Mourning the loss
of a legend

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

The City of Brotherly Love lost a piece of football history last week with the passing of former Eagle Francis "Bucko" Kilroy.
The popular ex-player died on July 10 at Caritas Norwood Hospital in Norwood, Mass. He was 86.
The Port Richmond native had a remarkable football career, which began in the mid-1930s. His passion for the pigskin never ceased; he continued to work within the sport up until his death.
Kilroy, a durable lineman who played for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1940s and ’50s, got his start as a player at North Catholic High School, helping the Falcons clinch Catholic League titles in 1935 and 1937.
The offensive lineman took his aggressiveness to Temple University, suiting up with the Owls in 1940 and ’41. Kilroy and his teammates made school history during that 1941 season when Temple defeated Penn State, Bucknell and Villanova in the same season for the first time. Kilroy also was named to the Associated Press first-team All-East squad and was an All-American honorable mention that same year.
Following his success with North Catholic and Temple, Kilroy hit the big time when he suited up with the "Steagles" — a combined team formed of players with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles in 1943. The two teams were forced to temporarily merge because of a significant loss of players to military service during World War II.
The following year, Kilroy joined the Philadelphia Eagles and played with the hometown squad until 1955.
A two-way tackle, Kilroy quickly became the most notorious defensive player for the Birds. His fierce tackling quickly earned him a reputation as one of the NFL’s tough guys.
Despite his sometimes controversial performance on the gridiron, Kilroy helped the Eagles win three straight division titles, from 1947 through 1949. In those last two years, they won the league championship.
Kilroy played in 147 consecutive games — setting the league record at the time. He missed just one game because of injury in 203 overall appearances.
During his time in an Eagles uniform, Kilroy was named All-Pro six times and played in three Pro Bowl games.
In his final three seasons with the Eagles, Kilroy was introduced to the coaching game, performing as both a player and coach.
Kilroy stayed in the game when his playing days ended. In the years that followed, he served as a scout with the Eagles, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. He spent 36 years of his NFL career with the New England Patriots, holding a variety of responsibilities. From 1971 to 1978 he was the team’s personnel director, then served as general manager for four years, and was a team vice president from 1983 to 1993. The following year, Kilroy became a scouting consultant with the team for 13 years, until the time of his death.
His entire NFL career — as a player and in the front office — spanned 64 seasons.
Kilroy was inducted into the Temple Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977, and recently was elected to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
The Philadelphia native was born on May 30, 1921. He married Jane (Pirie) in Oklahoma on March 6, 1972. The two lived in Foxboro, Mass., for the past 37 years. Kilroy had eight children, two brothers, two sisters, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com