Eagles greats weigh in on the return of kelly green

'There’s a lot of people in our age group that remember those jerseys and that they represent a tough, take-no-s— brand of football,' Seth Joyner said. ‘This takes you back.'

After being drafted in the eighth round of the 1986 NFL draft by the Eagles, Seth Joyner (No. 59) racked up 37 sacks, 17 interceptions, and 21 forced fumbles in his eight years with the team. He made the Pro Bowl twice with the Eagles.Read more

by Jason Nark

Published July 30, 2023, 3:23 p.m. ET

When Seth Joyner joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1986, he said the team was living in the basement of the NFC East.

But that team, under the leadership of the beloved Buddy Ryan, and with all-timers like Reggie White, Eric Allen, and Randall Cunningham, fought its way back to respectability with a fist of kelly green.

“So, yeah, I’m biased. I’m extremely biased about kelly green,” Joyner, 58, told The Inquirer. “It’s about time.”

The Eagles have been wearing midnight green, with the occasional alternate jersey, since 1996, but many fans lamented the end of kelly green and the iconic, sharp-pointed font. Rumors have swirled about the return of kelly green for years and when the team’s newest take on the iconic color leaked online Saturday, those longtime fans rejoiced.

Joyner, 58, thinks he knows why.

“There’s a lot of people in our age group that remember those jerseys and that they represent a tough, take-no-s— brand of football,” Joyner said. “This takes you back.”

With the latest kelly green merchandise expected to go on sale Monday at team stores, The Inquirer checked in with Joyner and other Eagles greats about kelly green and other colors.

“I’m very excited,” former Eagles cornerback Eric Allen said in a message. “They bring back lots of good memories.”

NFL Hall-of-Famer Harold Carmichael said players rarely weighed in on uniform colors and styles when he played.

“I was just happy to be able to put one on,” Carmichael said Sunday. “We did wear the kelly green and sometimes we wore almost all white. I never paid much attention to it. Whatever color it was, I had to wear it.”

Carmichael said the return of kelly green just adds more excitement to an already amped-up fan base with high expectations.

“It’s like draft day, or opening day of training camp. It’s telling the world, ‘It’s time for football now’,” he said. “It’s exciting for the fans. I just hope I see a few number 17s out there.”

Allen said he hopes to see Joyner, Cunningham, and White jerseys in the crowd this year, along with his own.

Former Eagles quarterback Roman Gabriel, just shy of 83, said the kelly green and old blue-and-whites of the Los Angeles Rams were his two favorite uniforms.

“I love, love the kelly green,” he said.

Gabriel said some players care about uniforms and others don’t. He personally “hated” when the Rams used yellow instead of white.

“It looked like mustard,” he said.

All the former Eagles, along with longtime broadcaster Merrill Reese, agreed that the Eagles 1934 throwback jersey — a powder blue-and-yellow combo — were terrible.

“Those were a bomb,” Reese said.

Joyner said they “really sucked.”

Reese, 80, said his favorite jerseys are whatever the team wears when it’s winning.

“I grew up with the kelly green in the late ‘40s, when the top half of the shoulders were white,” Reese said. “I love the nostalgia and I think the latest versions are beautiful.”

Joyner said kelly green is just more Philadelphian.

“I see pictures online of little babies dressed in kelly green or some shade of green. That’s the way it should be,” he said. “That’s why when someone tells me they grew up in Philly, but they’re a Cowboys fans I’m like, ‘That’s fine, just get away from me.’”

Where to get Eagles kelly green gear Monday: All stores open at 9 a.m.:

Eagles Pro Shop: 2000 Route 70 West, Suite E Building E, Cherry Hill.

Eagles Pro Shop: Rockvale @ Lancaster, 35 South Willowdale Dr., Suite 1713, Lancaster, Pa.

Lincoln Financial Field: Pepsi Plaza, One Lincoln Financial Field Way, Philadelphia.