What will the Eagles do for an encore? Could there be an NFL three-peat in the future?

When the Eagles made their first Super Bowl appearance in 1980 — even though they lost — there were plenty of thoughts about the team returning to the Super Bowl the following season. However, they were eliminated by the Giants, 27-21, in the Wildcard round.

Anyone remember what happened in 1982? It was the end of their revitalized run that began in the mid-70s.

In this version of my Yesterday column — reminiscing about sports and pop culture from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes before and beyond — I’ll take a brief look at the Eagles 1982 strike season and the end of an era as well as Super Bowl quarterback roll call, and some pop culture leftovers.

Finally, who was the former NFL player that turned into an Indian-based wrestler? What was “Funny Football?” and who was a Phillies 1982 reliever from Nicaragua?

Planning A New Before A Blue 1982 ... The 1982 season was the year of the first in-season NFL strike, an eight-week one. The league had a 12-day strike and lockout in 1968, a two-day strike in 1970, and a two-month pause in 1974 — and all of them occurred before the season.

The Eagles started their football year on a high note when they drafted North Carolina State wide receiver Mike Quick with their top pick. Fellow rookie tight ends Lawrence Sampleton and Vyto Kab, along with defensive back Dennis DeVaughn, linebacker Anthony Griggs, defensive tackle Harvey Armstrong, and wide receiver Tony Woodruff, were all on the opening day squad.

Besides Quick, do any of them sound familiar?

A Short But Long Season ... Philly began the season with a 37-34 loss to the then Washington Redskins at the Vet in which Ron Jaworski threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns, and Wilbert Montgomery ran for 63 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.

The Eagles followed with a 24-21 win at Cleveland, as Jaworski threw for 346 and a pair of touchdowns, but Montgomery was held to just 38 yards. Leroy Harris scored the game-winning touchdown on a 2-yard plunge, which was one of three fourth-quarter scores.

Unfortunately, the league shut down in Week Three, and so did the Eagles.

The Eagles returned to play in Week 11 on Nov. 21, but never regained any of the mojo they may have had as they would proceed to lose four straight games.

Philly bounced back with a 35-14 win over the then Houston Oilers at the Vet Dec. 19 behind Montgomery’s 147 yards and three touchdowns. Roynell Young picked off two of the team’s four interceptions.

And who was the Oilers’ quarterback? It was Archie Manning, who completed 18 of 30 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns, one to former Raiders tight end Dave Casper. Manning spent the 1982 season and part of the 1993 season with Houston.

Where did he go from there and spend his final season in 1984? Try the Vikings.

As for the Eagles, they kept their momentum going with a 24-20 victory at Texas Stadium. It was a sloppy game in which both teams committed four turnovers, before Tony Franklin sealed the win with a late, fourth-quarter, 26-yard field goal.

Dallas, which was 6-1 at the time, was paced by Danny White’s two touchdown passes, one to tight end Doug Cosbie (remember him?).

However, the Birds had the tables turned on them the final week when the Giants’ Joe Danelo booted a game-winning 25-yard field goal in a 26-24 victory in the Meadowlands.

The Giants’ Scott Brunner threw three interceptions, and Butch Woolfolk (there’s a memory) led the G-Men with 63 yards and Eagle-killer Rob Carpenter added 52 yards.

There was little for the Eagles, as Jaworski threw for 163 with a pair of touchdowns, and Montgomery was bottled up for only 37 yards.

It ended with a disappointing 3-6 slate, and a major shift was on the horizon.

Dick’s Done ... On Jan. 10, 1983, Dick Vermeil shocked the greater Philadelphia area when he announced he was resigning after seven seasons due to “burnout.”

He had evolved as the once 39-year-old relatively unknown UCLA head coach to a Philadelphia icon in seven seasons.

Before he was hired in 1976, then Eagles owner Leonard Tose reportedly had reached out to Hank Stram, Allie Sherman and Norm Van Brocklin for the coach to help bring respectability back to the franchise.

Defensive coordinator Marian “The Swamp Fox” Campbell took over, but the Eagles never regained their status until Buddy Ryan and Randall Cunningham turned back around the corner in 1988 with a 10-6 record.

And where have you gone, punter John Teltschik?

More On A Skewered 1982 ... It was an odd year, especially in the postseason.

The defending champion 49ers, along with the Cowboys and Giants, didn’t make the postseason, but the 4-5 Browns and Lions did, becoming the first two teams with losing records to advance to the postseason.

By the way, the then Redskins (still should be) won the Super Bowl, 27-17, over Miami with John Riggins leading the way with 166 yards on 38 carries.

Former Penn Stater Jimmy Cefalo caught a 67-yard touchdown pass.

Name That Quarterback ... Through the years, there have been Super Bowl quarterbacks who may have easily been forgotten. Here is a list of some signal callers who may have slipped through the cracks and their Super Bowl:

Joe Kapp, Vikings, SB IV, 1969; Craig Morton, Cowboys, V - 1970; Vince Ferragamo, Rams, XIV - 1979; Kenny Anderson, Bengals, XVI - 1981; David Woodley, Dolphins, XVII - 1982; Tony Eason, Patriots, XX - 1985; Chris Chandler, Falcons, XXXII - 1991; Stan Humphries, Chargers, XXIX - 1994; Neil O’ Donnell, Steelers, XXX - 1995; Kerry Collins, Giants, XXXV - 2000; Matt Hasslebeck, Seahawks, XL - 2005; and Rex Grossman, Bears, XLI - 2006.

Another Classic Game ... In the late 1970s, TOMY released “Funny Football,” which basically was a larger electric football version.

There were two players a few inches in height, and you would wind them up and send them on their way. You could use the keys of football player No. 1 to control football player No. 2.

The person who makes the least mistakes and catches more opportunities ended up getting the final victory.

It still can be a fun way to spend some time. You can find it on eBay.

WWWF/WWE Wrap ... Each week, I’ll recall a former wrestler from our past.

Do you remember Wahoo McDaniel? He didn’t have any WWWF/WWE ties, but was one of the more colorful wrestlers in the sport, transcending back to the 70s. He is also one of several wrestlers with an NFL background.

Born Eugene McDaniel, he began his NFL career as a linebacker and guard with Houston in 1960, and also had stops with Denver (1961-63), the Jets (1964-66) and Miami (1966-68). He wrestled during the offseasons.

Donning the role of “Chief” in his full Indian attire, McDaniel was known for his tomahawk chop, tomahawk drop, pile driver, and brain buster in a 35-year career that spanned from 1961-96.

During his time, McDaniel held the NWA US Heavyweight title five times, and was a NWA tag-team champion several times. He also was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame.

He compiled an overall record of 2,210-857 with 341 draws in 3,399 career matches. McDaniel passed away in 2002 at the age of 63.

Memory Lane ... Each week, I’ll look back at a former player, manager, coach or media personality from our yesterday.

Staying in 1982, do you remember Phillies reliever Porfi Altamirano? The Nicaragua native was a right-handed reliever who spent the 1982-83 seasons in Philly.

Altamirano’s best season was in 1983 when he posted a 2-3 record with a 3.70 ERA over 47.1 innings in 31 games. The previous season, he went 5-1 with a 4.15 ERA over 39 innings in 29 games. He had an overall record of 7-4 with a 3.92 ERA with the Phils.

Altamirano was traded along with Bob Dernier and Gary Matthews to the Cubs in March 1984 for Bill Campbell and Mike Diaz. In Chicago, he only appeared in five games with a 4.76 ERA. Altamirano was traded to the Yankees in December, but never appeared in another major league game.

Your thoughts are always welcomed; email them to tnports@tnonline.com