50 Fun Facts About Washington Commanders

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

George Preston Marshall named them the Braves after the baseball team whose field they shared, then the Redskins when they moved to Fenway Park.

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

The old name and logo were retired in July 2020 after sponsors including FedEx applied pressure during that summer's racial-justice protests.

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

The teams had met in the 1937 title game too, which Washington won for its first championship, and again in 1942 and 1943.

In 1943 Sammy Baugh led the NFL in three categories at once. Which three?

'Slingin' Sammy' picked off 11 passes as a defender that year; the TCU product won titles in 1937 and 1942.

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?

The Kennedy administration threatened to bar a segregated team from the federally owned D.C. Stadium; a former Browns running back turned receiver led the league with 11 touchdowns that year.

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?

He had been given a 5% ownership stake and full control of football operations; both Lambeau and Graham had coached the team earlier without success.

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

He preferred seasoned pros to draft picks and reached Super Bowl VII, where the undefeated Dolphins won 14–7.

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

The team crushed Dallas 26–3 in the NFC Championship Game before losing to Miami's perfect team.

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

NFL Films called it 'the most diverse dynasty in NFL history'; he later won multiple NASCAR titles as a team owner.

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

He started 0–5 in his first season and finished 8–8; a year later he won the Super Bowl.

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

It was 4th-and-inches with Washington trailing Miami 17–13; he ran through Don McNeal and was named MVP of a 27–17 win.

Kicker Mark Moseley achieved what unique feat in the strike-shortened 1982 season?

He made 20 of 21 field goals; no other kicker has ever won the award.

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

Fans called the Hogettes dressed up in frocks and pig snouts in tribute; the line allowed just nine sacks in the Super Bowl XXVI season.

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

He was the 1983 NFL MVP; the compound fracture ended his career at 36.

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

Washington trailed Denver 10–0 after one quarter and scored a record 35 points in the second; rookie Timmy Smith ran for a Super Bowl-record 204 yards.

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

Monk became the NFL's all-time leading receiver in 1992 with his 820th catch; the Fun Bunch and the Smurfs were earlier Washington receiver groups.

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

That team scored a league-best 485 points and allowed only nine sacks; Gibbs retired 14 months later.

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

One of the fastest players ever, he broke the club's games-played record and bowed out in December 2002 with a win over Dallas.

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

The final game there, in December 1996, was a 37–10 win over the Cowboys; the team will return to a new stadium on the RFK site at the end of the decade.

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

The Canadian-American also owned the Lakers and Kings until 1979; he died in 1997 and the team was sold two years later.

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

He immediately sold the stadium naming rights to FedEx; the team won just five playoff games in his 24 years.

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

He lasted two seasons; the three-time champion coach then returned in 2004 for a second stint.

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

He was 24; his number 21 has effectively been retired and his memory is a fixture at the stadium.

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

The Baylor Heisman winner was Offensive Rookie of the Year and won the division; Cousins was drafted in round four the same year.

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

He went 35–49–1 with one playoff appearance; he was the eighth head coach since Snyder bought the team.

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

Ron Rivera's team followed the 2010 Seahawks and his own 2014 Panthers; the same year Jason Wright became the NFL's first Black team president.

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

Snyder handed day-to-day control to his wife Tanya and, under pressure from other owners, put the team up for sale the next year.

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

The Apollo co-founder also owns the 76ers and Devils; it was a record price for a sports team at the time.

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

He was Offensive Rookie of the Year and won a Hail Mary in Chicago; Adam Peters and Dan Quinn arrived the same year.

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

They went 12–5, beat Tampa Bay and top-seeded Detroit on the road, and lost to the eventual champion Eagles.

Washington's first road playoff win in 19 years came in the 2024 divisional round against which team?

The Lions were the NFC's top seed; Washington had knocked out Tampa Bay in the wild-card round.

Where has the Commanders' home stadium stood since it opened in 1997?

It opened in 1997 named for the late owner, became FedExField, and was renamed Northwest Stadium in 2024; the team trains in Ashburn.

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

The plan returned the team to Washington itself; President Trump threatened in 2025 to block the deal unless the old name came back.

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 championships, including Super Bowls, has the franchise won?

1937 and 1942, plus Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI; all came in two ten-year windows.

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

That was the year the team moved into D.C. Stadium, later renamed for Robert F. Kennedy; it went 13 seasons without a winning record from 1956.

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

The American Oil Company sponsored the broadcasts; Marshall was always chasing profit and spectacle.

What was the 'Redskins Rule', which held for 19 of 20 presidential elections from 1932 to 2008?

The pattern broke in 2004 when Green Bay beat Washington but George W. Bush was re-elected anyway.

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

Bill McPeak also brought in linebacker Sam Huff from the Giants and drafted Charley Taylor and Chris Hanburger, but went just 21–46–3.

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

'The Diesel' was the MVP of Super Bowl XVII and set a franchise playoff record with 185 yards against Minnesota that January.

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

He was appointed in the same overhaul that retired the old name and brought in Ron Rivera.

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

Denver's John Elway had thrown a 56-yard touchdown on his first play; the 35-point second quarter remains a Super Bowl record.

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

He was a two-time All-American there and picked up his 'Slingin'' nickname from a Texas sportswriter watching him play baseball.

Which baseball team's name did the franchise adopt when it was founded in Boston 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 stake in the team did Vince Lombardi receive when Edward Bennett Williams hired him in 1969?

Lombardi also got full control of football operations as executive vice president, delivering the first winning season since 1955.

Which band director wrote the music for the team's fight song and later sold the rights to Dallas's lawyer?

Angry at George Preston Marshall, he sold the rights for $2,500 to Clint Murchison's lawyer, giving Dallas leverage to get an NFL team.

How many fans attended the first game at D.C. Stadium on October 1, 1961?

Washington blew a 14-point lead and lost 24-21 to the Giants; the venue was renamed RFK Stadium in 1969.

Which 2019 first-round quarterback wore Joe Theismann's unofficially retired No. 7 with his permission?

In 2002 Danny Wuerffel and Shane Matthews had to drop numbers 7 and 9 after a controversy in training camp.