Another member of the Eagles' 1960 NFL championship team is gone.
Bobby Walston, the Eagles' all-time leading scorer, died Wednesday morning in Elk Grove Village, Ill. The 58-year-old Walston suffered a heart attack, an Eagles' spokesman said.
"They're slowly dwindling down," ex-teammate Tommy McDonald said last night. "That makes six (players) from the '60 team who have died: Norm Van Brocklin, Howard Keys, Jesse Richardson, John Nocera, Joe Robb, and now Bobby."
As a pass receiver and kicker, Walston scored 881 points from 1951 through '62. His 114 points in a season held up until Paul McFadden scored 116 three years ago.
Walston, the 1951 NFL Rookie of the Year, still holds the club mark for most points in a game - 25, against Washington in 1954. His 80 career field goals tie him with Tony Franklin as runner-up to Sam Baker, who kicked 90 from 1964 to '69.
Walston's 311 pass receptions place him fourth on the Eagles' all-time list (Harold Carmichael's 589 are No. 1).
"If they had thrown to Bobby more, there's no telling what he could have done," McDonald said. "Those 311 catches, and 46 touchdowns, are pretty good. He was a great athlete. He was an unbelievable diver, a great boxer and a good basketball player."
Another teammate, Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik, remembers two important field goals Walston kicked. One field goal by Walston helped the Eagles beat
Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, 17-13, for the 1960 NFL title at Franklin Field.
"Earlier in that championship season," Bednarik said last night, "Bobby kicked the field goal with about 35 seconds left that beat Cleveland (31-29). That was the first game I went both ways (playing linebacker and center).
"You couldn't get mad at that guy. He was a lovable person. He'd give you his last buck."
"He was a very kind-hearted guy," said McDonald, who last saw Walston at the annual NFL alumni golf outing last June. McDonald said Walston was in good health then.
"Any time we saw each other, we didn't shake hands - we always hugged each other," McDonald said. "The three of us - (wide receiver Pete) Retzlaff, Bobby and me, it was like we were a family."
Walston was director of player personnel for the Chicago Bears from 1968 to '75. Most recently, he held a personnel job with the United States Football League.
Funeral services for Walston are scheduled today at the Grove Chapel in Elk Grove Village.
