RAREST OF THE RARE
WHO WAS THIS EAGLES STAR?
In 1951, the Eagles signed an NBA player who had decided he would rather play football.
Good move.
In his first season as an Eagle, he played defensive end and led the team in sacks (an unofficial statistic at the time). The following season, he switched to offense as a wide receiver and ranked second in the NFL in receiving yards.
But in 1953, after the Eagles refused to pay him what he thought he was worth, he left the NFL for good and headed to Canada to star for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
This man of mystery enjoyed success wherever he went and eventually earned a very rare distinction - he became one of only two players or coaches ever to win a championship ring in 2 of the 4 major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL).
His name? Bud Grant - the legendary Hall of Fame coach for the Minnesota Vikings.
Grant earned his first ring as a player on the 1949-50 NBA champion Minneapolis Lakers. He got to cherish that ring for 73 years until his death in 2023 at the age of 95, by which time he was the oldest living NBA champion.
Grant earned his second ring as head coach of the 1969 NFL champion Vikings. Although the Vikings lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, it was before the NFL-AFL merger - so the Vikings remained the official NFL champion.
But that's not all. Before his time with the Vikings, Grant became head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and led them to 6 CFL championship games, winning 4 times.
The only other "2-ringer" was Gene Conley, who earned rings with MLB's Milwaukee Braves and the NBA's Boston Celtics.
It is worth mentioning, however, that Otto Graham won title rings with the Rochester Royals of the NBL (the NBA's predecessor), and with the Cleveland Browns, whom he led to championships in both the AAFC and the NFL.
Deion Sanders made it to both the Super Bowl and the World Series, but his teams lost.
Although Bud Grant went 0-4 in the Super Bowl, he is still remembered as one of the great football coaches of all time. And his brief playing career with the Eagles was not too shabby either.
