As hundreds of Eagles fans found their seats inside the Montgomery Auditorium at the Parkway Central Library on a Tuesday night, Ray Didinger sits calmly in a back room waiting to discuss his newest version of his best-selling The Eagles Encyclopedia: Champions II highlighting the Eagles Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs last season as part of The Author Events Series.
Didinger, relaxed and poised waiting to take the stage, had a hectic six week stretch earlier this year to ensure the newest version of the 542 page book hit the deadline on time.
“I only had about six weeks to finish it, to go back and update all the previous stuff and then write the new stuff,” Didinger said.
“I’ve been dealing with deadlines for 50 years. It’s nothing new to me, but I never had one quite this demanding. So just getting it done was a huge, huge sigh of relief. I give a tremendous amount of credit to the people at Temple Press, because they were really working hard to get this thing done.”
The book encompasses the history of the Eagles spanning the earliest days of the franchise to Didinger’s favorite teams of the 1960s featuring his favorite player, Tommy McDonald, to the historical season Saquon Barkley put together in 2024 leading Philadelphia to the franchise’s second Super Bowl.
When choosing what the cover would be for the third installment of the book, Didinger said it was an easy choice.
“When it came time to decide what we are going to put on the cover, to me there’s only one choice. It’s got to be Barkley and the play against Jacksonville, because to me, that was the whole season,” Didinger said.
“Just the whole story. Signing this guy and then him coming here and having a 2,000-yard season and just carrying this team for the season and the excitement that surrounded his signing. The way he became such a fan-favorite immediately and the way people had these tremendous expectations for him, and yet he exceeded all of them.”
Also sitting in that back room to Didinger’s left, relaxed in a chair was longtime Eagles voice and good friend of Didinger, Merrill Reese, who was asked to lead the conversation about the new publication. Reese, in his 48th season in the booth, had a front row seat to the historic season a year ago.
“It was exciting to see it happen. I believed it was going to happen. To me, to see Jalen Hurts, who I have been a big proponent of from day one, emerge as the Super Bowl MVP was great,” Reese said recalling the euphoric season.
After exchanging some more thoughts on the current state of the Eagles and reminiscing about that magical Super Bowl resulting in a parade down Broad Street just nine months prior, the two left the room and took the stage to a loud round of applause from the Eagles cladded crowd.
In an open discussion that ranged in topics including Hurts gifting Reese custom Air Jordan Eagles cleats inscribing a heart-felt message expressing his appreciation for the broadcaster’s belief in the quarterback when many doubted him to the duo realizing they were sitting near each other at Franklin Field the day the Eagles won the 1960 Championship, taking down the Vince Lombardi led Green Bay Packers, the guests in attendance were treated with over an hour of entertaining insight.
Fans who purchased a copy of the newest edition of the encyclopedia can take in all of the team’s history written by a man who knows that topic better than anyone else.
“Modern history of Eagles football we are all familiar with. The Philly Special you know. Nick Foles you know. Jason Kelce you know,” Didinger said to the crowd.
“What this franchise and team was built on and the players who helped build this thing. The Bednarik’s, the Van Buren’s to the 60s with the McDonald’s and Van Brocklin’s, those are the guys that really laid the foundation for pro football in the city and sold the game in the city before anybody was really buying.”
“It was so exciting to have these two together on the stage,” Head of the Author Events Series Daniel Blank said. “As soon as I was pitched Ray’s new book, I said the person I want him in conversation with is Merrill Reese and tonight did not disappoint.”
For those who were unable to attend, The Free Library of Philadelphia and Blank are planning to have more events in the future including another sports related conversation.
“We are always looking to expand the scope and the reach of this series,” Blank said.
“An event like this really helps us with that. It’s always important for us to set aside some space for Philly stories. What could be more Philly than this?”
It is hard to argue. Didinger and Reese were born and raised in the City of Brotherly Love, they have been fans of the Eagles and transitioned their fandom into extraordinary careers covering a beloved team all while connecting with one of the most faithful fan bases across the professional sports landscape. The duo provided a memorable night for those in attendance.
“It’s special anytime you’re with Ray. Even if it’s a phone conversation or being together, Ray knows how I feel about everything,” Reese said.
