Hail Tales: Stories from Washington Football History

Time is winding down in Super Bowl XVII, and Washington has been trailing the entire game. Hope for the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl title is not lost, but with each second off the clock, it’s dimming. It’s Washington’s ball. Just over ten minutes left. Fourth-and-inches on Miami’s 43-yard line. The anticipation is thick in the Southern California air. The noise of over 103,000 fans surges. In this scenario, with the stakes this high, there was only one man the ball was going to.

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Over 27,000 had poured into Griffith Stadium for what seemed to be a typical football Sunday. As the game between Philadelphia and Washington kicked off, one of the most significant events in American history unfolds 5,000 miles away. What happened – and what didn't happen – at the Burgundy & Gold’s game that day went onto become an infamous part of Washington D.C. lore.

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On December 12, 1937, Washington bested the Bears at Wrigley Field to lift its first league title. That championship gave rise to a group of legends and laid the first brick of a legacy!

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A linebacker with a grudge, a QB who loved to air it out and an innovative kicker helped lift Washington to the kind of win the league may never see again!

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Ahead of Week 10 during the 1990 season, Philadelphia head coach Buddy Ryan said his team would deliver Washington a beating so bad that “they’ll have to be carted off in body bags.” What happened in that matchup left a mark on the Burgundy & Gold in more ways than one!

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A pioneer in pro sports entertainment, Washington’s marching band made its debut during the Burgundy & Gold’s first season in D.C. nearly 90 years ago. Since then, it has established fan favorite traditions and become a cherished gameday presence!

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In 1969, Vince Lombardi made the surprising move to join Washington as its new head coach and general manager. With his unique brand of leadership, the legendary Lombardi planted seeds that would set in motion a turnaround for the Burgundy & Gold!

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On September 19, 2005, Washington traveled west to Texas Stadium to face bitter rival Dallas on Monday Night Football. What unfolded in the last minutes of the game was one of the most thrilling and memorable spectacles in the last 25 years of Washington football!

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On December 22, 1996, Washington beat Dallas 37-10 in front of a sellout crowd. The postgame scenes were a sight to behold: fans tore up seats on their way to storming the field, ‘Auld Lang Syne’ played, a fire was set inside a helmet. The outpouring of emotion was about more than just a win over the Cowboys; it was about closing a chapter and saying goodbye to hallowed grounds that meant so much to so many.

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