December 19, 2019
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Harold Carmichael, shown here about to stiff-arm a Cardinals defender (off camera) into the unknown, was a machine during his 13 seasons with the Eagles.
Former Eagles wide receiver Harold Carmichael and former Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil have another shot at being enshrined alongside the NFL's all-time greats.
Both Carmichael and Vermeil are among the 38 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame centennial class, the NFL announced Thursday. Former Eagles All-Pro guard and eventual executive Frank "Bucko" Kilroy, and former All-Pro Eagles lineman Al Wistert, also are among the finalists.
The NFL is adding 15 extra Hall of Fame inductees to its next class to celebrate the league's 100th anniversary, dipping into players, coaches, and contributors who played years ago, or were initially overlooked. The finalists are sectioned into three categories: eight coaches, who coached more than five seasons ago; 10 contributors, who are individuals other than players or coaches; and 20 seniors, or players who played at least 25 seasons ago.
Two coaches, three contributors, and 10 seniors will be inducted in as members of the centennial class, according to the NFL.
Carmichael, who played for the Eagles from 1971 to 1983, is the Eagles' all-time leader in receptions (589), yards (8,978), and touchdowns (79). He caught all but one pass (a seven-yard reception for Dallas in 1984) during his entire career with the Eagles. Standing a staggering 6 feet, 8 inches, Carmichael was the ultimate "go up and get it" receiving threat, towering over opposing corners.
Vermeil coached the Eagles from 1976 to 1982, racking up a 54-47 record over seven seasons and leading the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance in 1980. Vermeil finished with a 3-4 postseason record in four trips to the playoffs with the Eagles. Later in his career, Vermeil went on to lead the "Greatest Show on Turf"-era St. Louis Rams to the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl title over the Tennessee Titans, featuring one of the all-time great Super Bowl finishes.
Kilroy, a Philadelphia native and Temple alumnus, played 13 seasons as a lineman with the Eagles between 1943 and 1955, winning a pair of NFL Championship titles in 1948 and 1949, and earning All-Pro honors six times, before becoming a scout and front office executive. He spent one year with the Eagles as a scout, before eventually spending 36 years with the New England Patriots.
Wistert spent his nine-year NFL career as a lineman entirely with the Eagles, also winning a pair of NFL Championship titles in 1948 and 1949, and earning All-Pro honors four times. He was also a member of the hilarious 1943 Philadelphia-Pittsburgh combo team, the Steagles.
This list of 38 finalists will be debated in an early January meeting, and voted on by the annual Hall of Fame Blue Ribbon Panel, to elect the 15-member "Centennial Slate" into the Hall of Fame alongside five modern-era inductees.
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