50 Fun Facts About Washington Commanders

In which city was the franchise founded in 1932, before moving to Washington in 1937?

Boston was the franchise's first home: George Preston Marshall founded the club there in 1932, and it played at Fenway Park from 1933 until the move to Washington in 1937.

Under what name did the franchise play 2020 and 2021, between 'Redskins' and 'Commanders'?

The club played as the Washington Football Team in 2020 and 2021 after retiring the old name in July 2020 under sponsor pressure, then unveiled the Commanders name in February 2022.

Who beat Washington 73–0 in the 1940 NFL Championship Game?

The Chicago Bears routed Washington 73–0 in the 1940 title game, the most lopsided score in NFL history; the two clubs had also met for the 1937 championship, which Washington won 28–21.

Sammy Baugh led the NFL in which three statistical categories in 1943?

Passing, punting and interceptions: in 1943 Sammy Baugh won the NFL passing title, led the league with a 45.9-yard punting average, and picked off 11 passes as a defensive back.

What freak play cost Washington the 1945 title game and led to the 'Baugh/Marshall Rule'?

Baugh's throw from his own end zone struck the upright, which counted as a safety under the rules of the day; passes hitting the post became incomplete afterwards.

In 1962 Washington became the last NFL franchise to do what?

Washington was the last NFL club to integrate its roster, doing so in 1962 after Interior Secretary Stewart Udall threatened to bar a segregated team from the federally owned D.C. Stadium.

Washington drafted Ernie Davis, the first Black Heisman winner, first overall in 1962 and traded him for whom?

Davis was diagnosed with leukaemia and never played a down; Mitchell became a Hall of Fame receiver in Washington.

Which legendary coach led Washington to a 7–5–2 record in 1969, then died before the next season?

Vince Lombardi came out of retirement to coach Washington in 1969, its first winning season since 1955, and died of cancer on September 3, 1970, before the next season.

George Allen's veteran-laden Washington teams of the 1970s were known by what nickname?

The Over-the-Hill Gang was the nickname for George Allen's Washington squads, built on traded-for veterans rather than draft picks; they reached Super Bowl VII, losing 14–7 to the undefeated Dolphins.

Which running back was named NFL MVP in 1972, the year Washington reached its first Super Bowl?

Larry Brown ran for 1,216 yards in 1972 and was voted AP NFL MVP as Washington went 11–3 and won the NFC title before falling to unbeaten Miami in Super Bowl VII.

Which head coach won three Super Bowls in Washington with three different starting quarterbacks?

Joe Gibbs won Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI with a different starting quarterback each time, then founded Joe Gibbs Racing and added multiple NASCAR Cup championships as a team owner.

Which team's offensive coordinator did Washington hire as head coach in January 1981?

Washington's new coach came from the San Diego Chargers, where he had been Don Coryell's offensive coordinator in 1979 and 1980; he started 0–5, finished 8–8, and won the Super Bowl a year later.

The game-winning 43-yard touchdown run in Super Bowl XVII came on a play called what?

'70 Chip' was the call on 4th-and-inches with Washington trailing Miami 17–13; the runner shed Don McNeal's tackle for a 43-yard score and was MVP of the 27–17 win.

What did kicker Mark Moseley achieve in the strike-shortened 1982 season?

Mark Moseley won the league MVP award for 1982, the first time a placekicker had been named NFL MVP, after making 20 of 21 field goals in the nine-game strike season.

What was the nickname of Washington's dominant 1980s offensive line coached by Joe Bugel?

The Hogs was the nickname line coach Joe Bugel gave Washington's offensive front in 1982; fans known as the Hogettes wore frocks and pig snouts in tribute.

Which Washington quarterback broke his leg in a 1985 Monday Night sack by Lawrence Taylor?

Joe Theismann, the 1983 NFL MVP, suffered a compound fracture of his right leg when Lawrence Taylor sacked him on November 18, 1985, ending his career at 36.

How many touchdowns did Doug Williams throw in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXII?

Doug Williams threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXII, hitting Ricky Sanders twice, Gary Clark and Clint Didier, as Washington scored 35 points in the period.

What were Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, the first 1,000-yard receiving trio, called?

The Posse was Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, who in 1989 became the first trio of teammates to each gain 1,000 receiving yards in a season; the Fun Bunch and the Smurfs were earlier receiver groups.

Which sixth-round pick from the 1986 draft was MVP of Super Bowl XXVI as Washington beat Buffalo 37–24?

Mark Rypien, a sixth-round pick in 1986, threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns to win Super Bowl XXVI MVP as Washington beat Buffalo 37–24 to cap a 14–2 season.

Which cornerback played all 20 NFL seasons in Washington after going last in the first round of the 1983 draft?

Darrell Green, taken 28th overall in 1983, played a club-record 295 games over 20 seasons, winning two Super Bowls, and bowed out with a home win in December 2002.

Washington's record at RFK Stadium was 173–102–3, including what mark in playoff games?

Washington went 11–1 in playoff games at RFK Stadium, its lone home postseason loss coming in the 1984 divisional round; the final game there was a 37–10 win in December 1996.

Which owner presided over all three Super Bowl wins and left the team to a foundation with orders to sell it?

Jack Kent Cooke, who had sold the Lakers and Kings in 1979, owned Washington through all three Super Bowl wins; after his death in April 1997 his foundation sold the club in 1999 as his will directed.

How much did Daniel Snyder pay for the team in 1999?

Daniel Snyder's group paid $800 million for the team and its stadium in May 1999, then the highest price ever paid for an American sports franchise; naming rights went to FedEx that November.

Which Florida Gators coach did Snyder hire in 2002, the team's fifth head coach in ten years?

Steve Spurrier left Florida for a $25 million Washington contract in January 2002, went 12–20 over two seasons and resigned after 2003; the franchise then turned back to its three-time champion coach.

Which safety, drafted in 2004, was shot by intruders at his Miami home and died in November 2007?

Sean Taylor, the fifth overall pick in 2004, was 24 when he died; Washington retired his number 21 in October 2021, the third number retired in franchise history.

Washington traded three first-round picks and a second to draft which quarterback second overall in 2012?

Robert Griffin III, Baylor's 2011 Heisman winner, went second overall to Washington in 2012, won Offensive Rookie of the Year and an NFC East title, then tore his knee in the January 2013 playoff loss.

Which head coach was the longest-serving of the Snyder era, lasting six seasons from 2014?

Jay Gruden coached Washington from 2014 until his firing in October 2019, going 35–49–1 with one playoff trip, in 2015; no other Snyder-era coach lasted beyond a fourth season.

With what losing record did Washington win the NFC East in 2020?

Washington won the 2020 NFC East at 7–9 under Ron Rivera, joining the 2010 Seahawks (7–9) and Rivera's own 2014 Panthers (7–8–1) as division champions with losing records.

How much did the NFL fine the team in 2021 after the Wilkinson investigation into its workplace culture?

The NFL fined Washington $10 million in July 2021 after Beth Wilkinson's review of its workplace culture; Snyder handed day-to-day control to his wife Tanya and put the team up for sale in November 2022.

Josh Harris's group agreed to buy the Commanders in 2023 for how much?

Josh Harris's group agreed to pay $6.05 billion in May 2023, then the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise, topping the $4.65 billion for the Denver Broncos a year earlier.

Which quarterback, the 2023 Heisman winner, did Washington take second overall in 2024?

Jayden Daniels, the 2023 Heisman winner at LSU, was the second pick of the 2024 draft and won Offensive Rookie of the Year in a season that ended in the NFC Championship Game.

The 2024 Commanders reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time since which season?

The 2024 run was Washington's first NFC Championship Game since the 1991 season, which ended with a Super Bowl XXVI title; the 2024 team went 12–5 and lost the conference final 55–23 to the eventual champion Eagles.

Which team did Washington beat on the road in the 2024 NFC divisional round?

The Detroit Lions, the NFC's top seed at 15–2, lost 45–31 at home to Washington in the 2024 divisional round; a week earlier Washington had won its wild-card game at Tampa Bay.

In which town did the team's home stadium open in 1997?

The stadium opened in Landover, Maryland in 1997 under the late owner's name, became FedExField in 1999 and was renamed Northwest Stadium in 2024; the team's practice facility is in Ashburn, Virginia.

When the RFK-site stadium deal was approved in 2025, which year was it scheduled to open?

The deal approved in 2025 set a 2030 opening for a new stadium on the RFK site in the District; in July 2025 President Trump threatened to block it unless the team restored its old name.

Which team led Washington's fiercest rivalry 78–48–2 at the end of the 2024 season?

The rivalry began when Dallas entered the league in 1960; the 1982 crowd chant 'We Want Dallas!' physically shook RFK Stadium.

How many NFL titles, including Super Bowls, had the franchise won through the 2024 season?

Five: NFL championships in 1937 and 1942, then Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI, with every title falling inside two ten-year windows.

What was Washington's worst-ever regular-season record, set in 1961?

Washington went 1–12–1 in 1961, its first season in D.C. Stadium (renamed for Robert F. Kennedy in 1969), the low point of a 13-season run without a winning record from 1956 to 1968.

In 1950 Washington became the first NFL team to do what?

Washington became the first NFL team to televise all its games in a season in 1950, with the American Oil Company sponsoring the broadcasts; George Preston Marshall also pioneered the marching band and halftime shows.

What was the 'Redskins Rule' that linked the team's results to presidential elections?

The rule: a home win before Election Day meant the incumbents won, meaning the party in the White House kept it; it held from 1940 until 2004, when Washington lost to the Packers yet George W. Bush was re-elected.

Which quarterback did Washington acquire from Philadelphia in a 1964 trade?

Sonny Jurgensen came from the Eagles in April 1964 in a swap of quarterbacks for Norm Snead; he led the NFL in passing yards three times in Washington and entered the Hall of Fame in 1983.

Which Washington running back told Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to 'loosen up, Sandy baby'?

John Riggins made the crack at a 1985 Washington Press Club dinner; 'The Diesel' had been MVP of Super Bowl XVII and ran for 185 yards against Minnesota in the January 1983 divisional round.

What was Jason Wright's distinction when Washington hired him to run the business side in 2020?

Jason Wright became the first Black team president in NFL history in August 2020; the former NFL running back and McKinsey partner was 38 when hired.

The Redskins scored 42 unanswered points in Super Bowl XXII after trailing by how much?

Washington trailed 10–0 after John Elway's 56-yard touchdown pass on Denver's first snap and a field goal, then scored 42 unanswered points, 35 of them in the second quarter, to win 42–10.

Sammy Baugh played college football at which school before Washington drafted him in 1937?

Sammy Baugh was a two-time All-American at TCU, leading the Horned Frogs to the 1936 Sugar Bowl; the 'Slingin'' tag came from his throwing arm as a baseball infielder.

Which baseball team's name did the franchise adopt when it was founded in 1932?

They shared Braves Field in their first season under coach Lud Wray, then moved to Fenway Park in 1933 under Lone Star Dietz.

What ownership stake did the new head coach receive from Edward Bennett Williams in 1969?

The coach received a 5% ownership stake along with the title of executive vice president and full authority over football operations, a package that lured him out of retirement from Green Bay.

Which band director composed the team's fight-song music, later selling the rights to Clint Murchison's lawyer?

Barnee Breeskin composed 'Hail to the Redskins' in 1938; angry at George Preston Marshall, he later sold the rights for $2,500 to Tom Webb, Clint Murchison's lawyer, who used them as leverage to win Marshall's vote for an expansion team.

Which coach led Washington to its first NFL championship in 1937?

Ray Flaherty coached Washington from 1936 to 1942, winning NFL championships in 1937 and 1942 and reaching two other title games, in 1936 and 1940.

Which 2019 first-round pick was allowed to wear Washington's unofficially retired No. 7?

Dwayne Haskins, the 15th pick in 2019, received the former quarterback's blessing to wear No. 7; in 2002 Danny Wuerffel and Shane Matthews had to give up 7 and 9 after a training-camp backlash.