Maxie Baughn obit

Eagles mourn the passing of Hall of Fame LB Maxie Baughan

 

He was not on the list.

The Philadelphia Eagles are saddened to announce that former linebacker and member of the franchise's Hall of Fame Maxie Baughan passed away on Saturday, August 19 of natural causes in Ithaca, New York, surrounded by his loving family at the age of 85.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Dianne; three children – Max (wife Jenn), Mark (wife Carolyn), Matt (wife Kelly); and eight grandchildren (Christopher, Connor, Charlie, Hunter, Hailey, Natalie, Cal, Heather).

"On behalf of the Philadelphia Eagles family, I am saddened to learn of the passing of Maxie Baughan, one of our team's all-time greats," Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie said. "A member of the 1960 NFL Championship team as a rookie, he went on to earn All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors during his career while playing a tough, hardnosed style of football. Maxie's induction into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2015 solidified his legacy and recognized his contributions to the team. Our hearts are with his wife, Dianne, and all Maxie's family and friends as they mourn his passing."

Born August 3, 1938 in Forkland, Alabama, Baughan was an All-American center and linebacker at Georgia Tech and was selected in the second round (20th overall) of the 1960 NFL Draft by the Eagles. With his ferocious, athletic, and highly intelligent style of play, Baughan became an immediate starter for a team that went on to win the 1960 NFL Championship.

Baughan was a star from the very beginning of his career, earning Pro Bowl recognition for the first of nine times in his rookie campaign and in that Pro Bowl debut, Baughan served notice to the league that he would be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come by picking off three passes in the game.

The 6-foot-1, 227-pound linebacker played with the Eagles through the 1965 season and made the Pro Bowl in all but one of those seasons while also earning All-Pro honors three times. Baughan was named one of 12 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2024 in the Seniors category last month.

Following the 1965 season, the Eagles traded Baughan to Los Angeles, where he played through the 1970 season. Baughan retired from the NFL after that season and started coaching at Georgia Tech before he was convinced to return to the NFL as a player-coach with Washington in 1974.

Baughan coached with the Baltimore Colts, Detroit, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, and the Baltimore Ravens before retiring from coaching in 1998.

Heavily involved throughout his life in the Boy Scouts of America, Baughan received the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award from the National Eagle Scout Association of the Boy Scouts of America in 2012.

Baughan was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame on Monday, October 19, 2015.

Baughan was selected in the second round of the 1960 NFL Draft by the Eagles as the 20th player chosen overall and became an immediate starter for the team at right side linebacker. Baughan played the next 10 years in the NFL and was voted all-pro seven times. At the conclusion of his rookie season, the Eagles won the 1960 NFL Championship, the last title for the franchise until their victory in Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots. Baughan was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first of nine times that year, finishing the game with three interceptions. All told, Baughan would make the Pro Bowl five out of six years during his time with the Eagles. During a December 12, 1965 in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Eagles intercepted a team-record nine passes en route to a 47-13 win. Six of those points came courtesy of Baughan when he returned a first quarter interception by Steelers quarterback Bill Nelsen 33 yards for the lone touchdown of his NFL career.

By 1966, the number of games the Eagles won had sharply declined and Baughan decided that he wanted out of Philadelphia. However, George Allen, who was entering his first season as an NFL head coach with the Los Angeles Rams, won the right to Baughan's services by sending two players (linebacker Fred Brown and defensive tackle Frank Molden ) to the Eagles in return. Baughan and Allen would develop a strong relationship, spending extensive time studying game film together. Baughan would later state that he learned more about football from Allen than anyone else. Baughan was chosen to be the Rams' defensive captain and was in charge of signal calling for the unit. He was selected for the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons with the Rams and was also named 1st Team All-Pro three times. After an injury-plagued 1970 season, in which he played in only 10 games, Baughan retired from the NFL.

Baughan's contractual rights were traded along with Jack Pardee, Myron Pottios, Diron Talbert, John Wilbur, Jeff Jordan, and a 1971 fifth-round pick (124th overall–traded to Green Bay Packers for Boyd Dowler) from the Rams to the Washington Redskins for Marlin McKeever, first and third rounders in 1971 (10th and 63rd overall–Isiah Robertson and Dave Elmendorf respectively) and third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounders in 1972 (73rd, 99th, 125th, 151st and 177th overall–to New England Patriots, traded to Philadelphia Eagles for Joe Carollo, Bob Christiansen, Texas Southern defensive tackle Eddie Herbert and to New York Giants respectively) on January 28, 1971.

From 1972 to 1973, he was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech. In 1974, Allen, now the head coach of the Redskins, talked Baughan into a brief return to the NFL as a player-coach. At the conclusion of that season, Baughan retired. He finished with 18 interceptions (including 1 returned for a touchdown) and 10 fumble recoveries in 147 games played.

From 1975 to 1982, he was a defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Colts and Detroit Lions. During his time with the Colts, the team won three straight AFC East divisional championships from 1975 to 1977. He became head football coach at Cornell University in 1983, and his 1988 team was co-champion of the Ivy League. It was Cornell's first championship since 1971. Baughan was forced to resign as head coach at Cornell after information surfaced about an affair he had with an assistant coach's wife. Baughan then returned to the NFL for stints as an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, finally, the Baltimore Ravens. He retired from coaching in 1998.

Career history

As a player:

Philadelphia Eagles (1960–1965)

Los Angeles Rams (1966–1970)

Washington Redskins (1974)

As a coach:

Georgia Tech (1972–1973) (DC)

Baltimore Colts (1975–1979) (DC)

Detroit Lions (1980–1982) (DC)

Cornell (1983–1988) (HC)

Minnesota Vikings (1990–1991) (LB)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1992–1995) (LB)

Baltimore Ravens (1996–1998) (LB)

Career highlights and awards

NFL champion (1960)

2× First-team All-Pro (1964, 1969)

5× Second-team All-Pro (1961, 1965–1968)

9× Pro Bowl (1960, 1961, 1963–1969)

Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame

Consensus All-American (1959)