The List: #51-100
51.
Jim Bunning
52.
Al Wistert
53.
Ed Delahanty
54.
Doug Collins
55.
Mark Recchi
56.
Clyde Simmons
57.
Chris Short
58.
Eric Desjardins
59.
Simon Gagne
60.
Troy Vincent
61.
Del Ennis
62.
Jim Ringo
63.
Rick Tocchet
64.
George McGinnis
65.
Johnny Callison
66.
Darryl Dawkins
67.
Bill Bradley
68.
Tug McGraw
69.
Pelle Lindbergh
70.
Curt Simmons
71.
Seth Joyner
72.
Keith Primeau
73.
Pete Retzlaff
74.
Bobby Abreu
75.
Bob Brown
76.
Bob Boone
77.
Jeremy Roenick
78.
Bobby Walston
79.
Greg Luzinski
80.
Jerry Sisemore
81.
Tra Thomas
82.
Larry Bowa
83.
Tom Brookshier
84.
Gary Maddox
85.
Pat Burrell
86.
David Akers
87.
Timmy Brown
88.
Darren Daulton
89.
Danny Briere
90.
Andre Iguodala
91.
Jerome Brown
92.
Ilkka Sinisalo
93.
Norm Van Brocklin
94.
Claude Giroux
95.
Steve Mix
96.
Mike Lieberthal
97.
Gary Dornhoefer
98.
Trent Cole
99.
Dave Poulin
100.
Dave Schultz
Now that we're all caught up, let's continue with the next ten entries on our list.
#50: Rod Brind'Amour
Center, Philadelphia Flyers (1991-1999)
- Led NHL in goals during 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Seven 20+ goal seasons with the Flyers (1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99)
- 235 goals, 366 assists, 601 points with the Flyers
- Played in two Eastern Conference Finals & 1997 Stanley Cup Finals
- Played in Flyers record 484 consecutive games
Another member of the Flyers in the early 1990s, Rod Brind'Amour was in Philadelphia for some of the worst years in Flyers history, but he stuck around long enough to see the team turn itself around and become one of the best in the NHL once again. A skilled player with the puck, Brind'Amour twice recorded over 60 assists in a season with Philadelphia and scored 30 or more goals in four seasons. His ability to both score and create scoring chances for his teammates made him one of the more popular Flyers, and his ability and determination to stay healthy earned him a spot in the Philadelphia record books.
After missing three games in the 1992-93 season, Brind'Amour would play in every game from the start of the 1993-94 season until an ankle injury ended his streak over five seasons later. In the NHL, injuries are even more common than in other sports, and consecutive games streaks are usually not that long. However, Rod Brind'Amour didn't just play every game in one season. He played in every game for six straight years and continued to be a scoring threat. In fact, there were only two seasons in which Brind'Amour did not score at least 20 goals; the 1994-95 season, which was shortened by a lockout, and the 1999-2000 season, when he only played in 12 games before he was traded to Carolina.
The trade to the Hurricanes was one of those rare trades where both teams ended up as winners. The Hurricanes got Brind'Amour, who ended up leading them to their first Stanley Cup in 2006, while the Flyers picked up Keith Primeau, who we already covered on this list. That's not a bad trade at all. Like many other athletes on this list, it would have been nice to see Brind'Amour be able to win a championship in Philadelphia, but he was always one of the best players on the Flyers while here, and to play in 484 straight NHL games is a feat by itself.
#49. Eric Allen
Cornerback, Philadelphia Eagles (1988-1994)
- Tied for franchise lead in interceptions (34)
- Five time Pro Bowler with the Eagles (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)
- Returned four interceptions for touchdowns during the 1993 season
Like I've said before while going through this list, the Eagles have been lucky enough to have several top cornerbacks over the last two decades, and they didn't get much better than Eric Allen. Drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft, Allen hit the ground running and fit right into Buddy Ryan's defensive scheme of the late 1980s. He wasted little time making an impact, as he intercepted five passes during his rookie season and only improved from there. In the 1989 season, he picked off eight passes and was named to the NFL All Pro team for the first time in his career.
Allen became one of the best coverage corners in the NFL, intercepting at least three passes in every season he spent with the Eagles. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment came during the 1993 season, when four of his six interceptions were returned for touchdowns. Allen always had a nose for the ball, and when he got it in his hands, he always turned his attention to the opposing end zone. It was a strategy that made him very popular with Eagles fans, and after seven seasons with the Eagles, he finished tied with Bill Bradley for the franchise record in interceptions, with 34.
His career continued for another seven seasons following his time with the Eagles, but Allen was never quite able to reach the same success that he had in Philadelphia. After he retired, Allen was named to the Eagles 75th anniversary team during the 2007 season, and remains one of the best cornerbacks in franchise history.
#48. Jon Runyan
Offensive Tackle, Philadelphia Eagles (2000-2008)
- Started 190 consecutive games at offensive tackle
- Played in five NFC Championship Games & Super Bowl XXXIX
- Named to 2002 Pro Bowl
After the Eagles drafted Donovan McNabb in the 1999 NFL Draft, they needed someone that was going to be able to protect his blindside. Following McNabb's rookie year, the Eagles went out and signed Jon Runyan away from the Tennessee Titans, and it turned out to be one of the best signings of the Andy Reid era. Runyan fit onto the offensive line like a glove, and he would not miss a single game in his nine seasons with the Eagles. Runyan and Tra Thomas formed a bookend set of offensive tackles that the rest of the NFL could be jealous for, and they gave McNabb more than enough time to find receivers.
Aside from his skill on the line, durability was the most impressive part of Runyan's game. Despite numerous injuries and pains, Runyan was always out on the field on game day, ready to protect his quarterback and give his all for the Eagles. As a key member of the Eagles during the Andy Reid era, Runyan played in all five NFC Championships and Super Bowl XXXIX, making him one of the few players to actually be here for every bit of the best part of the last 14 years.
My lasting memory of Runyan isn't necessarily the best, but it's what I remember the most. Following the last play of the NFC Championship against the Arizona Cardinals, I just remember seeing him lying face down on the turf in Arizona in obvious pain. I knew that he had been playing most of the season with a severely bruised, if not broken, tailbone, and then pain had finally become too much. The Eagles had finished one game short of the Super Bowl again, and Runyan had given it all for them to get that far. He literally had nothing left in his tank, and I knew that I had watched the last game of one of the best linemen that the Eagles ever had.
#47. Bill Bergey
Linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles (1974-1980)
- Named to four Pro Bowls with the Eagles (1974, 1976, 1977, 1978)
- Two time All Pro with the Eagles (1974, 1975)
- Played in Super Bowl XV
- Recorded 233 tackles in a single season
More recognized now for his media work than his abilities on the field, Bill Bergey was one of the best linebackers that the Eagles have ever had. When Philadelphia traded for him, fans were still looking for someone to fill the shoes of Chuck Bednarik. While no one can ever fill those shoes completely, Bergey did an excellent job with the Eagles, and was one of the biggest reasons that the team went from being a joke at the start of the 1970s to a Super Bowl contender by the end of the decade.
A natural ball hawk, Bergey was around the ball more often than he was not, and it often provided him with chances for turnovers. He intercepted 18 passes with the Eagles and recovered 15 fumbles. He also recorded 233 tackles in a single season with the Eagles as well. If you break that down over the course of a 16 game schedule, that over 14 tackles a game. Most linebackers today are lucky if they average half of that total per game. Bergey's play, along with the arrival of Dick Vermeil and an improved offense, helped rise the Eagles from the basement of the NFL.
In 1980, Bergey's last season in the NFL, the Eagles won the NFC East and defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship to advance to their first Super Bowl. Things didn't go according to plan down in New Orleans, but the fact still remained the the Eagles had become a force to be reckoned with in the NFC, and they couldn't have gotten to that point without Bill Bergey establishing himself in the middle of that defense.
#46. Andrew Toney
Guard, Philadelphia 76ers (1980-1988)
- Member of 1983 NBA Champions
- Two time NBA All Star (1983, 1984)
- Averaged 15.9 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds in his career
When it came to the early to mid 1980s in the Eastern Conference of the NBA, there were only a few things that were certain. The most obvious one was that the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers were going to meet each other almost every year in the playoffs, and the winner was going to the NBA Finals. When it came to those Celtic/76er games, no player for Philadelphia was more important than Andrew Toney.
Even though Toney put up solid numbers in his eight year career, he seemed to save his best for the playoffs, and specifically for the Boston Celtics. There was no finer example of this than in the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals. Toney earned the nickname "The Boston Strangler" for his ability to close out the Celtics. He averaged over 22 points per game in the seven game series, and scored over 30 points three times, all Sixer wins. His 34 points in Game 7 helped the Sixers earn a trip to the 1982 NBA Finals, but it was the next season where the Sixers finally got back to the top of the NBA.
Though Philadelphia and Boston did not meet up in the 1983 NBA playoffs, Toney was still an important piece of the championship puzzle. Toney averaged 18.8 points and 4.6 assists per game, ahead of his eventual career averages. When the Sixers finished off the sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals, Toney's 23 points and 9 assists helped make the Sixers NBA champions for the first time since 1967. Not every player has a team that they almost always play well against, but Andrew Toney did, and the fact that it was the Boston Celtics made him that much better.
#45. Reggie Leach
Right Wing, Philadelphia Flyers (1975-1982)
- Won 1975 Stanley Cup with the Flyers
- Scored 20+ goals in every season with the Flyers
- Named Conn Smythe winner for the 1976 Stanley Cup Playoffs (only non-goalie from a losing team to win the award)
- 306 goals, 208 assists, 514 points with the Flyers
When you are acquired by a new team, you can try to fit in, or you can hit the ground running and help your team win their second straight championship. If you're Reggie Leach, you picked the second option when you were traded to the defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers before the 1974-75 season. Once he donned the orange and black, Leach took to head coach Fred Shero's offense like a duck takes to water. He scored 45 goals in his first season with Philadelphia, and the Flyers won their second straight Stanley Cup. It was his next season, though, that is still at the top of the record books for the Flyers.
In his second year with the Flyers, Leach scored an astonishing 61 goals to lead the NHL and set a Flyers single season record that still stands to this day. The Flyers once again made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, and Leach led the way with 19 goals and five assists. However, the Flyers were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in four games. Despite the sweep in the finals, Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoffs MVP. It was the first, and still only, time that a position player from a Stanley Cup losing team has ever won the award, and it speaks volumes for how important Leach was during the Flyers' playoff run that season.
Leach's scoring totals dropped after his record setting 61 goal season, but he still managed to score over 20 goals in each of his season with the Flyers, and cracked the 50 goal barrier again in the 1979-80 season. There have been very few people that have played for the Flyers with the ability to score goals like Reggie Leach, and his mark on a team that had already won a championship was astounding. The Flyers of the 1970s were already good, but adding Leach and his natural goal scoring ability made them that much better.
#44. Dick Allen
First/Third Base, Philadelphia Phillies (1963-1969, 1975-1976)
- 1964 National League Rookie of the Year
- Three time All Star with the Phillies (1965, 1966, 1967)
- .290 batting average, 204 home runs, 655 RBI, 1,143 hits with the Phillies
Arguably one of the most controversial players in baseball history, Dick Allen's natural talent far overshadowed any sort of issues he may have brought into a clubhouse. In an era where pitching was the name of the game, Allen was able to still hit for average, get on base, hit home runs and score runs. In short, he was a Moneyball type of player before anyone even knew what that idea was.
After a cup of coffee with the Phillies in the 1963 season, Allen made the club out of spring training the following year and was easily the best rookie in the National League. Allen's rookie season saw him lead the National League in runs scored with 125 while batting .318 with a Phillies rookie record 29 home runs and 91 RBI. The Phils turned their rookie's success into a National League lead, but the collapse of the 1964 team more than likely prevented Allen from getting more national attention. Instead, he had to settle for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
His skills continued to improve over the next few seasons, despite the downward trend of the Phillies. Allen's peak was a 40 home run, 110 RBI season in 1966, but his time in Philadelphia was already starting to run out. Allen was a private ball player, and while he was talented, he could never quite gel with the Philadelphia fans, who booed him at almost every chance that they got. Couple that with the rumors that he was dividing the clubhouse, and Allen had no choice but to leave. He was traded by the Phillies to the Cardinals in 1970 for Curt Flood, whose refusal to come to Philadelphia sparked the start of free agency.
After bouncing from team to team and winning the 1972 American League MVP Award, Allen found himself back in Philadelphia for the 1975 season. His offensive game wasn't the same as it was in his first time around with the Phillies, and he retired following a final season in Oakland in 1977. There have been a lot of things said about Dick Allen by a lot of different people, but the fact remains that he was one of the best players of a bad generation of Phillies. If he had been able to reach his full potential in Philadelphia, we might have been talking about more than one World Series title won by that group back in the 1970s and 80s.
#43. Brian Propp
Left Wing, Philadelphia Flyers (1979-1990)
- 369 goals, 480 assists, 849 points with the Flyers
- 2nd in Flyers history in goals and assists, 3rd in Flyers history in points
- Named to five NHL All Star teams (1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1990)
- Scored 20+ goals in every full season with the Flyers
The 1979 NHL Draft was a very good one for the Flyers. In the second round, they drafted Pelle Lindbergh, who has already made this countdown, and in the first round, they picked Brian Propp, who became one of the best goal scorers in franchise history.
The Flyers wasted little time in getting Propp ready for the NHL, as he was put on the same line as Reggie Leach and Bobby Clarke in his rookie season. Propp responded by scoring the game winning goal in his first ever game, and scored 34 goals and had 41 assists in his rookie season. The Flyers would make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in Propp's first year in the NHL, and Propp would continue to be one of the best all around players not only with the Flyers, but in the entire NHL.
Over the next nine seasons in Philadelphia, Propp scored 40 or more goals four times, and never once finished a season with less than 20 goals scored. His assist totals were even better, as he broke the 40 assist mark in his first seven seasons with the Flyers. When all was said and done with his time in Philadelphia, Propp was, and still is, second all time in goals scored and assists, and is third in Flyers history in points scored. While he never did win a Stanley Cup, Propp did just about everything else possible while he was with the Flyers. A lot of younger fans might not know his name, but they should. He's one of the best players that the Flyers have ever had.
#42. Pete Pihos
Tight End, Philadelphia Eagles (1947-1955)
- Member of 1948 & 1949 NFL Champions
- Caught 373 passes for 5,619 yards and 61 touchdowns
- Five time All Pro (1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955)
- Named to NFL 1940s All Decade Team
- Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970
Probably one of the most versatile players that the Eagles have ever had, Pete Pihos could switch between tight end and defensive end so easily that he was named to NFL All Pro teams at both positions. In his nine year career with the Eagles, Pihos helped to shape what a modern day tight end could be, and became one of the best members of a team that was already full of stars.
Despite being drafted in 1945, Pihos didn't play for the Eagles until the 1947 season. When he finally did take the field, the Eagles knew that they had a winner. Pihos caught 11 touchdown passes in his second season, and in 1949, he caught the NFL Championship clinching touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams. He continued to play at tight end until the 1952 season, when injuries forced the Eagles to call him back into action as a two way player.
Not only did Pihos do well at defensive end, he was named to the NFL All Pro team in 1952 as a defensive player. The next season, he switched back to the tight end position, and led the NFL in catches, yards and touchdowns. Over his final three seasons, Pihos led the NFL in catches, and he helped to prove that the tight end position could become more than just an extra offensive lineman. Following a 1955 season in which he led the NFL in catches and yards once again, Pihos retired at the age of 32. Fifteen years later, Pete Pihos was given the ultimate honor that a football player can achieve when he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
#41. Tim Kerr
Right Wing, Philadelphia Flyers (1980-1991)
- Set Flyers record with four 50+ goal seasons
- 363 goals, 287 assists, 650 points with the Flyers
- 3rd in Flyers history in goals scored, 6th all time in points
- Named to three NHL All Star teams (1984, 1985, 1986)
Remember when I wrote about Reggie Leach having the most goals in one season in Flyers history? Well, here is who has the next four seasons on the list. Tim Kerr is another Flyers player that a lot of fans might not know that much about, but they need to know how good of a goal scorer he was for a group of talented Flyers teams in the mid-1980s.
Following an injury shortened 1982-83 season, Kerr came out at the start of the next year and began a streak that is unmatched in Flyers history. Over the next four seasons, Kerr scored 54 or more goals every single year. Aside from Reggie Leach's 61 goals, Kerr's four seasons from 1983 until 1987 are the highest goal scoring seasons in Philadelphia Flyers history. A wizard on the power play, Kerr led the NHL in power play goals in three of the four 50 goal seasons, including setting an NHL record for power play goals in a single season, with 34. His greatest moment came during the 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs, as he scored four goals in less than ten minutes against the New York Rangers. The 6-5 Flyers victory helped push Philadelphia to the Stanley Cup Finals that season.
However, Kerr would never get as far as most people thought he would thanks to injuries. An incredible presence in front of an opposing net, Kerr would score 40 or more goals just one time following his four straight seasons of 50 goals. His time with the Flyers produced some of the best offensive seasons that the franchise has ever seen, and he remains one of the ultimate what could have been stories. If he had stayed healthy, he could have been even higher on this list. Instead, his injuries and short prime keep him outside of the top 40, if just by a single spot.
That will wrap up this special Christmas edition of the Top 100 Philadelphia Athletes of All Time. We'll be back next time with numbers 40-31. They include more Hall of Famers, two Eagle quarterbacks, and a player that will always and forever be known as "The Man" in Philadelphia.
No comments:
Post a Comment