Does anyone remember watching the Eagles training camp at Widener or West Chester?

Over the years, those were two of the Eagles’ stops along the way of the greater Delaware Valley and parts of Reading. Old timers may recall Hershey as being a longtime site from 1951-67, as it wasn’t considered to be a long drive for players back then.

There were plenty of good and bad anecdotes about players, coaches, and the sites. And yes, Lehigh was a staple for a long time.

In this week’s version of Yesterday - a trip back in time to the 60s, 70s, 80s and sometimes beyond - I will look at some of the Eagles’ training camps sites, as well as some late July happenings and other memories.

That Long Ride: West Chester actually was the Eagles’ site in 1938, 1940, and 1944-45. It became a 16-year stay from 1980-95 after the Birds had a seven-year stretch at Widener. Former head coach Dick Vermeil was highly critical of Widener for several inadequacies, as well as player car burglaries.

But for those who ever made a trip to West Chester, they’d surely attest to the seemingly endless ride to get there, only to have to find street parking.

Once on the campus, one could sit on the hills and watch the players practice. This also was a time when players would stay in one of the college’s dorms.

Former head coach Buddy Ryan was famous for his two-a-day practices there, and also for his many quips about players. There was one legendary story about former quarterback Randall Cunningham, who kicked a series of 40-plus-yard field goals one late July afternoon. People often forget Cunningham was a great punter.

One local player who generated some talk at West Chester was Parkland product Billy Hess, who was a two-way player at West Chester. The Eagles signed him in 1989, but he was cut at the end of training camp. Hess played for the World League (remember that?) as well as two seasons in the CFL.

West Chester was a homey spot saddled in neighborhoods, but its practice fields were always called into question.

Those Short Rides: The Eagles’ days at Lehigh from 1995-2012 certainly was an upgrade. Fans often would shake hands with players as they left the field, and had a fairly close view of the action.

It was estimated that 10,000 to 12,000 fans attended the daily workouts, and each of them easily could be heard due to the close proximity to the players.

Then newly-minted owner Jeffrey Lurie wanted to put his stamp on the team, and Lehigh presented a livelier, new-tech option at the time.

Marian High School fans may recall Sean Love, the Penn State guard from Maryland who was drafted by Dallas in the 10th round of the 1991 draft. Love ended his NFL career with the Eagles in 1998 when he was released in camp. He played in one game during the 1997 season. Love (-) who made his mark in the league as a special teamer and spot starter with Carolina and Tampa (-) ended his football career with the Orlando Rage of the XFL in 2001.

One of the most prominent stories to come from the Lehigh camp was when former head coach Andy Reid’s son, Garrett, died from a drug overdose in a dorm room in early August of 2012.

Sadly, for Lehigh Valley fans, that was the last year of camp at Lehigh. After Reid was fired in December 2012, new head coach Chip Kelly - ring a bell? - decided to move camp back to Philadelphia at the NovaCare center.

Go West Young Man: July 26 marked a significant date on the calendar for Phillies fans.

In 2000, the Phillies traded Curt Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Omar Daal, Vicente Padilla, Travis Lee, and Nelson Figueroa. Padilla was probably the most productive from the four, as it wasn’t a major trade in the Phillies’ favor.

Schilling finally got his World Series ring when he coupled with Randy Johnson to lead the D-backs to the title in 2001.

Remember Scott Rolen? The all-star third baseman and apparent Mike Schmidt heir was traded to the Cardinals on July 30, 2002 after he demanded a trade. The Phillies received Placido Polanco, who was a steady contributor over the next three seasons.

Speaking of Schmidt, he and Richie Ashburn were inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 30, 1995. Schmidt received 96.5% of the vote, while Ashburn was elected by the Veterans Committee.

How About That Punch?: “How about a nice Hawaiian Punch? Sure.” If you grew up in the late 1960s and 70s, it was an iconic TV ad of two cartoon characters, and we all indulged our share of it.

It always seemed like it was part of summer.

Always Wanted to Buy Those Records: In our youth, we all spent numerous hours in front of the TV set, whether it was early morning or late afternoon depending on the time we would go outside to play with our friends or take those bike rides.

Between the sitcoms, we were usually bombarded by the “K-Tel” record album ads. It was something unique, and something one felt they needed to have.

K-Tel began their TV-based albums in 1972 and carried through until 1979. They covered every music genre during the time from truck driver songs, disco songs, soul hits, star hits, and even had an album titled “Dumb Ditties,” that contained songs like “My Ding-A-Ling” and “Monster Mash.”

The albums or cassette tapes usually ranged from $3.99 to $7.99, and could be found at the place the albums were bought. This was before Walmart, and they could be found at drug stores, Woolworths, and even Two Guys - which is truly a blast from the past.

This also was before one could order online.

Keep Redialing: This time of the year is usually a peak concert time, and it’s much easier to get tickets today than it was back in the 70s and 80s.

Springsteen was one of the hottest tickets back then, and you had to dial the 1-800 Ticketron numbers to have a hope of seeing him in Philadelphia or New Jersey.

A time was announced that tickets would be on sale, and one had to frantically keep dialing and praying they got through. Those busy signals were frustrating.

Do You Remember? Every week, I’ll mention a possible forgotten player or manager from yesterday. Do you remember Phillie Terry Mulholland? The lefty pitcher from Uniontown had a six-year stint with the Phils from 1989-93, and won 12 regular-season games during the 1993 World Series run. He pitched the first Veterans Stadium no-hitter on Aug. 15, 1990 against San Francisco. Mulholland pitched for various clubs over 20 seasons and had a career 124-142 mark.