Eagles icon Jimmy Gallagher dies at age 88
No Eagles executive was more likable than Jimmy Gallagher, the long-time public relations director who passed away Friday in Plymouth Meeting at age 88.
Gallagher is survived by his wife of 59 years, Betty; sons Jim Jr., Brendan and Keith; daughters Lizanne, Meg and Rosemary and 16 grandchildren. His legacy is forever.
“To borrow one of his famous phrases, Jim was a ‘first-round pick,’” Eagles Chairman-CEO Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement.
“Jim was one of the kindest and most remarkable men you could ever meet,” Lurie added. “His dedication to this organization went far beyond the 46 years he spent here and his impact was far reaching. Everyone who was fortunate enough to meet Jim knows how much he loved the Eagles but also how much he truly cared for and invested in the lives of others.”
Gallagher’s stories chronicling how he performed myriad jobs for the Eagles will live forever. He worked in public relations, football operations, sales and marketing, among other areas from 1949-95.
Gallagher’s wit and photographic memory enabled him to share Eagles history in a way no one could imagine. The draft stories were legendary including the process the Eagles and other NFL teams used to select players in the 1950s, when there 30 rounds, roughly 13 picks in the first round and the lottery was held at the Statler Hotel in New York City and the Warwick Hotel in Center City Philadelphia. There was no scouting combine, no Senior Bowl, no Shrine all-star game.
“He told me many, many years ago that they used to draft with help from Street and Smith’s football magazine,” longtime TV, radio personality and draftnik Bill Werndl said. “He started out in 1949. Back in the day they didn’t have so many workers. It was a very small front office. You had to be multi-faceted and he knew football. Jim was a jack of all trades and a master of every one of them. A terrific, terrific man. Nobody had a love for the Eagles like Jim Gallagher. He was the crème de la crème, just a giant of a guy.”
Merrill Reese, the voice of the Eagles, recalled how Gallagher beat lung cancer, which had claimed a lung.
“He was a great guy, a great guy; just his overall love for the Eagles, his love for football was tremendous,” Reese said. “Jimmy used to tell me they would sit around during the draft and look at all the college football magazines and they’d say, ‘Hey, this guy looks pretty good, this guy looks pretty good.’ And they’d pick some 6-foot-5 tackle and he’d pick him up at the train station and he’d be 5-10. It was a much different time.
“When I first began, Jimmy, in addition to being the Eagles’ public relations director, really was in charge of all the road trips. And every Saturday night he would take the entire media corps out to dinner. Just a great, great guy.”
Gallagher was in charge of public relations when the Eagles first started holding training camp at what is now Widener University in 1973. The Delaware County Daily Times still was based in Chester that year and for the most part covered local high school and community sports then.
“We covered the team every day,” retired Delco Times sports reporter Harry Chaykun said. “Jimmy Gallagher was the nicest person, an absolutely wonderful man. I remember Mike McCormack was coaching then and they weren’t the best of teams and maybe Mike wasn’t the best coach. But he was a great guy and he dealt very well with the press. Every day before Jimmy went home he would say, ‘I’m so grateful I have a coach like Mike McCormack to work with.’”
Gallagher always seemed to thoroughly know the background on local prospects, whether they were from Villanova or Interboro, the latter Vince Papale, when Dick Vermeil was head coach.
Chick McElrone, another Daily Times alum, wound up working in public with relations with Gallagher the Eagles.
In 46 years with the Eagles, Gallagher worked for 12 owners and 17 head coaches. Gallagher, nicknamed “Jimmy Gal,” was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 1995.
Gallagher was born on July 19, 1929, in northeast Philadelphia. He was a graduate of Northeast Catholic High School and served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War.
Every media member who ever dealt with Gallagher has a warm and fuzzy Jimmy Gal story. There wasn’t a more accommodating or kinder man in the business.
“What a wonderful, wonderful man,” Werndl said. “The nicest guy. He was so nice to me when I started out in this business. He got me my first spotting job for the visiting teams and he had me represent the Eagles at the NFL draft. I used to be a statistician with the team, the whole deal. He was just a prince of a guy. The nicest guy in the world.”
Funeral services are Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at Ephiphany of Our Lord Church, Walton Road, Plymouth Meeting, Funeral mass is at noon.