The Super Bowl LIX champion Eagles are now part of Philly’s City of Champions mural series

Five minutes after the Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, 59-year-old artist David McShane received a text message from Keith Baldwin, the owner of Spike’s Trophies.

“Keith texted me after the victory and said, ‘Are we ready for another?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And then the following week, I started designing,” McShane said. “They’ve been great partners with Mural Arts, and with me personally as an artist for so many years. So it just seemed like a great way to continue the story.”

McShane has worked on 200 murals decorating the city of Philadelphia. Spike’s Trophies in Northeast Philly happens to be the home of one. In 2014, McShane painted his City of Champions mural, which decorates one side of the building with historic Philadelphia sports figures including Joe Frazier and Wilt Chamberlain.

On Tuesday morning, the store on Grant Avenue welcomed its newest addition to the series with a ribbon-cutting ceremony emceed by Howard Eskin. The Super Bowl LIX mural is on the opposite side of the first mural, right next to McShane’s Super Bowl LII artwork.

“On that side of the building, there’s the whole history of championships,” McShane said. “And then on this side, it’s the most recent two. So that goes up to 2016, and then this is from 2017 and on. So we’re hoping it just keeps extending. We have plenty of room, which means the teams have to do their part and win some championships.”

The design matches the concept of the Super Bowl LII mural. It features Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, Zack Baun, Saquon Barkley, Cooper DeJean, and coach Nick Sirianni surrounding the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

“Being tied to sports and having the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame and now the partnership with Mural Arts, it’s just a special partnership between the three of us,” Baldwin said. “I come out here, and people are taking pictures with the murals. It’s just something that is very cool.”

Spike’s Trophies and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame began their partnership with Mural Arts when Ron Jaworski’s daughter, Joleen, said Mural Arts was looking to expand outside Center City. Knowing that the store was located on a well-traveled street, she connected the organizations.

“The City of Champions mural represents 100 years of champions,” Baldwin said. “And once McShane did that piece, when we won the first Super Bowl, I called him up and developed a relationship and said, ‘We have another wall if you want to start another mural.’ And that’s when the first Super Bowl mural went up.”

The Super Bowl LIX mural took about a week to design and took an additional three weeks to paint. McShane had the help of a few other artists including J.C. Zerbe, Ibi Padrón Venegas, Tommy McShane, and Jim Roynan. After weeks of working on the art, he was able to install the cloth in April.

Now, two months later, the public gathered to celebrate the artist in a mural dedication and museum exhibit. Before the band Snacktime performed its set, McShane stood in front of his mural and reflected on his work.

“I want to dedicate this mural to all of you with the hopes that it becomes a beacon of that brotherly love that brings us all together and unites us,” McShane said.

Fans can stop by at any time to admire McShane’s artwork or to explore the Hall of Fame’s museum preview gallery, which includes exhibits of past inductees Herb Magee and Irving Fryar.

“This event is to let Eagles fans know, wherever they live, they can always come by and relive a little bit of what they felt when that championship happened,” McShane said. “So, for me, it feels like it’s a way of reactivating all that joy and excitement that brought all these people together.”