How They Got Their Name: Philadelphia Eagles

1000logos.net

Before the Philadelphia Eagles existed, the Frankford Yellow Jackets ruled the city of Philadelphia.  Frankford is a neighborhood in northeast Philly.  The Yellow Jackets were founded in 1899 as a professional football team, and were part of the NFL from 1924 through 1931.  They even won the NFL championship in 1926.  But due to a couple of fires damaging the stadium and the Great Depression, the team went bankrupt in 1931.  This is where future NFL commissioner Bert Bell stepped in.  He purchased the bankrupt team for $2,500.

flickr/whitewall buick

While trying to come up with a name that represented the entire city of Philadelphia, a billboard caught Bell’s eye one day while walking down the street.  It was a billboard for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s National Recovery Act, part of his New Deal to help get the country out of the depression.  The logo for the National Recovery Act, which could be seen on billboards, posters, and signs all over industrial America, featured a blue eagle.  The famous eagle clutches a gear in one talon and lightning bolts in the other, representing the power of American industry.  Instantly, Bert Bell knew he wanted an eagle to represent his new football team and named them the Philadelphia Eagles.  Fly Eagles fly!

Garett