Tag: Super Bowl XVII

Remembering Washington’s first Super Bowl win part 2

Some of the numbers from Washington’s Super Bowl triumph over Miami 40 years ago.

Jan. 30, 1983 (40-year anniversary), the Washington Redskins won their first Super Bowl championship, defeating the Miami Dolphins 27-17 in Super Bowl XVII at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.

This week Commanders Wire will take several looks at that first Washington Super Bowl Championship victory.

Part one

Game Highlights

Remembering some of the numbers of Super Bowl XVII:

The Dolphins, having routed the Jets 28-0 in the AFC championship, were a 3-point favorite.

Washington entered the game 11-1, while Miami was 10-2.

Miami’s head coach Don Shula was coaching in his 5th Super Bowl, while Joe Gibbs was only in his first season of playoff competition.

When Washington pulled even 10-10 late in the half, the Redskins then gave up Fulton Walker’s 98-yard kickoff return putting Miami up 17-10.

Washington absolutely shut down the Miami offense, outscoring the Dolphins 17-0 in the second half for their 27-17 win.

Washington took its first lead (20-17) in the final quarter when John Riggins ran for 43-yard touchdown.

Many actually forget, but Washington drove again and scored when Joe Theismann rolled right and found Charlie Brown from six yards for the final 27-17 margin.

The Redskins defense held the Dolphins to a mere 9 first downs and 176 total yards from scrimmage.

Washington pounded the Dolphins on the ground all day, rushing 52 times for 276 yards, 166 by John Riggins, voted Super Bowl MVP.

John Riggins’ 38 rushing carries remains a Super Bowl game record.

John Riggins’ 166 rushing yards set a new Super Bowl game record. It has since been surpassed by Marcus Allen (191) in SB XVIII and Timmy Smith (204) SB XXII.

The Washington defense rattled Miami QB David Woodley that with the exception of his 76-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Cefalo, Woodley completed a mere 3 of 13 passes for 21 yards.

John Riggins’ run of 43 yards was actually not the longest Washington rush of the day. In the third quarter, Joe Theismann handed to John Riggins, running to his right, who then handed to Alvin Garrett, coming back to the left. Garrett gained 44 yards on the play.

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Remembering 2 great Washington teams

The 2022 season is the 50-year anniversary of the 1972 team and 40-year anniversary of the 1982 team.

The season opener of 2022 Commanders’ season recalls great historical memories of a once great franchise.

50 years ago, the 1972 Washington Redskins became the first team in franchise history to play in a Super Bowl.

40 years ago, the 1982 Washington Redskins became the first team in franchise history to win a Super Bowl.

While we will continue to provide daily coverage of the present-day Washington Commanders during this 2022 NFL season, we at Commanders Wire have determined we must not forget the great years and accomplishments in Washington franchise history.

Consequently, during this season, we will provide a weekly look back at some of the great moments of these two great seasons in Washington NFL football history.

Did you know the George Allen teams (1971-77) had a winning record each season and were in the playoffs for five of those seven seasons? Keep in mind in those days, only the top four teams in the conference qualified for the playoffs.

The 1972 team despite losing quarterback Sonny Jurgensen (who was 4-0 as a starter) went on a 9-game winning streak, clinching the division after 12 games (11-1).

With the home-field advantage earned for the playoffs, Washington defeated NFC Central champ Green Bay 16-3 and then defending Super Bowl Champion Dallas 26-3 in the NFC Championship game. Two weeks later in the Los Angeles Coliseum, Washington lost to Miami 14-7 in Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins were undefeated (17-0) and remain the last NFL team to go through the regular season and playoffs undefeated.

Ten years later Joe Gibbs (like George Allen) was also in his second season as Washington head coach. In a strike-shortened season, the Redskins finished the regular season at 8-1, the top seed in the NFC.

The playoff birth was the first for Washington since the 1976 team coached by Allen. With home-field advantage, the Redskins blitzed the Lions 31-7 and the next week were in control, defeating the Vikings 21-7.

The NFC Championship game (as ten years earlier) would have Dallas come to RFK. Also as a decade earlier, it was Washington who again came out on top, defeating Dallas 31-17.

The next week at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, Gibbs’ team (11-1) faced Don Shula’s Dolphins (10-3) in Super Bowl XVII. Trailing 17-10 in the second quarter, the Redskins outscored the Dolphins 17-0 for the remainder of the battle for a 27-17 victory and the first Super Bowl Championship in franchise history.

 

 

John Riggins does not like ‘Commanders’

John Riggins had some strong takes on the new name and seeing his name on the back of a Commanders’ jersey.

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The Washington all-time leading rusher John Riggins does not like the new name, “Commanders.”

On his podcast, “The John Riggins Show” with co-host Tod Castleberry, Riggins looked back to the second year of Daniel Snyder’s ownership. Riggins told of how it was at a downtown restaurant and Riggins even then (2000) suggested to Snyder they should change the name of the team.

Riggins said regarding the Redskins, he really felt it was to honor their people. But after he retired and was hearing of how it offended increasing numbers, he had gotten to the point he was for the name change.

Knowing the name change was coming, Riggins said he never dreamed he was going to feel the way he actually now feels once the new name was adopted last week.

“I feel completely disenfranchised,” said Riggins. “I can’t understand how anyone who once played under the old franchise name could possibly want to be a part of anything to do with the Washington Commanders.”

He acknowledged that for his old teammates and others who played for the Redskins he understands every one of them has to make their own decisions, and are free to handle this how they choose to but also added, “For the guys who showed up last week I look at them and say, ‘What’s wrong with you? Don’t you get it? You were invited to your own funeral.’”

A once great franchise through the Joe Gibbs years experienced hard times most of the last 25 years. The last decade they have been losing fans in large numbers each season to where now they were last in attendance with each home game seeing an inexcusable large number of visiting team’s fans.

Castlebury interjected that “All they have now is hope, every year they are selling hope.”

Regarding possible John Riggins’ Washington Commanders jerseys, Riggins responded, “That makes me feel filthy. I feel dirty, I don’t want anything to do with it. Maybe I will change. Maybe I need a little more time, I don’t know.  It just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Riggins sadly talked of how he might describe himself, “John Riggins, played for the  ______. Well, who did he play for? I don’t know, can’t say that can you?”

Riggins (age 72) will always be remembered for the greatest, most significant play in Redskins history. In Super Bowl XVII Washington trailed Miami 17-13 in the final quarter facing a fourth & 1 at the Miami 42. Riggins broke a tackle (Don McNeal) and raced for the go-ahead touchdown. Washington scored again to win 27-17 and Riggins was the MVP gaining 166 yards on the day.

No. 44 set an NFL record at the time of 24 rushing touchdowns in the 1983 season at age 34 as Washington finished 14-2, won the NFC, and were defeated by the Los Angeles Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII. He also led the NFL in rushing touchdowns the next season (1984) at age 35.

Former Redskin greats share stories about the meaning of Super Bowl rings

With 3 Super Bowl victories in franchise history, there are a number of former Redskins who have stories about what the ring means to them.

Though young fans may not have memories of it, the Washington Redskins used to be a dominant team in the NFL, and they have several Super Bowl championships to show for it.

Ahead of the Kansas City Cheifs and San Francisco 49ers matchup in Super Bowl LIV in a couple of weeks, ESPN put together a montage of stories from each Super Bowl in the past 53 years, centering around the rings that were handed out to players, and what was done with those rings in the years following. For the Redskins, who won Super Bowl XVII, XXII, and XXVI, there are some great anecdotes that came out.

For wide receiver Alvin Garrett, who won his ring in 1982, the prized possession ended up becoming more of a piece of jewelry that served a greater goal in the end. According to the ESPN piece, in 1989, Garrett sold the ring via an ad in The Washington Post to fund his desire to become a minister.

“I flew to La Guardia in New York and the guy paid me cash for it,” Garrett said. “My life was so screwed up I needed God.” In 2016, someone who worked in the jewelry business in New York was picking through a box of items. The person found Garrett’s damaged ring with the diamonds missing and contacted the Redskins, who located Garrett, living in Huntsville, Alabama.

For quarterback Doug Williams, who became the first-ever black QB to start and win a Super Bowl in 1987, the ring signifies so much more than it’s worth in gold. Williams told ESPN that he still keeps it in the case, and he plans to hand it down to his family one day.

“They all want to touch it; they all want to put their hands around it and they all say, ‘Wow, what a great day. Man, I prayed for you.’ It’s bringing back memories for them because it was such a history-making day. The people from where I grew up, it’s almost like they wear that ring. That day will never happen again in the history of football; there will never be another first African American quarterback to win.”

For running back Brian Mitchell, who won his ring in 1991, a close call almost left him without his prized possession that was won in Super Bowl XXVI. It was years later when Mitchell wore his ring on a night out drinking and woke up the next morning without it.

“When it’s real cold, your fingers seem smaller,” he said. That’s why he guessed: Maybe it’s still in the limousine. He called the driver, who opened the door and found it stuck in the door jamb.

It’s understandable why Mitchell says that he rarely wears his ring anymore, especially when he is going out with friends.

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