Steve Van Buren was a rarity: a superstar with no ego. He was the greatest running back in Eagles history, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, but he carried himself like a regular guy.
He always seemed embarrassed and a little mystified when strangers approached him and asked for an autograph or a handshake.
?How do they know me?? he would ask.
The concept of fame eluded Van Buren. He did not understand that he was part of the city?s history, a monument not unlike the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and for all Eagles fans, regardless of age, he was a symbol of everything the franchise once was and aspires to be again.
Van Buren, who died Thursday night at age 91 in Lancaster, Pa., was a humble man. In 1994, when the NFL selected its 75th anniversary team, Van Buren was in the backfield with Jim Brown, Gale Sayers and Walter Payton. Yet ask him about his career, as I often did, and he would say, ?I did OK? and leave it at that. He enjoyed talking about football, but not himself.
In retirement, most athletes surround themselves with photographs, trophies and game balls. Van Buren had none of that. After his wife Grace passed away, he moved into a tiny apartment in Northeast Philadelphia and the only photos on display were photos of his children and grandchildren. There was nothing that suggested he ever played football, much less excelled at it.
Van Buren gave away most of his memorabilia. A visitor would admire a particular piece, maybe a trophy or a team photo, and Van Buren would simply hand it to him. ?You like it?? he would say. ?Here, take it.? Friends said he did it all the time.
?I never cared about that stuff, just like I never cared about records,? Van Buren once said. ?The only thing that mattered to me was winning. If we won, I figured I did my job.
?Basically, I?m a shy person. I almost didn?t go to my Hall of Fame induction. My family made me go. Once I got there, I was glad. But I don?t like a lot of attention. I never did.?
When Wilbert Montgomery was closing in on Van Buren?s franchise record for rushing yards, the Eagles invited Van Buren to the game so he could take a bow and share in the moment. He declined. Instead, he stayed home and watched it on TV.
I called Van Buren the day Montgomery broke his record. He was babysitting two of his grandchildren as he watched the game. I asked if he was sorry to see his record fall. After all, it was on the books for almost 30 years.
?I was rooting for him to break it,? Van Buren said. ?It is about time somebody did it. I?m glad it was a kid like Wilbert. I think he?s the best runner in the NFL, better than (Tony) Dorsett. He does so many things well.?
I asked Van Buren how he would compare himself to Montgomery.
?Oh, he?s better than I was,? Van Buren said without hesitation.
Montgomery is the Eagles? all-time leading rusher with 6,538 yards. Van Buren is next with 5,860 yards. But Montgomery, while an outstanding player, wasn?t as good as Van Buren. Van Buren is the only Eagle to lead the league in rushing and he did it four times. He is the best by a wide margin, but he never saw it that way.
?This might sound odd, but I never thought I was that good,? Van Buren once said. ?It?s so long ago now, I don?t even think about it.?
Many former players are bitter about the huge salaries paid in today?s NFL. They resent the fact that a kid fresh out of college can get a million dollar signing bonus before ever stepping on the field. Van Buren wasn?t that way. He never earned more than $15,000 a year playing football, yet he was fine with that.
?That was a lot of money in those days,? he said. ?Times change.?
Humility was one of the reasons Van Buren?s teammates loved him. He always thought in terms of the team, not himself. When he was given gift certificates for free dinners or clothes, he gave them to his teammates. If a photographer came to practice to get a shot of Van Buren, he would ask several other players to get in the picture with him.
He always spoke about being part of a great Eagles team, a team that won back-to-back NFL championships in 1948 and ?49. Ask the other players and they agree it was a great team, but it was great mostly because of Van Buren. He was the best running back in the game at a time when running the ball was everything.
Bucko Kilroy played on those teams and he liked to tell a story about the day Van Buren showed up late for practice. Coach Greasy Neale was irritated and told Van Buren, ?It?s either you or me, one of us has to go.?
According to Kilroy, the players all chorused, ?So long, Greasy.?
I once asked Van Buren if that really happened. He smiled and nodded yes.
?Even Greasy laughed,? he said.
Van Buren never stopped loving the Eagles. He wore an Eagles cap every day. He watched every game on TV, although staying up for Monday night games became a struggle as he got older.
In December, some former Eagles went to the nursing home in Manheim where Van Buren was living to celebrate his 91st birthday. I tagged along. Van Buren?s eyes lit up when he was wheeled into the dining room and saw the familiar faces of Chuck Bednarik, Tommy McDonald, Pete Retzlaff and the rest.
While they were cutting the cake, Bednarik pointed at Van Buren and said: ?You were the greatest Eagle ever.? Van Buren pointed back as if to say, ?No, you were the greatest Eagle.?
He was being modest, as always.
E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net
Tags: eagles, nfl, Ray Didinger, Steve Van Burencolumbine British Open leaderboard Jessica Ghawi askew People Water Fred Willard Emmy nominations 2012
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