The 10 greatest track and field stars that played for the Eagles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
When the Eagles signed two-time Olympic hurdler Devon Allen on Friday, it got us wondering who the top track athletes have been throughout Eagles history.
What we found was a franchise rich in track talent and even a handful of Olympians.
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So here’s our list of 10 track stars from Eagles history, most of whom were far better known for their track accomplishments than what they did with the Eagles.
They didn’t all play for the Eagles in the regular season but all were with the organization to some degree at some point.
In addition to the top 10, I’ve also got a 10-man honorable mention list, just to annoy avid track hater Dave Zangaro.
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Hank Baskett: At the 2001 New Mexico high school track championships in Albuquerque, Baskett cleared 7-0 ¼ in the high jump, winning the state title as a senior at Clovis High. At New Mexico, he won the Mountain West title in 2004 with a 6-11 clearance. Baskett made the Eagles as an undrafted rookie in 2006 and caught 72 passes for 1,052 yards and six TDs in three seasons. He’s one of five players in NFL history with three career touchdowns of at least 85 yards and the only one who was undrafted. He’s responsible for three of the 11-longest TD catches in franchise history.
Frank Budd: Budd starred in track and football at Asbury Park High School but focused on track at Villanova, where he won three NCAA titles. He set the world record in the 100-yard dash at Downing Stadium in New York in 1961 and ran on the U.S. world-record 400-meter relay a month later in Moscow. The Eagles drafted Budd in the 7th round in 1962 and he caught five passes for 130 yards as a rookie, including a 49-yard TD from Sonny Jurgensen in a win over Washington. He spent 1963 with Washington before playing with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL for two years. After football, Budd settled in Mount Laurel and worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections. He died in 2014.
John Carlos: Carlos won the bronze medal in the 200 in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where he and 200 gold medalist Tommie Smith famously raised their fists in a black power salute on the podium. Carlos went on to tie the world record in the 100. The Eagles drafted Carlos in the 15th round in 1970, and he spent the year on the equivalent of what is now called the practice squad. A year later, the Eagles drafted Harold Carmichael in the 7th round, and a roster battle between Carlos and Carmichael came down to the final days of the preseason before the Eagles decided to keep Carmichael and release Carlos.
Sam Francis: How about Francis’s accomplishments in 1936. Playing halfback for Nebraska, he was Heisman Trophy runner-up, and competing for the Huskers’ track team, he competed in the Olympics in the shot put in Berlin, placing 4th at 50-8 ¼, missing the podium by about six inches. The Eagles selected Francis with the first pick in the 1937 draft but traded him to the Bears for Bill Hewitt before he played a down as an Eagle. But we’ll still claim him as a former Eagle.
T.J. Jackson: Jackson was a track and football star at Illinois, where he played on the Illinois team that beat Washington in the 1963 Rose Bowl, and he also won Big Ten titles in the 100 (9.5) and 220 (21.3) and anchored the winning 440-yard relay team. He also anchored an Illinois 440 relay team that won the NCAA title, and he set an NCAA record in the 100 of 10.1. Jackson competed in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, where he reached the semis in the 100. He made the Eagles in 1966 as an undrafted rookie receiver and played in three games.
James Lofton: In 1978, Lofton long jumped 27 feet at the U.S. Championships at UCLA’s Drake Stadium, at the time No. 7 in U.S. history and No. 14 in world history. Lofton, then a Stanford senior, also ran 20.83 in the 200 and 46.4 for the 400. He retired from track after that 27-foot jump and embarked on a Hall of Fame career in the NFL, wrapping up with the Eagles in 1993. The 764th and final catch of his career was a 32-yarder from Bubby Brister against the 49ers at Candlestick Park on the final day of the 1993 season.
Vince Papale: Like Budd, Papale ran track and played football in high school and then focused on track at a Big 5 school – for Papale it was St. Joe’s. He cleared 14-6 in the pole vault in a meet at Madison Square Garden in February of 1968, and 54 years later that remains the St. Joe’s indoor school record. He also triple jumped 46-6, long jumped 22-1 ¼ and competed in the decathlon. As immortalized in the Mark Wahlberg film Invincible, Papale made the Eagles as a long-shot 30-year-old rookie in 1976 and spent three years here, playing mainly special teams.
Mike Quick: Quick is one of the greatest hurdlers in North Carolina State history, and at one point he considered pursuing track more seriously before he blossomed as a wide receiver. Quick ran 13.74 in the 110-meter highs in 1982, to this day No. 3 in Wolfpack history. Indoors, he ran 7.43 for the 55-meter highs, still No. 8 in school history. After catching 10 passes as a rookie, Quick embarked on the greatest five-year stretch in franchise history, averaging nearly 1,100 yards and 10 ½ touchdowns and making five straight Pro Bowls.
Clyde Scott: Scott was an All-America running back at Arkansas, but in 1948 he competed in the 110-meter hurdles in the London Olympics, where he won the silver medal in 14.1, finishing behind only American William Porter (who took up track while attending the Hill School in Pottstown). The Eagles drafted Scott in the 1st round in 1948, and he spent four years here, rushing 100 times for 400 yards and two TDs and catching 19 passes for 381 yards and four more TDs.
Michael Timpson: He didn’t have much of an Eagles career – 42 catches for 484 yards and two TDs in 1997, his only year in Philly – but Timpson was a world-class sprinter at Penn State. He set four school records in 1986 and all stood for over 10 years. His PRs of 20.23 for 200 meters, 13.80 for the 110 hurdles and 50.54 for the 400 intermediates (at the 1988 Penn Relays) all remain among the fastest in PSU history. He competed in the 200 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis in 1988.
Second team
Todd Bell: In the late 1970s, Middletown High senior Todd Bell won three state long jump titles and in 1977 set an Ohio high school state long jump record of 25-5, breaking a 44-year-old record set by legendary Jesse Owens in 1933 – three years before he won four Olympic gold medals in Berlin. Bell finished his nine-year NFL career as a starting linebacker with the Eagles in 1988 and 1989 under Buddy Ryan, who had coached him with the Bears.
Martin Booker: Booker, a Camden graduate, took 3rd in the 110 hurdles at the 1986 NCAA Championships in Indianapolis for Villanova. He spent three years on and off the Eagles’ practice squad during the Buddy Ryan years before becoming one of the most successful track coaches in South Jersey history at Camden and Willingboro high schools.
Michael Carter: The 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the shot put has held the national high school shot put record of 81-3 ½ for 43 years. When he was with the Eagles during the 1993 preseason, he didn’t want to talk about his track career with me. Surly dude. Had a great career though – three Pro Bowls, three Super Bowl rings and an Olympic medal.
Mark Duper: After his outstanding career with the Dolphins, the three-time Pro Bowler spent 1993 training camp with the Eagles, and that qualifies him for our list. Duper ran 10.21 and 20.77 in 1982, and raced at the 1980 Olympic Trials in both events. He also anchored Northwest Louisiana to the NCAA 400-meter relay title in 1982.
Marquise Goodwin: He opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID, but the Eagles did hold his rights for a year, which makes him eligible for this list. Goodwin was a two-time NCAA long jump champ and 2012 Olympic finalist, placing 10th overall. His 27-8 ½ PR ranks No. 48 in world history and No. 20 in U.S. history.
Dietrich Jells: Before spending the 1998 and 1999 seasons with the Eagles, Jells was a terrific sprinter at Pitt. He ran 10.37 and 20.96 in 1995 and also anchored Pitt’s 400-meter relay team to a 40.04, a school record that still stands. Jells only caught 13 passes as an Eagle but one was a 57-yard TD from Doug Pederson against the Bears, the 2nd-longest TD pass of Pederson’s career.
Izel Jenkins: Yep, good ol’ Bagel Chips was a pretty good intermediate hurdler back in the day. Jenkins ran 50.58 in 1986 and to this day that ranks No. 3 in North Carolina State history. Jenkins was also 1984 ACC champ in the 400IH and an indoor All-America with a 2nd place in the 500 at the 1984 NCAA Championships. Jenkins, the Eagles’ 11th-round pick in 1988, spent five years with the Eagles, starting 28 games. He had four interceptions in 1989.
Raheem Mostert: Mostert only ran one year of track at Purdue, but in 2014 he won four Big Ten titles - the 60 and 200 indoors and 100 and 200 outdoors, and he was named MVP of both meets. Mostert had PRs of 6.63 and 20.73 indoors and 10.15 (wind-aided) and 10.28 and 20.65 outdoors. All rank among the top-5 in Purdue history. Mostert – who has the highest rushing average by a running back in NFL history - began his NFL career on the Eagles’ practice squad in 2014.
Philip Reilly: The Eagles’ 6th-round draft pick in 1996 was Florida State WR Phillip Riley, who ran 10.31 for the 100 and 13.39 for the 110 hurdles for Florida State in 1996 and competed in the hurdles at the Olympic Trials in Atlanta. He didn’t make the Eagles’ roster as a rookie but played briefly with the Jets.
Terry Strouf: OK, who remembers offensive tackle Terry Strouf? He was the Eagles’ 7th-round pick out of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1990. Strouf never made it in the NFL, but after the Eagles released him he returned to track and threw the shot 67-3 at the La Crosse Classic, the No. 5 throw in the world in 1992.
Kary Vincent: The only current Eagle on this list, Vincent ran a slightly wind-aided 100 (10.07) for LSU in 2019 but had a legal 10.36 and also ran 20.71. He also ran on LSU 400- and 800-meter relay teams that ran 38.37 (No. 16 in the world in 2019) and 1:21.47 (No. 8 in the world in 2019).
