Eagles legend Steven Van Buren named to NFL 100 All-Time Team
Philadelphia Eagles legend Steven Van Buren’s name is among 12 running backs who have been named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
The NFL has gone all out for its 100th season. You have to be having a ball if you’re a football fan. Sure, if you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan, things could be better, but all in all, things haven’t been too bad if you’re a ‘Birds’ fan. Still, if you need a little encouragement, here’s some in the form of a team legend, Steve Van Buren.
In honor of the NFL’s 100th season, the NFL Network is unveiling its NFL 100 All-Time Team. On the Friday before Philly’s Week 12 game, they began with the running backs, and Van Buren was among the 12 who were named.
As Eagles fans, we’ve spent so much of our lives talking about never winning the Super Bowl, and then, finally winning one that we, sometimes, we ignore a huge part of the franchise’s history, their three NFL Championships.
The first came in a blizzard in 1948 at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park versus the Chicago Cardinals. The game’s only score was a fourth-quarter rushing touchdown by Van Buren from five yards out, giving ‘The Birds’ the win.
For his career, Van Buren is a two-time NFL champion (1948, 1949). He’s a six-time First-team All-Pro (1944–1949), a four-time NFL rushing yards leader (1945, 1947–1949), and a four-time NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1945, 1947–1949).
He’s a member of the NFL’s 1940s All-Decade Team, their 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, and their 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 2010, he was named 58th among the Top 100 Players of all time by NFL Films.
His final numbers look like this: In eight seasons and 83 career games (64 starts), he racked up 5,860 rushing yards and a 4.4 yards-per-carry average for his career, 69 rushing touchdowns, 2,503 return yards, five touchdowns on returns, and nine interceptions while playing on defense.
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Every single game he played was in an Eagles jersey. No Eagles will ever wear the number 15 again, and his bust will sit in the Pro Football Hall of Fame forever. Now, he’s among the 12 greatest running backs of the NFL’s first 100 years of existence alongside Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, Earl Clark aka ‘Dutch’, Eric Dickerson, Lenny Moore, Marion Motley, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Gayle Sayers, O.J. Simpson, and Emmitt Smith.
Imagine walking into battle with those guys. Imagine having both Bill Belichick and Paul Brown to coach them. It’s safe to say you’d probably win a few games.