section_path: History/Thompson, Wolman and the Happy Hundred era (1941–1969)/Buck Shaw years (1958–1960)/NFL champions (1960)
section_name: NFL champions (1960)
paragraph_text: NFL champions (1960)
  
  The Eagles' 1960 season remains one of the most celebrated years in team history. Shaw, Van Brocklin, and Bednarik, each in their last season before retirement, led an Eagles team more notable for its grit than its talent. One observer later quipped that the team had "nothing but a championship" to its first division title since 1949. The team was aided by their two Pro Bowl receivers, wide receiver Tommy McDonald, who later wrote an autobiography titled They Pay Me to Catch Footballs, and tight end Pete Retzlaff.
  
  On November 20, 1960, at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, Bednarik launched a tackle against New York Giants ' running back Frank Gifford, which has come to be known as The Hit, a tackle that is routinely ranked as one of the hardest and most vicious hits in NFL history. With the game tied 10 to 10 in the fourth quarter, Gifford caught a short pass over the middle and was immediately hit by Bednarik with a clothesline tackle so hard that it dropped Gifford to the ground unconscious. Gifford was removed from the field on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital by ambulance, where he remained for ten days. Gifford was diagnosed with a deep concussion that resulted in his retirement from the game for 18 months. On the 100th anniversary of the NFL's founding, the NFL ranked Bednarik's tackle the 44th greatest play in league history.
  
  On December 26, 1960, one of the coldest days in recorded Philadelphia history, the Eagles faced Vince Lombardi 's Green Bay Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship Game and dealt the formidable Lombardi the sole championship game loss of his storied career. Bednarik lined up at center on offense and at linebacker on defense. Fittingly, the game ended as Bednarik tackled a struggling Jim Taylor and refused to allow him to stand until the last seconds had ticked away.
  
  Van Brocklin came to Philadelphia and agreed to play through 1960 with an understanding that, upon his retirement as a player, he would succeed Shaw as head coach. Ownership, however, opted to promote assistant coach Nick Skorich instead, and Van Brocklin quit the organization in a fit of pique, instead becoming head coach of the expansion Minnesota Vikings. Back-up quarterback Sonny Jurgensen became the Eagles' starter for the 1961 season; they finished a half-game behind the New York Giants for first place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 10–4 record. Despite the on-the-field success, however, the franchise was in turmoil.
  
  The 1962 team, decimated by injury, managed only three wins and were embarrassed at home in a 49–0 loss to the Packers. The off-field chaos continued through 1963, as the 65 shareholders remaining from the original Happy Hundred sold the team to Jerry Wolman, a 36-year-old millionaire Washington developer who outbid local bidders for the team, paying an unprecedented $5.505 million for control of the club.
  
  In 1964, Wolman hired former Cardinals and Washington Redskins coach Joe Kuharich to a 15-year contract. Over the next five seasons, the team failed to make the playoffs and the failures of the team over this period were highlighted by the Santa Claus incident, when fans pelted a Santa Claus with snowballs during a halftime Christmas pageant. The team had only one winning season, in 1966, finishing second in the NFL Eastern Conference. The Eagles lost to the Baltimore Colts 20–14, in the post-season's third place consolation game, the Playoff Bowl, which was held at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Eagles finished 6–7–1 in 1967. In the following season, the Eagles fell even further in the standings, recording a 2–12 record in 1968.
  
  The Eagles' 1960 season remains one of the most celebrated years in team history. Shaw, Van Brocklin, and Bednarik, each in their last season before retirement, led an Eagles team more notable for its grit than its talent. One observer later quipped that the team had "nothing but a championship" to its first division title since 1949. The team was aided by their two Pro Bowl receivers, wide receiver Tommy McDonald, who later wrote an autobiography titled They Pay Me to Catch Footballs, and tight end Pete Retzlaff.
  
  On November 20, 1960, at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, Bednarik launched a tackle against New York Giants ' running back Frank Gifford, which has come to be known as The Hit, a tackle that is routinely ranked as one of the hardest and most vicious hits in NFL history. With the game tied 10 to 10 in the fourth quarter, Gifford caught a short pass over the middle and was immediately hit by Bednarik with a clothesline tackle so hard that it dropped Gifford to the ground unconscious. Gifford was removed from the field on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital by ambulance, where he remained for ten days. Gifford was diagnosed with a deep concussion that resulted in his retirement from the game for 18 months. On the 100th anniversary of the NFL's founding, the NFL ranked Bednarik's tackle the 44th greatest play in league history.
  
  On December 26, 1960, one of the coldest days in recorded Philadelphia history, the Eagles faced Vince Lombardi 's Green Bay Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship Game and dealt the formidable Lombardi the sole championship game loss of his storied career. Bednarik lined up at center on offense and at linebacker on defense. Fittingly, the game ended as Bednarik tackled a struggling Jim Taylor and refused to allow him to stand until the last seconds had ticked away.
  
  Van Brocklin came to Philadelphia and agreed to play through 1960 with an understanding that, upon his retirement as a player, he would succeed Shaw as head coach. Ownership, however, opted to promote assistant coach Nick Skorich instead, and Van Brocklin quit the organization in a fit of pique, instead becoming head coach of the expansion Minnesota Vikings. Back-up quarterback Sonny Jurgensen became the Eagles' starter for the 1961 season; they finished a half-game behind the New York Giants for first place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 10–4 record. Despite the on-the-field success, however, the franchise was in turmoil.
  
  The 1962 team, decimated by injury, managed only three wins and were embarrassed at home in a 49–0 loss to the Packers. The off-field chaos continued through 1963, as the 65 shareholders remaining from the original Happy Hundred sold the team to Jerry Wolman, a 36-year-old millionaire Washington developer who outbid local bidders for the team, paying an unprecedented $5.505 million for control of the club.
  
  In 1964, Wolman hired former Cardinals and Washington Redskins coach Joe Kuharich to a 15-year contract. Over the next five seasons, the team failed to make the playoffs and the failures of the team over this period were highlighted by the Santa Claus incident, when fans pelted a Santa Claus with snowballs during a halftime Christmas pageant. The team had only one winning season, in 1966, finishing second in the NFL Eastern Conference. The Eagles lost to the Baltimore Colts 20–14, in the post-season's third place consolation game, the Playoff Bowl, which was held at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Eagles finished 6–7–1 in 1967. In the following season, the Eagles fell even further in the standings, recording a 2–12 record in 1968.