Team History
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Franchise History
Establishment in Boston
The city of Boston was awarded an NFL franchise in 1932, under the ownership of George Preston Marshall. On the heels of Marshall's entry to the National Football League, and evidently influenced by his racial policies, the other NFL teams dropped all black players in 1933 and none signed blacks again until 1946.
While in Boston, the team took the same name as one of the local baseball teams at the time, the Boston Braves. To help differentiate the two teams, Marshall changed the name of the football Braves to the Redskins. Both teams played at Braves Field until the Redskins moved to Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox) in an attempt to boost attendance.
The Redskins in Washington, D.C.
The move to Fenway Park was unsuccessful and attendance was poor, so Marshall decided to move the team to Washington, D.C. in 1937. Upon making the move, the team instantly won a title. They also signed an innovative rookie quarterback from Texas Christian University: future Pro Football Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh. In an era where the forward pass was rare, the Redskins used it as their primary method of gaining yards. Baugh also played numerous other positions, including cornerback and punter.
The team's early success endeared them to the fans of Washington, D.C. However, after Baugh's retirement, the Redskins began a slow decline. Marshall continued to refuse to integrate the team, despite pressure from the Washington Post and the Federal Government (a typical comment by Post writer Shirley Povich was "Cleveland Browns runner Jim Brown integrated the Redskins end zone"). Under threat of civil rights legal action by the Kennedy administration, the team became the final pro football franchise to integrate, in 1962 when the Redskins signed wide receiver Bobby Mitchell, a future Hall of Famer.
From 1961 to 1996 the Redskins played at RFK Stadium, named after civil rights activist and United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
Even with Mitchell's addition, the Redskins were still not performing up to expectations. In 1969, the Redskins hired Vince Lombardi — who gained fame coaching with the Green Bay Packers — to be their new head coach. Lombardi led the team to a 7-5-2 record, their best since 1955, but died of cancer after the season ended. Also in 1969, long time owner, and President Emeritus, George Preston Marshall died.
Two years later the team signed George Allen as their head coach. Allen helped to foster the team's rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, which has turned into one of the NFL's most famous rivalries. The Redskins reached the NFC Conference Championship in 1973, defeating Dallas 33-3, only to lose to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII.
In 1981, Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke signed the offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, Joe Gibbs, as their head coach. He coached the team to four Super Bowls, winning three of them. The first was Super Bowl XVII, where the Redskins defeated the Miami Dolphins 27-17 on January 30, 1983, in Pasedena, California. Future Hall of Famer John Riggins provided the game's signature play when, on 4th and 1, with the Redskins down 17-13 with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, he broke free for the then-longest run from scrimmage in Super Bowl history (43 yards). One touchdown later, the Redskns won their first NFL title in 40 years by a 27-17 score. The Redskins' second title was in Super Bowl XXII on January 31, 1988, in San Diego, California. In this game, the Redskins routed the Denver Broncos 42-10 after starting the game in a 0-10 deficit, the largest come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl history. This game is more famous for the stellar performance by quarterback Doug Williams who passed for four touchdowns in the second quarter en route to becoming the first black quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. Running Back Timmy Smith had a great performance as well, running for a Super-Bowl record 203 yards. The Redskins won their latest Super Bowl on January 26, 1992, in Super Bowl XXVI in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Redskins, the most dominant team in the NFL in the 1991 season, defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24. On March 5th, 1993, Joe Gibbs retired after 12 years of coaching with the Redskins. In what would prove to be a temporary retirement, Gibbs pursued an interest in NASCAR.
The Redskins are one of only two teams in the NFL with an official marching band. The other is the Baltimore Ravens, who revived the band of the city's former NFL team, the Baltimore Colts. The Redskins' band predates the Colts franchise by about 15 years. Also, the Redskins were the first team to have a fight song, "Hail to the Redskins."
The Snyder era
In 1997, Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke died. His son, John Kent Cooke, was unable to pay the death duties for the business, and the team was later sold to Daniel Snyder in a deal that was the most expensive in sporting history. Snyder, who grew up as a Redskins fan and who made his money in cable television, has made many controversial moves since owning the team. One such move is the charging of fans to attend training camp in 2000, a first in the NFL. The most controversial habits Snyder has practiced is the continuous hiring and firing of head coaches, first firing incumbent coach Norv Turner, firing replacement Marty Schottenheimer after only one season, and in 2002, hiring University of Florida head coach Steve Spurrier to replace Schottenheimer. After two mediocre years, Spurrier resigned after the 2003 season with three years left on his contract.
For the 2004 season, Snyder successfully lured former coach Joe Gibbs away from NASCAR to return as head coach and team president. Snyder also expanded FedEx Field to a league-high capacity of 91,665 seats.
Gibbs' return to the franchise did not pay instant dividends, however, as the Redskins finished the 2004 season with a record of 6 wins and 10 losses. Despite an impressive defense, the team struggled offensively, and quarterback Mark Brunell - an off-season acquisition from the Jacksonville Jaguars - proved to be a major disappointment. Some of Gibbs' other new signings, such as cornerback Shawn Springs and Pro Bowl linebacker Marcus Washington did impress, however, while the jury remains out on talented running back Clinton Portis.
Since Dan Snyder took over the team, the Redskins have had a reputation for being very active during the off-season and signing free agent players to large contracts; not always ideal in the era of a salary cap. This off-season, however, the Redskins seem to have been more modest, with their most high-profile signing - wide receiver Santana Moss - joining the team via a trade with the New York Jets. Other signings included center Casey Rabach and wide receiver David Patten.
The 'Skins (as they are known to their fans) still found a way to turn heads, however: at the 2005 NFL Draft, the team traded away multiple picks to move up in the draft and select quarter ack Jason Campbell from Auburn University. The move leaves the team's future at the vital quarterback position in some doubt, considering Brunell and Patrick Ramsey also remain on the roster at the present time.
As of 2004, Forbes Magazine values the franchise at over $1 billion, the highest in the NFL and of any U.S. sports franchise.
Racial controversy
There is considerable controversy over the team's name and logo. Some Native American groups have called for a new name, and some newspapers in the United States have refused to call the team by their name, instead using such circumlocutions as "The Washington football team". There have been similar complaints about the MLB teams Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves.
This is not the first racial controversy in which the team has been involved. Former owner George Preston Marshall resisted integrating the team, which had no black players from its inception through 1961. However, the Redskins became the first NFL team to field a black starting quarterback in a Super Bowl game, Doug Williams, in the 1988 Super Bowl XXII. Jason Campbell, the quarterback the Redskins recently drafted in the 2005 NFL Draft, is also black.
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