Tag: Tom Friend

Will the Harris Ownership Group eventually change the name?

One longtime Washington reporter believes ownership will eventually change the name.

Two older Redskins fans from the DMV got together on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast. Wednesday.

Tom Friend grew up in Chevy Chase, Md., and went to Rolling Wood Elementary, as did Commanders’ new majority owner, Josh Harris and minority owner Mark Ein. Friend stated that his sister was in their class.

I recall Friend covering the Redskins as the beat writer for The Washington Post back in the late 1980s. He is now a writer for the Sports Business Journal.

Sheehan asked Friend regarding the “Commanders” team name.  He referenced that at one point, the franchise did attempt to move from Redskins to Warriors, but it was shot down.

Friend continued with an objection, “I don’t know why. You look at what the Chiefs fans do, and the Braves fans do, and you think, ‘What is the problem?'”

“I had someone else tell me they (Harris Ownership Group) are looking at it now. More than look at it, they are going to do it at some point. It’s just a matter of when. I am not reporting this. I am just telling you what I hear from people close to the situation.”

Friend told Sheehan that Dan Snyder got rid of Redskins quickly, changing the name, so why couldn’t they get rid of this name that virtually very few in the fan base likes? He went as far as saying, “No one likes it; get the heck rid of it!”

When Sheehan asked if Friend’s sources are “in the know,” Friend instantly responded, “Somewhat in the know, for sure, for sure, absolutely, 100 percent.”

Friend continued, “This was always a franchise that did nothing but celebrate Native Americans. I went to RFK my entire life from six years old, and not once did I ever Tomahawk chop or do the war chant. All we said was, ‘Hail to the Redskins!’ In all seriousness, there was no mocking going on.”

Of course, Friend is correct; the hypocrisy is evident. But the bigger news was Friend saying the Harris ownership group is already discussing changing the Commanders’ team name in the future.

Should we be surprised? The Harris Ownership Group has been impressively ahead of the game, and in time, they are going to get this right as well.

Frank Herzog: ‘A professional, a winner’

Part four of our interview with Frank Herzog: “The broadcaster of DC champions.”

Washington trailed Miami 17-13 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XVII, facing a 4th & 1 at the Miami 42.

This is the fourth of five installments in our Commanders Wire feature on Washington broadcast legend Frank Herzog.

Part one.     Part two.     Part Three

January 30, 1983, Frank Herzog was in his fourth season (1979-2004) as the Redskins play-by-play announcer and gave this now legendary call.

“There’s the snap. Hand to Riggins. Good hole, he’s got the first down at the 40. He’s gone! The 35! The 30! The 20! HE’S GONE! HE’S GONE! TOUCHDOWN, WASHINGTON REDSKINS!!”

Just one week earlier, in the NFC Championship game at RFK, Washington led Dallas 24-17 in the final quarter. Dallas had the ball at their own 20.

“Play-action fake to Dorsett, hid the ball well. Set up a screen, batted in the air. Picked off by Darryl Grant! TOUCHDOWN, WASHINGTON REDSKINS! I Don’t believe it! Unbelievable! Oh, what a play! Dexter Manley tipped the pass! Darryl Grant got the interception, and NOW the stadium shakes!”

Chatting with Herzog last week, he relived the extraordinary moment. “What I have always remembered about that play was the crowd; how the noise increased and the stadium literally shook. So, that is what I said, “And NOW the stadium shakes.”

“Sam (Huff) grabbed my arm with a look of fear in his eyes, and we were wondering, ‘Is this thing (stadium/press box) going to collapse’?

In the 1987 NFC Championship game at RFK, the Redskins led the Vikings 17-10 but were holding on for dear life, as the Vikings had driven all the way to the Washington 6-yard line, where it was 4th & 4, 1:03 remaining.

“One down to the Super Bowl! From the six-yard line, it’s fourth down and four. Wilson takes the snap, looking left, throws it into the end zone – batted away! Incomplete! Redskins are going to the Super Bowl!”

The 1991 season saw Washington in Super Bowl XXVI against Buffalo. Washington led 24-10 with the ball at the Buffalo 30 in the third quarter.

“Back he (Rypien) goes, good protection again. He’s going deep, he’s got Clark in the end zone, Touchdown Washington Redskins!”

Broadcasting winning seasons is one thing. Being respected as a professional is another, and Herzog’s work certainly is praised.

Sonny Jurgensen, a broadcast partner of Herzog’s (1981-2004) has expressed over the years that because of Frank’s background as a reporter, “Frank made the work fun because of his preparation”.

Sam Huff, an aggressive, assertive linebacker in the NFL, was with Herzog for 25 years in the booth. He spoke of Frank as the professional of the trio. “He was the voice. You never over-talk the man with the microphone, and he was the man.”

John Feinstein recently expressed to me, “Frank was such a class act and so good at what he did. He was a homer without being a homer. What I mean by that is you knew he was pulling for Bullets/Redskins, but he never said, ‘we,’; never whined about officiating calls, and never made excuses…A pro’s pro and a really good guy.”

“Frank is the broadcaster of DC champions. He was glib and smart, the perfect setup man for Sonny and Sam. At Redskins Park, you would see him always with a smile. And humble. He never bragged about all of his championship rings. He’s a winner,” said Tom Friend.