retired….it is all debatable but in the end it is all an opinion.
Cripes. Arguing about who really is the greatest player instead of showing respect for a hall of famer who just died?
I don’t think racism is a factor in determining playing ability the last timne I checked. I.e. Ty Cobb is still one of the ten greatest baseball players ever. Racist murderer or whatever he was. Doesn’t change his greatness in his game. Reggie was the greatest DL of all time without question. He also played half his career in GB. I would not say he is the greatest Eagle of all time. B Dawk and Bednarik are ahead because they played 13 years here. Reggie and Van Buren (whose career was very short but he dominated in that short stretch and won two titles and left as the all time NFL rushing leader and is the only Eagle RB in the HOF) complete my Mt Rushmore.
I agree, it does not change the on the field productivity or greatness, however, I find it peculiar how so many people on here talk about the behavior of certain athletes, call them names because of their behavior but then give a pass or a respite to other athletes whose behavior is/was equally if not worse. Consistency… be it past or present!
I am not sure what Bednarik said in other places but what he said about Deon was true. A lot of flash and not very tough. Very self promoting. Chuck just didn’t believe in that stuff. Doesn’t make him a racist. It wouldn’t surprise me though if he made comments off record about black players and showboating. Probably even used racial slurs. Not defending that but that’s just our granparents/great grandparents generation. They had no understanding and were ignorant of black culture and threatened by it. Wether it was blues, juke joints, rock and roll, flashy sports figures. They just thought it was a threat to traditional values. Hell old black guys will make the same comments about “these young sissy players.” its an old school mindset.
Saying Reggie is the greatest Eagle is like saying Van Brocklin was the Eagle’s best QB. He had a cup of coffee here! He was a Ram. NVB was never an Eagle. Reggie played half his career somewhere else. I don’t care what he did in GB. Not relevant to his Eagle career. McNabb was the best Eagle QB. NVB was better for his career, but not for his Eagle career. And Randall was actually the most talented. He just didn’t accomplish anything much in wins losses or playoff success. But if I am drafting Randall or Donovan I wouldn’t think twice. I would take Randall. More accurate, more catchable pass, more clutch and more athletic.
It’s actually more fun to argue worst eagle ever or worst coach ever…. Unfortunately we had a lot of awful ball.
Worst player: Danny Watkins, Paul’s guy
Coach: argue between swamp fox and kotite
Come on Cigar how old are you? Worst Eagle coach ever is Joe must go Kuharich. He has the honor of worst Eagles and Notre Dame head coach even worst than that stiff Gerry Faust.
oh man– i’m sorry i’m just so bitter about kotite… he followed buddy and was such a stiff…
There were worst First Round Stiffs worse than Danny Watkins..
A few OL like Leonard Holmes, Or something Mayberry..
Did Holmes ever play a Game..
Danny Watkins is the worst pick in Eagles history hands down….
The 2011 draft was a severe blow to this franchise….The Eagles were literally missed on dozens of players around that pick.
REID BLEW IT.
Don’t forget Jon Harris drafted by Ray “Bob” Rhodes.
“What’s the fullback doing in there?
Somebody school Izell on Kevin the rapist Allen!!!!
I know all about Kevin Allen…
Danny Watkins and the 2011 draft is the worst draft in Eagle franchise history.
Damn Big…You are right…Kevin Allen OT was the worst pick…hands down!!! At least Danny played!
Izzell,…. Kevin Allen knocks Danny Watkins out of the box…he is definitely the most terrible pick in Eagles franchise history. Raped a girl prior to training camp and never suited up due to being locked up after being found guilty of rape! He was a Big Dummy !
I got two words for you Paul. Kevin Allen. Hands down Eagles worst ever first round pick. 1985.
I forgot about that Guy… Who was Scout that researched him….
Was that Tom Gamble by chance … Good Grief…
The terrible 1992 and 1993 drafts ended the “Randall” run. 1992 was…..”shudder” SIran Stacy the highest pick?? I think the Eagles had perhaps 1 long term contributor from those 2 drafts combined. 2 first rounders in 1993…Lenard Renfro and Lester Holmes. Double strike!
The abysmal 2003 and 2004 drafts ended the “McNabb” run. LJ Smith the only guy who played for more than a couple years. I know Shawn Andrews was there and he plyed well for 5 minutes, but those 2 were bad.
And everyone forgetting OT Bernard Williams in 1994. 1st year starter gave up a million sacks. Caught for dope I think. Never played for birds again.
I only remember him because he played in the CFL for the next decade.
Joe Kuharich was the worst. I probably misspelled his last name
Even better look at all the long time teams and compare their best qbs ever to birds…. We have not had great QB play….
Eagles and Cards only two of the Original Eight that have never had a HOF QB of their own organization. And how many championships have they won in the last fifty years combined?? Exactly ZERO!!