Page 36 - The Hunt - Summer 2022

(Above and opposite page) An assortment of keepsakes and memorabilia from Dick Vermeil’s basement archives. (Below) Vermeil entertains a guest at home in Chester County with Alice by his side.
Richard Albert Vermeil is a survivor. So many of those he worked alongside—and plotted against— are gone. Vermeil refers to a ’79 Eagles staff photo in a highly organized memorabilia- filled basement shrine to his family, life and career. Only two others in the image are living. One is former NFL scout and general manager Carl Peterson, who worked with Vermeil throughout his career. He’ll present the new inductee in Canton, Ohio.
Vermeil’s wife, Carol, will present his yellow jacket at the ceremony, though he plans to
ask permission for his three starting NFL quarterbacks—Ron Jaworski, Kurt Warner and Trent Green—to assist her. Two weeks before the results were announced this past Super Bowl weekend, Warner led an early-morning delegation of 12, video cameras in tow, through the Brandywine Valley countryside to notify an emotional Vermeil. “I don’t know if I had my shoes on,” says Vermeil. “The driveway sensors went off, so I thought it was the UPS guy. As soon as I saw Kurt with his [yellow] jacket on, I knew.”
Soon enough, the world knew. “He
called me,” says Vince Papale, the former Eagle whose life story—and to an extent, Vermeil’s—was made famous in the 2006 film Invincible. “I have a tremendous relationship with Coach. I’d do anything for him—and it goes beyond football.”
And that makes sense, as Vermeil’s life has transcended football. A native of Calistoga, California, and the Napa Valley, he’s honored
34 THE HUNT MAGAZINE
summer 2022