The Washington Football Team is one of the oldest and most storied franchises in the history of the National Football League, originally coming into the league back in 1932. The club recently changed the team’s nickname after much controversy, and today, continues to play in the NFC East division with their rival Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. Combined, these four franchises have won 13 of the 52 Super Bowls since 1967 (25%).
Here are five fascinating facts about the Washington Football Team
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- Going into the 2021 NFL season, Washington was one of only five NFL franchises to win at least 600 games (source) With a record of 611-613-28 all-time going into the 2021 NFL season, Washington is in an elite club of professional football. Only five franchises in the National Football League have registered at least 600 wins over their history, a group which includes the Chicago Bears (778 wins), the Green Bay Packers (770 wins), the New York Giants (702 wins), the Pittsburgh Steelers (644 wins) and the Washington Football Team (611 wins). Prior to the start of the 2021 season, this monumental mark was in play for the San Francisco 49ers (591 wins), the Philadelphia Eagles (591 wins) and the Los Angeles Rams (589 wins).
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- The franchise was originally founded in Boston back in 1932. (source) It was on July 9, 1932 that the city of Boston was awarded a franchise in the National Football League, and the team started out as the Boston Braves, being named after the baseball team. The franchise was owned by George Preston Marshall, and in their first season went 4-4-2, failing to qualify for the playoffs. The franchise was known as the Boston Braves for just that one season, before become the Boston Redskins (1933-1936) and eventually would relocate to Maryland and become the Washington Redskins.
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- The first ever Washington player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was Sammy Baugh. (source) In 1963, both team founder George Preston Marshall and longtime star quarterback Sammy Baugh were enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Baugh, who played his college football at TCU, was the sixth overall selection of the 1937 NFL Draft. He would play his entire professional football career with the Washington Redskins (from 1937-1952). Over his career, he was a two-time NFL Champion, a four-time First-team All-Pro, and a six-time Pro Bowl selection.
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- Joe Gibbs is the winningest coach in franchise history with 154 regular season victories. (source) The original head coaching stint for Joe Gibbs with Washington was from 1981-1992, where he led the franchise to a 124-60-0 record and three Super Bowl wins (over the Denver Broncos, the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins). Gibbs would return to his role as the head coach of Washington from 2004-2007, where he won another 30 games (for a 30-34-0 record over four seasons). In the franchise’s storied history, Joe Gibbs’ 154 regular season victories is the most of all 29 head coaches since 1932 for Washington, and he’s the only head coach to register more than 100 wins. The second closest would be George Allen, who coached the team from 1971 to 1977 for a 67-30-1 record.
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- The all-time leading rusher in franchise history is John Riggins with 7,472 yards. (source) John Riggins, who was drafted out of Kansas and originally played for the New York Jets from 1971-1975 would sign close out his career with Washington and become of the most loved players in the history of the franchise. His stints with Washington were from 1976-1979 and 1981-1985. The one-time Super Bowl Champion and one-time Super Bowl MVP award winner is a member of the franchise’s Ring of Honor, as well as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Washington’s NFL franchise is one of the most storied clubs in the history of the league, but also one that has been followed by much controversy. What fun facts do you have to share about one of the oldest franchises in the National Football League?
Featured image photo credit: All-Pro Reels, 2020. Originally found on Wikimedia.org. Image was resized and cropped. Creative Commons 2.0.
