Did 3 shirtless and intoxicated Philadelphia Eagles fans invent the E-A-G-L-E-S chant in the 1970s?
Did a group of Philadelphia Eagles superfans invent the famous E-A-G-L-E-S chant 50 years ago?
There are many things that bring Eagles fans together during football season, but nothing quite compares to the famous chant that can be heard at game day gatherings throughout the city. It's now the closer to the fight song, "Fly Eagles Fly," despite not being part of the original lyrics.
CBS News Philadelphia recently met Ed DeLeo, a superfan who claims to have invented the chant in the 1970s. There is no way to verify his story, but he dug up about a dozen pictures that would seem to support his claim.
The story starts in 1975 at the old Veterans Stadium, where best friends DeLeo and Pete Black attended countless Eagles games, thanks to Black's season tickets.
"There was a guy in Baltimore, his name was 'Wild' Bill Hagy, and he would body-spell 'Orioles' on the dugout. So we're at the Eagles game, and I said, 'Hey, I read this story about him, and we ought to try that,'" Black said. "After about 15 or 20 beers, the idea gained momentum, and we did it. However, as you saw in the pictures, we had to accentuate it a little bit, and we took off our shirts."
Shirtless and admittedly fairly intoxicated, DeLeo, Black and their friend John Livingstone led what they claim was the first-ever Eagles chant from atop the dugout at the Vet (the Phillies and Eagles shared the stadium at the time).
At first, they said it didn't draw much of a response other than a few laughs from the crowd. But week after week, year after year of shameless chanting, it finally started to catch on.
"Eddie's up there, he gave the cheer. Then, the 700 level did it back," Black said.
"Yeah, so it became like a competition, like who's louder? Us, then them, then over there, back there. So it was cool," DeLeo said.
"It was kind of like a wave effect. And once each section started doing it, it just took off," Black said.
If you're still not quite sold on the story, we asked for a demonstration, and they eagerly obliged.
"E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!" DeLeo and Black chanted in unison while acting out each letter with their body. They finished it off with a double-handed high five.
While not verifiable, their story does line up with some information that came straight from one of the Eagles' longest-tenured executives: the late Jim Gallagher, who served the team for 46 years in public relations, marketing and as traveling secretary.
Gallagher told Philadelphia Magazine in 2010 that he "vaguely remembers" the chant catching on "in the early '80s at the Vet." If you believe Black and DeLeo saying the chant started in 1975 but took a few years to really take off, they could both be right.
Mayor Parker's misspelling of chant brings it to national spotlight
In the decades since the chant started, it has become a rallying cry for Eagles fans everywhere. From championship parades to a mayoral mishap, DeLeo and Black can't believe how big it's become, and they don't need any credit to enjoy their contribution to Eagles history.
"It gives me goosebumps, I tell you. It really does. And not only that, there are other teams now that do it: J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets. A couple other teams are doing it. They have no idea where it came from. They copied us," DeLeo said.
"And it helps little kids learn how to spell!" Black added.
"Not the mayor, but little kids, yeah. I'm just kidding, we love you, mayor," DeLeo said with a big laugh.
Black no longer leads the chant at Eagles games because he was banned from the Vet in 1989 after admitting he may have taken his chanting a little too far in the faces of visiting fans.
But you can still hear him chanting at the watch parties he hosts at his home in Morrell Park in Northeast Philadelphia.