Eagles legend Billy Ray Barnes died at the age of 90 on Wednesday, the team announced Friday night.
Barnes died in Landis, N.C., while surrounded by his friends and family.
“He was 90 and has a fabulous life,” his daughter, Bill Barnes Akins, told the team website.
Barnes, a halfback, played for Wake Forest before the Eagles drafted him in the second round of the 1957 NFL Draft.
He starred for the franchise from 1957-61, earning Pro Bowl nods in each of his first three seasons.
Barnes helped the team win the 1960 NFL championship, which marked the franchise’s last championship until the Eagles won their first Super Bowl during the 2017 season.
The Eagles beat the Packers, 17-13, for that title 66 years ago.
Akins told the team website that her father’s championship ring had been stolen, but she and her twin sister helped get him a replacement one via the team.
“One of the things that he loved about the Eagles is in that championship game, they were the underdogs. Dad always liked being the underdog. He said it made him tougher, made him stronger, made him play harder,” Akins told the Eagles’ website.
She added: “He said the only thing that allowed them to win was their team. They were a team that was really tight and believed in each other.”
Barnes tallied 2,392 rushing yards and 1,275 receiving yards during his five years with the franchise, adding 20 rushing scores and eight receiving touchdowns.
His best season with the Eagles came in 1959 when he rushed for 687 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games, while adding 314 receiving yards and two scores.
“The fondest memory of everything up there is the fans,” Barnes told the team website in 2021.
“I played there for five years, but I lived there year-round for about eight years. The people were just great to me in Philadelphia.”
The Eagles traded Barnes to Washington and played for the rival squad for two seasons before missing the 1964 season.
He finished with two seasons with the Vikings spanning 1965-66.
Barnes tallied 3,421 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns across 98 career games, while adding 1,786 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.
He eventually joined the coaching ranks, guiding the Charleston Rockets of the Continental Football League before joining the Saints and Falcons as an assistant.
Barnes was a two-time cancer survivor, per the Eagles.
“He never realized how people thought of these guys as the greatest ever,” Akins told the team wbesite. “People you wouldn’t even know would just call him and reach out to him.
“The biggest thing was the friendships that he had made there. They were lifelong. He talked to a bunch of guys on the phone for years. He enjoyed everything about Philadelphia.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
