Yellow Jackets Become Eagles

July 9, 1933 - The Frankford Yellow Jackets are sold and renamed the Eagles as the franchise is moved to Philadelphia. 

The origins of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL franchise are deeply rooted in the tumultuous early days of professional football, emerging from the ashes of a predecessor team. The story begins not with the Eagles, but with the Frankford Yellow Jackets, a successful independent football club from the Frankford section of Philadelphia that joined the NFL in 1924 and even captured the NFL Championship in 1926. However, the economic hardships of the Great Depression proved too much for the Yellow Jackets, and they went bankrupt, ceasing operations midway through the 1931 season.

After more than a year of searching for a new Philadelphia franchise, the NFL found a solution in a syndicate led by two former University of Pennsylvania teammates: Lud Wray and Bert Bell. On July 8, 1933, this group purchased the assets of the defunct Yellow Jackets franchise for $2,500. While the Eagles inherited the NFL rights to the Philadelphia market, they officially consider themselves a new and separate franchise, not a continuation of the Yellow Jackets.

Inspired by the "Blue Eagle" symbol of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's National Recovery Act, a key part of the New Deal, Bell and Wray named their new team the Philadelphia Eagles. Bert Bell, a visionary figure who would later become NFL Commissioner and is credited with proposing the NFL Draft, served as the team's first president and general manager, with Wray taking on coaching duties.

The early years of the Eagles were challenging, marked by financial struggles and limited on-field success. Despite these difficulties, the establishment of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1933 laid the groundwork for one of the NFL's most enduring and passionate franchises, creating a legacy that continues to this day.