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156-475: Gary Davidson , a California lawyer and businessman, was the driving force behind the World Football League. He had helped start the moderately successful American Basketball Association and World Hockey Association , some of whose teams survived long enough to enter the more established National Basketball Association and National Hockey League , respectively. Unlike his two previous efforts,

312-556: A 4–12 record. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was fired at the end of the season. In 2015 , the Redskins hired Scot McCloughan to be their general manager, with Bruce Allen serving as team president. In October 2015, the Redskins had their largest comeback win in franchise history, coming back to win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–30 after being down 0–24 in the second quarter. The Redskins clinched

468-497: A 7–9 record. The 1989 Redskins finished with a 10–6 record but missed the playoffs. The team is best remembered for "The Posse" — Art Monk , Gary Clark , and Ricky Sanders —the first trio of NFL wide receivers to post more than 1,000 yards apiece in a single season. Also, Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs achieved his 100th career victory in a week-14 win against the San Diego Chargers . The Redskins returned to

624-524: A 10-yard touchdown, off one of Cowboys' backup quarterback Gary Hogeboom 's passes which was tipped by Dexter Manley to score the decisive points. John Riggins rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries and the Redskins went on to defeat the Cowboys' by a score of 31–17. The Redskins' first Super Bowl win, and their first NFL Championship in 40 years, was in Super Bowl XVII , where

780-566: A 12-year career, during which he became the Redskins' all-time leader in pass attempts and completions. The Redskins finished 3rd in the NFC East behind the Cowboys and missed the wild card to the Giants by virtue of tiebreakers . The 1986 offseason's major highlight occurred during the 1986 NFL draft , when the Redskins picked up future Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien in the sixth round, also

936-513: A 13-yard loss, Matuszak was benched—the Texans had been served with a restraining order that barred Matuszak from playing another down for the Texans until his Oilers contract expired at the end of the 1977 NFL season. Afterwards, Matuszak waved the document to show the stunned home crowd why he was sitting on the bench, while the Oilers, who were angered at this debacle, subsequently traded Matuszak to

1092-498: A 14-point lead and lost to the New York Giants 24–21. That same year, Bill McPeak became the head coach and had a record of 21–46–3 over five seasons. During his tenure, he helped draft future stars: wide receiver Charley Taylor , tight end Jerry Smith , safety Paul Krause , center Len Hauss , and linebacker Chris Hanburger . He also helped pull off two important trades, gaining quarterback Sonny Jurgensen from

1248-555: A 15-yard touchdown pass and Washington had a 10–3 lead at halftime. In the fourth quarter, Kilmer again went to Taylor, this time for a 45-yard touchdown. Knight added three more field goals that period and The Over-The-Hill-Gang defense allowed only a second-quarter field goal. The final score was Washington 26, Dallas 3. After defeating the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC Championship, the Redskins went on to lose to

1404-519: A 39-yard (36 m) touchdown pass to Moss on a fourth-down play. Then, with 2:44 left, Brunell connected with Moss again on a 70-yard (64 m) touchdown pass and Nick Novak kicked the game-winning extra point. It was the Redskins' first victory at Texas Stadium since 1995 . They then fell into a slump, losing six of the next eight games which included three straight losses in November, and their playoff chances looked bleak. On December 18, 2005,

1560-440: A 7–5–2 record, their first winning season since 1955 , but died from cancer shortly before the start of the 1970 season . Bill Austin , appointed earlier by Lombardi, served as interim head coach for the season. On January 6, 1971, Williams hired former Los Angeles Rams head coach George Allen as head coach and general manager. Partial to seasoned veterans instead of highly touted young players, Allen's teams became known as

1716-535: A college draft. The first six rounds were held on January 22, 1974, with the remaining 30 rounds held on February 5. David Jaynes , quarterback from Kansas, was the first player selected in the draft by the original Memphis franchise that became the Houston Texans by the time the season started. As was common with many upstart leagues, the WFL's intended lineup of teams changed several times before they even played

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1872-506: A contract as head coach and general manager of the team, but Unitas declined as he was already under contract with the San Diego Chargers; he retired at the end of the 1973 season. Wheeler then made the same offer to Redskins linebacker Jack Pardee , who quickly signed with the new league. In the meantime, Wheeler had engaged in a war for territory with Pardee's old boss, Redskins owner Edward Bennett Williams . Wheeler wanted

2028-501: A contract that paved the way for the immediate start of construction for the new home of the Redskins (now Northwest Stadium). The 1996 season saw Washington post their first winning record in 4 years by finishing 9–7 . On December 22, 1996, the Redskins played their final game at RFK Stadium , a victory over the Dallas Cowboys 37–10, and finished their tenure at the stadium with a 173–102–3 record, including 11–1 in

2184-530: A crowd chanted "We Want Dallas!", which later became a rallying cry of sorts for Redskin fans before games against the Cowboys. In the NFC Championship Game against them at RFK Stadium , Redskins defensive end Dexter Manley knocked Cowboys' quarterback Danny White out for the rest of the game and sent him into the locker room shortly before halftime. Later in the game, Redskins defensive tackle Darryl Grant 's interception, which he returned for

2340-595: A different plan. Instead of drafting a certain player, a WFL team would draft an entire NFL or CFL team. This gave that team the rights to negotiate with players under contract for that team. For example, only the Charlotte Hornets had the right to offer contracts to players from the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Colts, and Detroit Lions, and only the Chicago Winds could offer contracts to players from

2496-515: A down in professional football. The Redskins ended the 1962 season with their best record in five years: 5–7–2 . Mitchell led the league with 11 touchdowns, and caught 72 passes and was selected to the Pro Bowl . In time, Mitchell would be joined by other black players like receiver Charley Taylor , running back Larry Brown , defensive back Brig Owens , and guard John Nisby . Marshall appointed board member Edward Bennett Williams to run

2652-675: A down. Most notably, Bassett's Toronto Northmen were forced to find a new home after the Canadian government threatened to ban any American football team from competing with the CFL. Though the Canadian Football Act never passed, the mere threat of it prompted Bassett to move the team to Memphis, where it became the Memphis Southmen . It was generally referred to by fans, local media, and even some official team materials as

2808-572: A former hockey prospect named Howard Baldwin (future owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins ), who ran the Boston Bulls charter; Ben Hatskin, who owned the WHA's Winnipeg Jets ; and R. Steve Arnold, another WHA associate. Perhaps one of the biggest of the "founding fathers" was a Canadian movie producer, John F. Bassett . A former tennis prodigy and owner of the WHA's Toronto Toros , Bassett came from

2964-471: A forward pass that struck the goalpost was automatically ruled incomplete. This later became known as the "Baugh/Marshall Rule". The Redskins had four different head coaches from 1946 to 1951, including former players Turk Edwards and Dick Todd as well as John Whelchel and Herman Ball . But this did not stop Marshall from trying to make the Redskins the most successful franchise in the league. His first major alteration happened on June 14, 1950, when it

3120-666: A laundry bill from the time the team was located in New York and were not paid regularly after the third week in October. The Birmingham Americans were not paid for the last two months of the season, the Florida Blazers went three months without pay (and reportedly survived on McDonald's meal vouchers), and the Sharks were not paid for what turned out to be their last six games. The other teams' finances were not much better, as

3276-541: A result, most of the league's teams were badly undercapitalized. By most accounts, the only reasonably well-financed teams were Memphis, Philadelphia, the Hawaiians and Southern California. In many cases, WFL teams were unable to meet the most basic team expenses. For instance, the Portland Storm 's players were reportedly being fed by sympathetic local fans. The Hornets had their uniforms impounded for not paying

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3432-486: A single season with 1,483 yards (1,356 m), breaking Bobby Mitchell 's previous record set in 1963 . Also, Chris Cooley 's 71 receptions broke Jerry Smith 's season record for a Redskins tight end. In the first round of the playoffs , the Redskins met the Buccaneers . The Redskins won 17–10, after taking an early 14–0 lead, which they thought they lost until replay showed that a touchdown, which would have tied

3588-454: A single season. Garcon had 113 catches total, which broke Monk's 106 catches in 1984 by seven. The Redskins fired Shanahan and most of his staff after the season. On January 9, 2014 , the Redskins hired Jay Gruden as their head coach. Gruden became the eighth head coach of the team since Daniel Snyder purchased the franchise in 1999. The Redskins struggled throughout the season, having three different quarterbacks start games, amounting to

3744-438: A test run in preseason games, this idea was scrapped. The league changed the scheduling format from 20 games without exhibitions to 18 games (played in 20 weeks due to the odd number of teams) with exhibitions. Gone were weeknight games; the new schedule had games on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. But there were still problems, as although the original plan called for a July 5 preseason opener and August 2 regular season openers,

3900-463: A then franchise record 316 passes and threw for more than 4,000 yards in regular play that season. They then defeated the Detroit Lions in the first round of the playoffs , but lost to the Buccaneers , 14–13. The 2000 season started with the selection of future Pro Bowler Chris Samuels and the tumultuous LaVar Arrington in the 2000 NFL draft and included five consecutive wins in

4056-563: A wealthy Canadian family. The family owned (among other entities) the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League , two Toronto newspapers and interests in television stations. The younger Bassett had been mulling over starting his own professional football league when he happened to meet Davidson and he was given a franchise for Toronto. Bassett went on to own a team in another alternative football league,

4212-541: The 1981 season 0–5 , the Redskins won eight out of their next 11 games and finished the season 8–8 but fourth in the NFC East. Starting on September 21, 1982, the NFL faced a 57-day long players' strike , which reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule to a nine-game schedule. Because of the shortened season, the NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff tournament, in which eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8 based on their regular season records. After

4368-527: The 1983 NFL season . Cornerback Darrell Green and defensive end Charles Mann were selected in the 1983 NFL draft and became key contributors for the team; Green would play his entire 20-year career with the Redskins. On October 1, 1983, the Redskins lost to the Green Bay Packers 48–47 in the highest-scoring Monday night football game in history , in which both teams combine for more than 1,000 yards (910 m) of total offense. Then during

4524-485: The 2004 season , Snyder hired former coach Joe Gibbs to return as head coach and team president. Gibbs' return to the franchise did not pay instant dividends as the Redskins finished the 2004 season with a record of 6–10 . Despite an impressive defense, the team struggled offensively. Quarterback Mark Brunell —an off-season acquisition from the Jacksonville Jaguars —struggled in his first season, and

4680-486: The 2006 NFL draft . After winning only three of the first nine games, Gibbs benched quarterback Brunell for former first-round draft pick Jason Campbell . After losing his first game as a starter to Tampa Bay , Campbell got his first NFL victory against the Carolina Panthers , bringing the Redskins out of a three-game losing streak. The highlight of the season happened on November 5, and concluded with one of

4836-410: The 2007 season by "winning ugly" starting the season off 2–0. The Redskins kept winning and losing close games, the only exception to this a 34–3 rout of the Detroit Lions . The Redskins continued to win ugly and lose ugly to be 5–3 at the halfway mark. However, the Redskins would begin to collapse. The team lost their next three games to fall to 5–6. On Monday, November 26, Redskins safety Sean Taylor

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4992-484: The 2011 New Orleans Saints for the most in a single season in NFL history. Despite the numerous records set, the Redskins missed the playoffs, losing 19–10 in a "win and in" situation against the New York Giants in the final week of the season. However, the Redskins still finished the season with a record of 8–7–1 , giving the team their first consecutive winning seasons in nearly 20 years. In contrast with

5148-510: The 2018 offseason, the Redskins traded for quarterback Alex Smith to replace Kirk Cousins as he left for the Minnesota Vikings in free agency. Despite early success starting the season 6–3, their best start since 2008 , the team finished the season 1–6 due to injuries. In a game against the Houston Texans on November 18, 2018, Smith suffered a compound and spiral fracture to his tibia and fibula in his right leg when he

5304-757: The American Basketball Association . He also founded the World Football League where he was the league's first president and commissioner. He was a star basketball player at Garden Grove, Calif., High School and attended the University of Redlands, Calif. In 1973 and 1974 , the Gary L. Davidson Award was presented to the most valuable player of the World Hockey Association . In 2010, Davidson

5460-893: The Birmingham Americans , and Daryle Lamonica penned a contract to play for the Southern California Sun starting in 1975. John Wilbur left the Over-the-Hill Gang as a Washington Redskin to invest, coach special teams, and play for the Hawaiians . The Dallas Cowboys also took roster hits when WFL teams in Hawaii and Houston signed running back Calvin Hill and quarterback Craig Morton respectively. The Hawaiians also signed Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl WR John Gilliam and San Francisco 49ers All-Pro TE Ted Kwalick ; however, Gilliam ended up with

5616-641: The Chicago Winds and Kwalick signed with the Philadelphia Bell prior to the 1975 season. By early June 1974, the WFL claimed they had some 60 NFL players under contract. Many of these defections came in the form of futures contracts. The players would play out their existing deals with the NFL, then jump to the WFL when those deals expired. Thus, Stabler planned to stay with the Raiders through 1975, then would have joined Birmingham in 1976 had

5772-539: The Denver Broncos in the 2019 offseason, and drafted Dwayne Haskins from Ohio State in the 2019 NFL draft . With a league worst 0–5 start to the season, tying with the Cincinnati Bengals , and their worst start since 2001 , the Redskins fired Gruden on October 7, 2019, with offensive line coach Bill Callahan serving as the interim head coach for the rest of the season. Gruden finished as

5928-670: The Florida Blazers made overtures of bringing the first place club to Atlanta . In September, two franchises relocated in mid-season. The Houston Texans moved to Shreveport, Louisiana , as the Shreveport Steamer , and they were followed a week later by the New York Stars , who relocated to Charlotte and became the Charlotte Hornets (also not to be confused with the present-day NBA franchise of

6084-675: The National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland ; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia . The Commanders have played more than 1,300 games and have won more than 600. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song , " Hail to

6240-538: The New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX . This game is also noted for Super Bowl MVP quarterback Doug Williams , who threw four touchdowns in the second quarter en route to becoming the first black quarterback to lead his team to a championship, and for rookie running back Timmy Smith , who ran for a Super Bowl-record 204 yards (187 m). In 1988 , the team missed the playoffs with

6396-810: The Over-the-Hill Gang . That season , the Redskins made the playoffs for the first time since 1945 with a 9–4–1 mark with Redskins first-year head coach George Allen winning the 1971 NFL Coach of the Year Award , the second of his career, winning his first Coach of the Year Award in 1967 as the head coach of the Rams . However, they lost in the Divisional Playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers , 24–20. The following season ,

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6552-500: The Philadelphia Eagles and linebacker Sam Huff from the New York Giants . In 1966 , Otto Graham was hired as the new head coach. Graham coached the Redskins for three seasons for a record of 17–22–3 . He resigned after the 1968 season , with the team hiring former Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi for the same role. During most of this unsuccessful period, Marshall continually refused to integrate

6708-471: The Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16, but were eliminated from playoff contention. The team's fortunes continued to slide in 2009 , as they finished 4–12 . Zorn was fired and replaced by Mike Shanahan after the season. On April 4, the Redskins acquired quarterback Donovan McNabb in a trade from the rival Philadelphia Eagles . However, the Redskins struggled to a 6–10 finish, once again 4th place in

6864-818: The Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots (six each), San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys (five each), and Green Bay Packers , New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs (four each). All of Washington's championships were attained during two 10-year spans. From 1936 to 1945 , the team went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them under general manager Jack Espey and head coach Ray Flaherty . The second period lasted from 1982 to 1991 under owner Jack Kent Cooke , general managers Bobby Beathard and Charley Casserly , and head coach Joe Gibbs . From 1946 to 1970, Washington posted just four winning seasons and never reached

7020-675: The Raiders beat the Redskins 38–9 in Super Bowl XVIII . The Redskins finished the 1984 season with an 11–5 record, and won the NFC East for the third consecutive season. However, they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Chicago Bears , 23–19. On November 18, 1985, while playing against the Giants , Theismann broke his leg during a sack by Lawrence Taylor . The compound fracture forced him to retire after

7176-432: The Redskins finished with a record of 4–12 . Petitbon was fired at the end of the season and on February 2, 1994, Norv Turner was hired as head coach after being the offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys . 1994 was even worse as they finished 3–13 , their worst season in over 30 years. Their sole bright spot that year came on October 9, 1994, linebacker Monte Coleman played in his 206th career game with

7332-705: The Redskins hosted their first postseason game in Washington since 1942, where they beat the Green Bay Packers 16–3 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs . The Redskins reached the NFC Championship Game , and in a much-anticipated match-up against the archrival Dallas Cowboys , The Redskins placekicker Curt Knight kicked an 18-yard field goal in the second quarter to get the scoring underway, then Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer connected with Redskins wide receiver Charley Taylor on

7488-450: The Redskins to their first winning season in ten years and was named both Sporting News Coach of the Year and UPI NFL Coach of the Year . In 1961 , the Redskins moved into their new stadium called D.C. Stadium, later renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969. The first game in new D.C. Stadium occurred on October 1 in front of 37,767 fans. However, the Redskins failed to hold

7644-462: The Redskins went 8–2 during the 1945 season . One of the most impressive performances came from Baugh, who had a completion percentage of .703. They ended the season by losing to the Cleveland Rams in the 1945 NFL Championship Game , 15–14. The one-point margin of victory came under scrutiny because of a safety that occurred early in the game. In the first quarter, the Redskins had

7800-571: The St. Louis Rams in order to take Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III second overall in the 2012 NFL draft . Although the need for a franchise quarterback was obvious, many journalists had doubts about the value of giving up a lot for a single player. In the opening game of the season, Griffin threw for 320 yards and two touchdown passes in a 40–32 victory over the New Orleans Saints to give

7956-579: The Super Bowl MVP award. After the Super Bowl, the Redskins set another franchise record by sending eight players to the Pro Bowl . The 1991 Washington Redskins are widely considered one of the best teams in NFL history. In 1992 , the Redskins reached the playoffs as a wild-card team, but lost in the Divisional playoffs to the 49ers , 20–13. On October 12, 1992, Art Monk became

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8112-524: The Super Bowl MVP . After the 1982 season Redskins placekicker Mark Moseley was the first and only placekicker in NFL history to be named the NFL's Most Valuable Player ; Moseley made 20 of 21 field goals attempted in 1982. Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs also won his first NFL Coach of the Year Award in 1982 which was the first of his back-to-back NFL Coach of the Year Awards, his second coming in

8268-553: The USFL 's Tampa Bay Bandits in the mid-1980s. Along with the original founding fathers, the rest of the owners soon fell into place, including a man whose own dreams of playing football were ended by a heart ailment, Thomas Origer, who later ran the Chicago Fire . Several prospective owners were forced to drop out. Davidson was willing to sell his Philadelphia team to investor Harry Jay Katz, before learning that Katz didn't have

8424-425: The Washington Redskins in 1937 . The usage of the term redskin was controversial for decades. In 2020 , pressure from several NFL and team sponsors led to its being retired as part of a wave of name changes in the wake of the George Floyd protests , which led to larger awareness of the Native American mascot controversy . The team played as the Washington Football Team for two seasons before rebranding as

8580-421: The Winds . The World Bowl runner-up Florida Blazers folded, and their franchise rights were relocated to San Antonio, Texas , as the San Antonio Wings . Akron, Ohio was briefly mentioned as a location for the twelfth WFL team (the replacement for the Wheels), but this never materialized, and only 11 teams played in the 1975 season. Only two teams, Memphis and Philadelphia, returned with the same ownership from

8736-430: The World Bowl on Friday, November 29 (the night after Thanksgiving) at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida . League officials also boldly discussed plans for expansion teams in Europe and Asia. In the first few weeks, the WFL looked to be a resounding success. Attendance outpaced the first week of the American Football League in 1960, averaging just under 43,000 a game. The box office numbers proved to be

8892-461: The playoffs in 1990 as a Wild Card team, but lost in the Divisional round to the 49ers . The 1991 season started with a franchise-record 11 straight wins. " The Hogs ", under the coaching of Redskins offensive line coach Joe Bugel , allowed a franchise-record nine sacks, the third-lowest total in NFL history. The offense also dominated under head football coach Joe Gibbs , scoring 485 points, more than any other team that year . The defense

9048-483: The undefeated Miami Dolphins 14–7 in Super Bowl VII . Redskins running back Larry Brown would be named the 1972 NFL MVP . The Redskins again made the playoffs in 1973 , 1974 , and 1976 , only to lose all three times in the first round. After the team failed to make the playoffs in Redskins despite a 9–5 record, Allen was fired and was replaced at head coach by Jack Pardee . Canadian-American businessman Jack Kent Cooke , who had owned minority shares of

9204-411: The 1983 NFL's Most Valuable Player finishing the season with a career-high in both yards passing 3,714 yds., and touchdown passes thrown, 29 Td's while throwing only 11 interceptions. In the postseason, the Redskins beat the Los Angeles Rams 51–7. The next week, Washington beat the San Francisco 49ers 24–21 in the NFC Championship Game . It was their final win of the season because two weeks later,

9360-428: The 2006 off-season was the hiring of Kansas City Chiefs ' offensive coordinator Al Saunders as offensive coordinator . Gibbs also added former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Jerry Gray to his staff as secondary/cornerbacks coach and lost quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave to the Falcons . The Redskins also picked up future starters Rocky McIntosh , Anthony Montgomery , Reed Doughty , and Kedric Golston in

9516-455: The Ambassadors to play at RFK Stadium , but Williams refused to allow it, and the Ambassadors were on the move. Without ever stepping on the field, the team went through their third relocation, starting off as the Baltimore-Washington Ambassadors, then becoming the Washington Ambassadors, and finally the Virginia Ambassadors. The fledgling WFL did succeed in raising stagnant salaries in the NFL. Average salaries in professional football were among

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9672-433: The Commanders ", which is played by their marching band after every home game touchdown . The Commanders are owned by a group managed by Josh Harris , who acquired the franchise from Daniel Snyder in 2023 for $ 6.05 billion. The Commanders were founded by George Preston Marshall as the Boston Braves in 1932 . The team changed its name to the Redskins the following year before moving to Washington, D.C. to become

9828-443: The Commanders in 2022. Washington won the 1937 and 1942 NFL championship games and Super Bowls XVII , XXII , and XXVI . Washington has finished a season as league runner-up six times, losing the 1936 , 1940 , 1943 , and 1945 title games and Super Bowls VII and XVIII . Washington has 24 postseason appearances and 14 division titles, with three Super Bowl wins tied with the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders , behind

9984-542: The Cowboys, which would clinch the division for and send the Redskins to the playoffs. The Redskins hosted the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round but lost 24–14. Hopes were high for a repeat division title in 2013 . However, these hopes were in vain, as poor play and controversy stirred during the entire year, leading to a 3–13 record. Even though most players had a down year compared to 2012, Pierre Garçon had his greatest season statistically yet. Garcon broke Art Monk 's 29-year-old franchise record for catches in

10140-459: The Florida Blazers. Not even the World Bowl could go off without a hitch. For a time, it appeared that the game would not take place because the Americans owed $ 237,000 in back federal taxes. However, the Internal Revenue Service agreed to let the game go ahead in return for a portion of the gate. Both teams were owed several weeks' back pay; the Americans only agreed to play when their owner promised them championship rings if they won. Aside from

10296-403: The Giants. Shortly after, the team won their first league championship in 1937, defeating the Chicago Bears . In 1940 , the Redskins met the Bears again in the 1940 NFL Championship Game . The result, 73–0 in favor of the Bears, remains the worst one-sided loss in NFL history. The Redskins won their second championship in 1942 , defeating the Bears 14–6. In 1943 , Dutch Bergman

10452-493: The Grizzlies, which they officially renamed themselves to the following season (not to be confused with the current NBA team of the same name ). The WFL suffered an even more serious blow when the CFL and NFL reached agreements with their striking players that ensured that the upstart league would be forced to compete with both of their established rivals. The original schedule called for a four-team playoff, with semifinal games held on Wednesday–Thursday November 20–November 21, and

10608-450: The Hornets' matchup against the Blazers, league officials forced the Hornets to withdraw from the playoffs. The Hornets' cut of the gate would have only been enough for their players to get $ 100 for the game, nowhere near enough for the financially strapped team to justify the trip to Orlando. League officials arranged for the Bell to advance in their place, as they were slightly more robustly funded and could cover their travel costs. Despite

10764-481: The Kansas City Chiefs. The league seemingly bottomed out in October when it shut down the Wheels and the Sharks after 14 games. The collapse of the Sharks meant that the Gator Bowl did not host World Bowl I; coincidentally, Jacksonville was also slated to be the host of the 1986 USFL Championship Game, but the USFL folded before that season began. It was not until February 2005 that the city hosted its first championship pro football game, Super Bowl XXXIX . Davidson

10920-457: The Kennedy administration, which would have prevented a segregated team from playing at the new federally-owned D.C. Stadium , managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior . The Redskins' previous venue, Griffith Stadium , was owned by the Griffith family, owners of the Washington Senators , who moved and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961 . In 1962 , Washington became the final professional American football franchise to integrate. First,

11076-446: The NFC East division title on December 26, when they beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16, 38–24. The division title was their third since Snyder took over ownership of the team, and was the first since the 1999 season to be clinched before Week 17. The Redskins hosted the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round on January 10, 2016, but lost 35–18, ending their 2015 season. Kirk Cousins , who took over as starting quarterback in

11232-620: The NFL but were refused. In 1979, the Memphis club owners filed an anti-trust suit against the NFL. Their case was ultimately dismissed on May 30, 1984, by which time the owners had already established the Tampa Bay Bandits in the next professional league, the United States Football League (then in the midst of its second season; that league incidentally filed their own, more famous antitrust suit against

11388-417: The NFL in 1986). Although the NFL expanded by two teams in 1976, that expansion had been planned before the WFL's first season, and neither city (Tampa and Seattle) had hosted a WFL franchise. One of the issues facing the WFL going into 1975 was how to hold a draft. The owners of the WFL teams collectively agreed they did not have the money to seek out the top college prospects. Instead, the league came up with

11544-449: The NFL's all-time leading pass receiver by catching his 820th career reception against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football . The era ended on March 5, 1993, when Gibbs retired after 12 years of coaching with the Redskins. Gibbs later founded Joe Gibbs Racing . After the end of Gibbs' first tenure, the Redskins hired former Redskins player Richie Petitbon for the 1993 season . However, his first and only year as head coach,

11700-557: The NFL, with Adams landing with the Kansas City Chiefs , White with the Dallas Cowboys , and Jenkins with the Atlanta Falcons ; Florida head coach Jack Pardee also got star Blazers' tight end Greg Latta to jump ship with him to the NFL's Bears. Though many predicted the WFL was dead, the league returned for the 1975 season. During the offseason, Hemmeter developed a plan to restore a measure of financial sanity to

11856-459: The New England city showed a lack of interest in the team. Through 1960 , the team shared baseball's Griffith Stadium with the first American League Washington Senators baseball team. In their first game in Washington, D.C., the Redskins defeated the New York Giants in the season opener, 13–3. The same season, they earned their first division title in Washington with a 49–14 win over

12012-921: The New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets had over $ 2 million of debt against just $ 94,000 in assets, and the Jacksonville Sharks and Detroit Wheels were liquidated owing nearly $ 4 million: Detroit had 122 creditors looking to recoup losses. Many NFL stars who had been attracted to the league quickly sought to get out of their contracts. Quarterback Ken Stabler (Raiders), defensive end L. C. Greenwood (Steelers), and quarterback Craig Morton (Giants) all were able to get courts to nullify their contracts with WFL teams, while former NFL veterans like George Sauer Jr. , Charley Harraway , Leroy Kelly , and Don Maynard all retired. Home-grown talent, like quarterbacks Tony Adams , Danny White , and wideout Alfred Jenkins quickly bolted for

12168-609: The Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Gary Davidson Gary L. Davidson (born August 13, 1934) is an American lawyer and businessman who is based in Orange County , California . Davidson co-founded and served as the first president of the World Hockey Association and co-founded, with former Buena Park Mayor Dennis Murphy ,

12324-528: The Redskins and been a board member since 1960, purchased majority interest from Edward Bennett Williams in 1974. Due to NFL rules at the time disallowing controlling ownership in other leagues, he allowed Williams to operate the team until selling his other properties, the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings , to Jerry Buss in May 1979. Cooke became the team's sole owner in 1985 after purchasing

12480-415: The Redskins beat Cowboys, 35–7, which marked the first time since 1995 that the Redskins swept the season series with Dallas. The Redskins clinched their first playoff berth since 1999 . The game also culminated impressive season performances by individuals. Portis set a team mark for most rushing yards in a single season with 1,516 yards (1,386 m), and Moss set a team record for most receiving yards in

12636-448: The Redskins defeated the Cowboys 20–14 at FedExField. During his 20 seasons, he set an NFL record for consecutive seasons with at least one interception (19) and a Redskins team record for regular-season games played (295) and started (258). The Redskins finished the 2003 season with a 5–11 record, their worst since 1994 . After two mediocre years, Spurrier resigned after the 2003 season with three years left on his contract. For

12792-479: The Redskins defeated the Miami Dolphins 27–17. Riggins provided the game's signature play when, on 4th and inches, with the Redskins down 17–13, the coaches called "70 Chip", a play designed for short yardage. Riggins instead gained 43 yards (39 meters) by running through would-be tackler Don McNeal and getting the go-ahead touchdown. The Redskins ended up winning by a 27–17 score with John Riggins winning

12948-644: The Redskins defensive end Dexter Manley set a franchise single-season record when he recorded 18.5 sacks while earning All-Pro honors. In 1986 season , the Redskins making the postseason as a wild-card team despite having a regular-season record of 12–4 . They won the Wild Card playoff against the Rams, and then again in the Divisional playoffs against the Bears. This game was Gibbs's 70th career, which made him

13104-496: The Redskins selected running back Ernie Davis of Syracuse first overall in the 1962 NFL draft ; Davis was the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy and the first to be the top selection in an NFL draft. Washington also took fullback Ron Hatcher of Michigan State in the eighth round , who became the first black player to sign a contract with the team. In December 1961, Marshall announced he had traded

13260-520: The Redskins went 10–6 , including a four-game winning streak early in the season, and made it to the playoffs for the first time in Norv Turner 's career (and the first time for the Redskins since 1992 ) in the final game of the season (on January 2, 2000, against the Dolphins ). Running back Stephen Davis rushed for a then franchise record 1,405 yards and quarterback Brad Johnson completed

13416-495: The Redskins would get an untimed down. Novak kicked a 47-yard (43 m) field goal, giving Washington a 22–19 victory. However, the Redskins finished the year with a 5–11 record, which resulted in them being last in the NFC East . This marked the second losing season of Joe Gibbs' second term as head coach with the Redskins, compared to the one losing season he had in his first 12-year tenure as head coach. The Redskins began

13572-424: The Redskins, which broke Art Monk 's team record for games played (Coleman retired at season's end with 216 games played). They improved to 6–10 in 1995 where they were able to get a season sweep on the eventual Super Bowl XXX Champions the Dallas Cowboys. On March 13, 1996, Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke , Maryland Governor Parris Glendening , and Prince George's County Executive Wayne K. Curry signed

13728-544: The Southmen, Bell and Hawaiians were the only teams who met payroll for every week of the season. The most dire situation, however, was that of the Detroit Wheels. The team's original 33 owners appeared to pay for team expenses out of pocket as they arose, resulting in what amounted to a club football team playing at the professional level. On several occasions, the team was left without uniforms when they did not pay

13884-487: The Winds, who were shut down five weeks into the season. It also resulted in the loss of the WFL's national television deal (see below), rendering the league all but invisible. Despite Hemmeter's efforts, several teams soon ran into financial difficulties, in part due to alarmingly low attendance figures. (The WFL averaged 21,423 fans per game in 1974, but only 13,931 per contest in '75.) The Winds were shut down five games into

14040-480: The World Football League did not bring any surviving teams into the National Football League . To get the league off the ground, Davidson knew that he needed investors. At a press conference held in Chicago on October 2, 1973, Davidson announced his core of investors, a group of men he called the "founding fathers". These men were Robert Schmertz , who owned the WHA's New England Whalers and NBA's Boston Celtics ;

14196-410: The ball at their own 5-yard line. Dropping back into the end zone , quarterback Baugh threw to an open receiver, but the ball hit the goal post and bounced back to the ground in the end zone. Under the rules at the time, this was ruled as a safety and thus gave the Rams a 2–0 lead. Marshall was so upset at the outcome that he became a major force in passing a major rule change after the season, in which

14352-423: The beginning of the WFL's undoing when two teams admitted to inflating their gates on a scale virtually unprecedented in major league sports. The Jacksonville Sharks admitted that out of the 105,892 fans who attended their first two games, 30,000 had gotten in for free. The Philadelphia Bell 's first two home games totaled 120,253 fans. However, when they paid city taxes on those gates, they admitted that 100,198 of

14508-482: The cleaning bill, forcing them to cancel practices. After several hotels and airlines went unpaid, the Wheels were also unable to fly to games or get a place for the players to stay without paying in advance. One player was forced to pay a hospital bill for his son out of pocket after being informed the team's insurance policy had been cancelled for non-payment of premiums. The owners refused to provide filming equipment for

14664-517: The coaches. The Wheels seemingly bottomed out when they arrived in Philadelphia to face the Bell. The players discovered that there were no medical supplies or tape available, and initially refused to take the field. When it looked like the Wheels would have to forfeit, a salesman at the game donated enough tape to allow them to play. The league was forced to take over the team after complaints from

14820-517: The division. The McNabb era came to an abrupt end when he was traded to Minnesota in August 2011. The troublesome After cutting the injury-rattled Clinton Portis , the Redskins had no important offensive players left except for Santana Moss. Mike Shanahan surprised most observers by his decision to name John Beck , an obscure free-agent quarterback, as the starter. However, Shanahan suddenly reversed direction by naming veteran backup Rex Grossman to

14976-504: The first half of the season. However, they ended up going 7–6 with Turner being fired as head coach prior to the end of the season. Terry Robiskie was named interim coach to finish out the season, which ended with an 8–8 record. During the final game of the season, Larry Centers became the NFL's all-time leader in receptions by a running back with 685. On January 3, 2001, the Redskins hired former Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer for

15132-472: The first time and beat the Arizona Cardinals , 19–13 in overtime. On November 23, 1997, they played the New York Giants and the result was a 7–7 tie, the Redskins first tie game since the 1971 season . They would finish 1997 8–7–1 and would miss the playoffs for the fifth season in a row. Cornerback Darrell Green would break Monte Coleman 's record for games played with the team during

15288-522: The fourth quarter. After the game, the Americans' jerseys were seized to satisfy team debts. ( Sports Illustrated referred to the game, prophetically, as "The first, and possibly only World Bowl".) As if losing a championship game in a squeaker was not bad enough, things got much worse. Florida head coach Jack Pardee bolted back to the NFL to take over the Chicago Bears , and the Blazers' franchise

15444-641: The game in Boston and New England was entirely associated with college, preparatory, and high school playing. Its eminence as an institution of sport grew in a hallowed atmosphere as an almost sacrosanct element of education which was to be kept ever free from commercial pollution." The Redskins appeared in the 1936 NFL Championship Game , their first championship appearance, but lost to the Green Bay Packers 21–6. The Redskins moved to Washington, D.C. , after five years in Boston, with Marshall stating that

15600-469: The game, and the Seahawks scored on the next drive and converted the two-point conversion . To close the game, Todd Collins threw two interceptions, each returned for a touchdown, and the Redskins fell 35–14. After Joe Gibbs announced his retirement following the 2007 season, Jim Zorn was hired as head coach and brought in a West Coast Offense . The 2008 season started well, as the Redskins started

15756-471: The game, was an incomplete pass. In that game, the Redskins broke the record for fewest offensive yards (120) gained in a playoff victory, with one of their two touchdowns being from a defensive run after a fumble recovery. The following weekend, they played the Seahawks , who defeated the Redskins 20–10, ending their hopes of reaching their first NFC Championship Game since 1991 . The first major move of

15912-608: The league by paying players and coaches based on a percentage of revenues, while imposing strict capitalization requirements on the teams. Several markets from 1974 returned under new team names and new ownership. The deceased Sharks of Jacksonville came back as the 'Express.' The Portland Storm became the Portland Thunder, the Birmingham Americans were replaced by the Vulcans , and the Chicago Fire became

16068-434: The league came under pressure to accelerate its timetable, largely on account of strained labor relations affecting both established professional leagues. In the spring of 1974, players were threatening to go on strike in both the NFL and CFL, which could have delayed the start of their seasons and/or caused the quality of their product to deteriorate if owners attempted to bring in replacement players. The possibility of being

16224-473: The league was to have players wear different colors of pants based on their position. Offensive linemen were to wear purple pants, running backs green pants, receivers blue pants, linebackers red, and defensive backs yellow. Quarterbacks and kickers were to wear white pants. In addition to the colors, the pants were also adorned with items such as pinstripes (for the offensive linemen) or large stars (for quarterbacks) for those not watching on color television. After

16380-502: The league would have needed to spend as much as $ 40 million over two years to be successful, a bill that the league's directors, seven of whom sat on the boards of banks, did not feel could be justified. The  Birmingham Vulcans , by virtue of their league-best record of 9–3 at the time of the shutdown, were proclaimed league champions. With the relative financial stability of the Birmingham and Memphis clubs, both attempted to join

16536-641: The lowest in the four major North American sports, and the National Football League Players Association and the Canadian Football League Players Association had both gone on strike prior to their leagues' respective 1974 seasons in an effort to lift many of the rules suppressing free agency and player salaries. In addition, the NFL did not have a free agency system in place then (and one was not established until 1993). With

16692-475: The middle of the field. The MVP award was a three-way split, and the players involved split the cash. The playoff format itself was also chaotic: numerous playoff formats were tossed around, including brackets ranging from three to eight teams, with one owner proposing the World Bowl be canceled and the championship handed to the regular-season champion Memphis Southmen. Eventually, six teams were chosen for

16848-412: The money woes the league was having, the players did not hold back in complaining about the officiating during the game. Blazers running back Tommy Reamon scored what he thought was a touchdown, but the officials on the field ruled that he fumbled the ball out of the end zone before he hit the ground, resulting in a touchback that gave the ball to Birmingham. Replays clearly showed that the ball had broken

17004-470: The most exciting endings in the history of the Cowboys–Redskins rivalry . Tied 19–19, Troy Vincent blocked a last-second field goal attempt by Dallas that would have given them the win. Sean Taylor picked up the ball and ran 30 yards (27 m), breaking tackles along the way. It was thought that the game would then go in overtime, however because of a defensive 15-yard (14 m) face mask penalty,

17160-527: The only major professional football league in operation (or, at least, the possibility that the quality of WFL football might be compared favorably with that of established league rosters filled with " scab " players) appeared to be too good an opportunity to pass up – combined with rumors of another upstart league, it persuaded Davidson to advance the new league's planned debut to 1974. One team went through several identities. The team slated to play in Maryland

17316-415: The plane of the end zone before slipping out of Reamon's hands. While the phantom turnover did not account for any Birmingham points, it did serve to break the spirits of the Blazers. Birmingham led 15–0, with Birmingham quarterback Matthew Reed scoring an action point. Birmingham led 22–0, and thought they had the game wrapped up. However, Florida managed a small comeback, trailing 22–21 as the gun went off in

17472-451: The players. Perhaps one of the most bizarre incidents for the WFL in 1974 involved defensive end John Matuszak , who had jumped from the NFL's Houston Oilers to play for the WFL's Houston Texans . While Matuszak worked out on the field prior to a game against the New York Stars , attorneys for the Oilers and federal marshals arrived at the stadium: five minutes into the first quarter, shortly after sacking Stars quarterback Tom Sherman for

17628-482: The playoffs. On April 6, 1997, Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke died of congestive heart failure at the age of 84. In his will, Cooke left the Redskins to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, with instructions to sell the team. In the meantime, management of the team was given to son and executive vice president John Kent Cooke. On September 14, 1997, the Redskins played in their new stadium for

17784-400: The postseason. The two teams with the best regular-season records, Memphis and Birmingham, were awarded first-round byes. The other two division winners would play in first-round games against the runners-up in their division. Originally, Florida was to host Charlotte, while Southern California was to host the Hawaiians. However, after being informed only 1,000 advance tickets had been sold for

17940-442: The postseason. They went without a single winning season from 1956 to 1968, a span that included their worst regular season record: 1–12–1 in 1961 . Since their last Super Bowl victory in 1991 , they have won the NFC East four times with only seven postseason appearances. Boston was awarded a National Football League franchise on July 9, 1932, under the ownership of American businessman George Preston Marshall . The team

18096-404: The preseason, finished the season with career highs in touchdowns (29), yards (4,166), and completion percentage (69.8%). His completion percentage led the league, while his 29 touchdowns tied him for second on the franchise single-season list. The team's offense in 2016 set several franchise records, including having over 6,000 total net yards, which was only the third time in franchise history

18252-405: The prior season. Sports Illustrated , in its postmortem, noted that the change between 1974 and 1975 was so drastic that for all intents and purposes, the WFL of 1975 was a nearly completely different entity than its predecessor. The WFL of 1974 was described as a bombastic credit risk, while the WFL of 1975 was a safer but much quieter entity that failed because it was ignored. An idea produced by

18408-429: The record setting offense, the team's defense had a poor season, finishing 29 out of 32 teams in total defense, which led to the firing of defensive coordinator Joe Barry , as well as three of his assistants. In 2017 , Cousins had his third straight season with 4,000 passing yards while once again playing under the franchise tag. For the second straight season, the Redskins missed the playoffs, finishing 7–9. During

18564-594: The regular season had to open a week earlier, with a single game on Saturday, July 26, due to a stadium conflict. This meant that a single regular season game was played in the midst of the last weekend of preseason play (with some preseason games being played the next night). Several more NFL free agents, including Calvin Hill and Ted Kwalick , signed on with the struggling WFL. Memphis had secured three top-line, but fading Dolphins stars in Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, and Paul Warfield. The Southern California Sun secured

18720-459: The regular-season finale on December 17, 1983, Moseley set an NFL scoring record with 161 points while Riggins' total of 144 points was second. This marked the first time since 1951 that the top two scorers in a season played on the same team. They dominated the NFL with a 14-win season which included scoring a then NFL record 541 points, many of which came from Riggins, who scored 24 touchdowns. Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann would also be named

18876-410: The remaining shares from Williams for around $ 9 million. Jack Pardee , the 1979 NFL Coach of the Year , was fired following a 6–10 record in 1980 . On January 13, 1981, Cooke hired San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Joe Gibbs as head coach. During the offseason, the Redskins acquired players such as Mark May , Russ Grimm , and Dexter Manley in the 1981 NFL draft . After starting

19032-511: The rights to Davis to the Cleveland Browns , who wanted Davis to join the league's leading rusher, Jim Brown , in their backfield. Davis was traded for veteran running back Bobby Mitchell , who became a wide receiver in Washington, D.C., and 1962 first-round draft choice Leroy Jackson of Western Illinois . The move was made under unfortunate circumstances – as it turned out that Davis had leukemia , and died without ever playing

19188-505: The same name ; they played one road game after the official move still under the "Stars" name). On top of this, the Wheels moved one game to London, Ontario due to poor ticket sales, this time without any complaints from Canadian officials. It was discovered that in the rush to commence play in 1974, several WFL teams had paid less than the original $ 120,000 franchise fee in order to meet Davidson's target of 12 teams. Additionally, league officials had conducted little to no due diligence . As

19344-618: The same role. The 2001 season began with a loss to the San Diego Chargers , 30–3, two days before the September 11, 2001, attacks . On September 13, 2001, the Redskins announced the establishment of the Redskins Relief Fund to help families of the victims of the attack at the Pentagon. During the course of the season, the Redskins raised more than $ 700,000. They finished the season with an 8–8 record and Schottenheimer

19500-405: The schedule was poorly drafted: although most teams played on Wednesday nights with a national TV game slated for Thursday nights, the Hawaiians played their home games on Sunday afternoons, meaning when the Hawaiians had a home game, they played an opponent who flew to Honolulu after having played just four days earlier. In addition, back-to-back meetings between two teams were common. The WFL held

19656-449: The season 6–2. Furthermore, Redskins RB Clinton Portis led the NFL in rushing yards. However, things turned for the worse in early November, when they were routed 23–6 by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Portis' injuries finally caught up to him. The Redskins continued to struggle, falling all the way to 7–7, with their only win during that six-week period being a 3-point victory of the then-2–8 Seattle Seahawks . The Redskins managed to upset

19812-426: The season after dropping below league capitalization requirements, leaving the league with ten teams (which itself was a convenience, because it eliminated the mandatory bye week). It was not enough to stem the tide; by late October rumors abounded that four of the remaining teams were on the verge of folding. On Wednesday, October 22, a few days before the start of week 13, the WFL ceased operations. Hemmeter said that

19968-434: The season. The 1998 season started with a seven-game losing streak, and the Redskins finished with a 6–10 record. On May 25, 1999, Cooke sold the Redskins to local businessman Daniel Snyder for $ 800 million after being unable to raise sufficient funds to keep the team. Snyder sold the naming rights to Jack Kent Cooke Stadium to FedEx in November 1999, becoming FedExField . In Snyder's first season as owner,

20124-579: The services of former AFL and NFL quarterback Daryle Lamonica. The Chicago Winds made an offer to aging Super Bowl III MVP Joe Namath , who seriously considered the offer, before refusing and re-signing with the New York Jets . The Winds invested considerable money and time in the effort to sign Namath (the team even designed its uniform to emulate the Jets'), and all but promised he was coming to Chicago. The embarrassing rejection by Namath crippled

20280-434: The starting position. In Week 1, Grossman threw for 305 yards and two touchdown passes as the Redskins crushed the Giants 28–14, ending a six-game losing streak against that team. The Washington Redskins started the season 2–0, but then struggled to a 5–11 finish, however, they managed to win both meetings over the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants . In 2012 , the Redskins traded several high draft picks to

20436-484: The strike was settled, the Redskins dominated, winning six out of the seven remaining games to make the playoffs for the first time since 1976. In January 1983, during the second round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings , John Riggins rushed for franchise playoff record 185 yards, leading Washington to a 21–7 win. The game is perhaps best known for a moment when the stadium physically shook as

20592-462: The strong resources that he claimed, and was in fact the target of several lawsuits, and rescinded his offer to sell the rights to Philadelphia. He nearly sold the Detroit franchise to Bud Huchul, but it was later discovered Huchul had been arrested 30 times and faced 27 lawsuits related to his previous business dealings. Davidson had initially planned for his league to commence play in 1975. However,

20748-500: The team and league survived that long. Playing a 20-game regular season schedule in 1974 – six games longer than the NFL's then 14-game slate – the WFL staged no exhibition games (although their teams did participate in preseason scrimmages). The season was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, July 10 and end on Wednesday, November 13. This was a 20-game season in 19 weeks – a schedule accomplished by having double games (primarily Monday and Friday) on Labor Day weekend. Some complained that

20904-408: The team had accomplished that. Quarterback Kirk Cousins also set single-season team records in attempts, completions, and passing yards, breaking many of his records he had previously set in 2015. DeSean Jackson , Pierre Garçon , Jamison Crowder , Robert Kelley , Chris Thompson , Jordan Reed , Vernon Davis , and Matt Jones all finished the season with at least 500 yards from scrimmage, tying

21060-589: The team into the playoffs, are the basis for the 2000 movie The Replacements . The Redskins won their second championship in Super Bowl XXII on January 31, 1988, in San Diego, California. The Redskins routed the Denver Broncos 42–10 after starting the game down 10–0, the largest come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl history, which was tied by the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV and

21216-417: The team its highest-scoring game since 2005. The Redskins struggled to a 3–6 start, but in Week 11, the Redskins would host the struggling Philadelphia Eagles. Griffin would have one of the best games of his career to date, as the Redskins won 31–6 with long touchdowns to Santana Moss and Aldrick Robinson. The Redskins would win their next 6 games after that, including the crucial final game of the season against

21372-412: The team's daily operations in 1965 due to declining health. He acquired controlling interest in the franchise following Marshall's death on August 9, 1969. In 1969 , Williams hired former Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi for the same role, granting him a 5% stake in ownership and full control over football operations as the team's executive vice president. Lombardi coached the Redskins to

21528-541: The team, despite pressure from the U.S. government . Two months into the Kennedy administration on March 24, 1961, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall warned Marshall to hire black players or face federal retribution. For the first time in history, the federal government had attempted to desegregate a professional sports team. The Redskins were under the threat of civil rights legal action by

21684-410: The tickets had been given away for free or sold at significantly reduced prices. Presumably, the giveaways were intended in part to pique the public's curiosity and interest, but they ended up seriously eroding the credibility of both the teams and the league. Six games into the first season, a number of WFL franchises were in serious trouble. The Detroit Wheels were looking to move to Charlotte , and

21840-468: The uncertain labor situation, the WFL had the opportunity to provide players with a better deal than the established leagues would give them, along with the promise of employment. Davidson's league garnered major publicity when the Toronto Northmen , led by John F. Bassett, signed three Miami Dolphins players, fullback Larry Csonka , halfback Jim Kiick , and wide receiver Paul Warfield to what

21996-529: The various disasters, many thought the WFL performed fairly well, though below NFL standards. Many games were tight, decided by seven points or less, and the Action Point, the one-point conversion run or pass attempt after a touchdown, was favored among WFL coaches and critics. The league championship—the World Bowl , or "World Bowl I"—was staged in Birmingham between the hometown Birmingham Americans and

22152-469: The winningest head coach in Redskins history. The season ended next week, however, when the Redskins lost to the eventual Super Bowl XXI Champion Giants 17–0 in the NFC Championship game. The 1987 NFL season began with a players' strike that reduced the 16-game season to 15. No Redskins players crossed the picket line—the only such team—and the games for Weeks 4–6 were won with all-replacement squads. Those three victories, often credited with getting

22308-547: Was also dominant under defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon , giving up 224 total points, second-best of any team that year, while holding opponents scoreless three times. After posting a 14–2 record, the Redskins dominated the playoffs , beating the Falcons and Lions by a combined score of 64–17. On January 26, 1992, the Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI by defeating the Buffalo Bills 37–24; QB Mark Rypien won

22464-651: Was announced that the American Oil Company planned to televise all Redskins games, making them the first NFL team to have an entire season of televised games. His next major change came in February 1952, when he hired former Green Bay Packers coach Earl "Curly" Lambeau . But, after two seasons, Marshall fired Lambeau following the Redskins loss in their exhibition opener to the Los Angeles Rams and hired Joe Kuharich . In 1955, Kuharich led

22620-419: Was difficult. In 1935, Joe F. Carr opined: "To the casual observer bred in the knowledge of New England's place in football's sun, because its cradle and nursery were there, the success of a Boston team in the professional ranks would be a foregone conclusion. Nothing could have been more erroneous. Boston finished the most forbidding ground for professional football of any large city in the country. The history of

22776-449: Was fired after the final game. Snyder later said in a 2013 interview that he was fired due to his over-controlling nature. On January 14, 2002, Snyder hired Florida Gators coach Steve Spurrier , the Redskins' fifth head coach in 10 years. They finished with a 7–9 record, their first losing season in four years. A bittersweet moment during the season occurred on December 29, when Darrell Green concluded his 20th and final season as

22932-405: Was forced to resign in October 1974, and Hawaiians owner Christopher Hemmeter was named the new commissioner a month later. Late in the year, the league announced that it would award its Most Valuable Player a prize of $ 10,000 at the World Bowl. Rather than endure the embarrassment of media sneers about whether a WFL check would clear, the league neatly stacked $ 10,000 in cash high upon a table in

23088-551: Was named after the Boston Braves baseball team , with whom they shared Braves Field , with the inaugural season being coached by Lud Wray . The team saw several changes in 1933 , including a name change to the "Redskins" and playing their home games at Fenway Park , home of the Boston Red Sox . Wray was also replaced at head coach by William "Lone Star" Dietz . The situation faced by Marshall in New England

23244-566: Was named head coach and led the team to a return to the NFL championship game , however they were defeated by the Chicago Bears 41–21. That same season, Sammy Baugh led the NFL in passing, punting , and interceptions . The Redskins played in the NFL Championship one more time before a quarter-century drought that lasted until the 1972 season . With former Olympic gold medalist Dudley DeGroot as their new head coach,

23400-548: Was part of the initial group of individuals elected to the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame . This article about an American businessperson born in the 1930s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area . The Commanders compete in

23556-519: Was replaced midway through the season by backup Patrick Ramsey . On the other hand, some of Gibbs' other new signings, such as cornerback Shawn Springs and linebacker Marcus Washington , did very well. The Redskins also selected Sean Taylor during the first draft in Gibbs' return. The 2005 season started with three wins, including a win on September 19 against the Dallas Cowboys . Dallas led 13–0 with less than four minutes left when Brunell threw

23712-411: Was sacked by Kareem Jackson and J. J. Watt which forced him to miss the rest of the season. This led to Colt McCoy , Mark Sanchez , and Josh Johnson starting games in the second half of the season. The team finished at 7–9 and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year, with a league-high 25 players on injured reserve. Due to Smith's injury, the Redskins acquired Case Keenum from

23868-528: Was shot by home intruders early in the morning in his Miami home. The next morning, Taylor died from severe blood loss. However, the Redskins rebounded to finish 9–7 and clinch the final playoff spot in the NFC. Washington trailed 13–0 entering the 4th quarter to the Seattle Seahawks in the wild-card round, but rallied to take a 14–13 lead, but Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham missed a field goal later in

24024-476: Was sold off at a court-ordered auction after it was discovered that Blazers part-owner Rommie Loudd had financed the team through selling cocaine and a tax evasion scheme, for which he was arrested shortly after the season (and later convicted). The champions did not fare much better; only days after the World Bowl, the Americans' office furniture was repossessed by sheriff's deputies. The financial losses were tremendous: The Hawaiians had lost $ 3.2 million, while

24180-404: Was then the richest three-player deal in sports, an astounding US$ 3.5 million to start in 1975. The pact was a guaranteed, personal-services contract, so the trio would be paid even if the WFL did not survive its first season. The NFL took notice, as did their players when they were approached to jump leagues. The Oakland Raiders nearly lost both their quarterbacks. Ken Stabler signed with

24336-763: Was to be called the Washington Capitals, but the expansion NHL team had already trademarked the rights to the nickname. A contest held to name the team came up with the name Ambassadors. The team then became the Baltimore-Washington Ambassadors, and then the Baltimore name was dropped, and the team simply became known as the Washington Ambassadors. In order to boost ticket sales, Washington owner Joe Wheeler offered former Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas

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