March 06, 2016
In a city starved for sports glory, legendary players who've brought one of Philadelphia's teams to the top are treated like royalty.
Deservedly so, Al Wistert is among those players. His number 70 is retired with the Eagles for his nine seasons of play as both an offensive and defensive tackle for the team, during which time he served as team captain, racked up eight All-Pro team honors and helped bring two NFL titles to the city.
Wistert passed away Saturday at the age of 95, according to the team.
One of the #Eagles' all-time greats, tackle Al Wistert, passed away at the age of 95 on Saturday.#ForeverAnEagle pic.twitter.com/gDs24mNLxn
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 6, 2016
The Chicago native began his NFL career with the combined squad of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Eagles, known as the "Steagles," who merged for a single season in 1943 due to the number of players who were drafted to serve in World War II.
During his career with the Birds, a team he played his entire career for, the Eagles won league championships in 1948 and 1949, both of which were shutout victories.
Despite his success, Wistert was not chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Many fans and writers, both local and national, consider his exclusion a snub.
A more detailed look back at Wistert's career can be found in this profile from PhillyVoice's Matt Mullin, which at the time laid out the argument for his case as the greatest living Eagle.
