Bud Sutton, 88, Philly native who played for Eagles

PHILLY OLD-TIMERS will remember when high school football was big. Huge crowds packed stadiums to watch games, especially playoff games.

The city championship game between Northeast High School and St. Joseph's Preparatory School in 1942 was an example. More than 20,000 fans packed Temple Stadium, where, when they arrived, workers were still pushing off snow from a storm.

Northeast's star was Joseph "Bud" Sutton, a tough kid destined for the NFL, who repeatedly slammed into the St. Joe's line in one of the hardest-fought high school contests ever.

Finally, Vince Stagliano broke into the end zone, and Sutton kicked the extra point. Northeast High was the city champ by a score of 7-0.

Bud carried that tenacity to Temple University, where he was a fleet running back, and then to the Eagles in 1950, when he was switched to defense.

He became a superior ball hawk, setting a team record with eight interceptions his first year and a total of 13 in his 30 games with the Birds.

Bud Sutton died Monday of heart failure at age 88. He had lived in Bradenton, Fla., for the last 20 years, within walking distance of a golf course where he played nearly every day.

He was an Army veteran of World War II, during which he saw combat in France as a member of the 131st Field Artillery Regiment. Like many World War II combat veterans, he was reluctant to talk about his war experiences with friends and family.

Bud was born in Philadelphia to John F. Sutton and the former Josephine Boyle. He graduated in 1942 from Northeast High School, which was also the alma mater of Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley (class of 1957).

Bud entered the Army after high school, and after his discharge, he attended Temple, where he continued on offense as a running back. He played for one season with the Buffalo Bills before signing with the Eagles.

He just missed the Eagles' championship season in which Steve Van Buren ran wild. The team beat the Rams for the championship in 1949. Bud and Van Buren became friends, and both became car salesmen after their playing days.

As an Eagles player, he made about $5,000 a year, said his son, John F. "Jack" Sutton.

Bud also was a standout baseball player. He played with the old Sunbury Athletics and had a batting average of .600.

"He was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet," his son said. "But you wouldn't want to ruffle his feathers. He was a tough cookie. He wouldn't take nothing from nobody."

Bud was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.

Besides his son, he is surived by his wife, the former Patricia Garmong; two daughters, Cheryl Sutton Gunning and Nancy Madaffery; nine grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Services: Private service in Bradenton, Fla., Friday with an Army honor guard.