RFK Stadium

David Hegler
3 days ago
8 min read

Although it didn't host as much baseball as its operators would have liked, RFK Stadium was the first stadium that was built to host both football and baseball. Unlike other cookie cutter stadiums, its wavy roof seemed to amplify the roar of the crowd. In the 1980's and 1990's, it became a war-like structure as the Redskins bulled their way to three Super Bowl titles behind one of the best offensive lines in the game: the Hogs. But RFK Stadium was much more than just a sports venue. It forced the Redskins to integrate.

The Conception

By the late 1950's, Griffith Stadium was starting to lose its charm as a major league stadium when a unique proposal was brought forth: Why not have the government foot the bill? After all, the District of Columbia Stadium act of 1957 gave the Armory Board the ability to construct and maintain a stadium on National Park Service land. Ground officially broke on July 8, 1960 on a plot of land on East Capitol Street that the Secretary of the Interior had recently purchased.

Although the original budget was for just $6 million, it soon ballooned to $24 million as construction costs rose and ideas were brought up. But even with the bill skyrocketing sky-high, DC Stadium was finished in just 15 months. Right around the time that the Redskins moved in, the Secretary of the Interior, Stewart C. Udall, told the Redskins owner George Preston Marshall that since DC Stadium was on federal land, that the Redskins would have to integrate, otherwise they would have to move somewhere else. Although this didn't sit well with the bigoted owner, Marshall complied and by 1962 had traded for the Browns stellar running back Bobby Mitchell, making the Redskins the last NFL team to integrate.

The Redskins opened the new stadium on October 1, 1961 against the powerful New York Giants. After allowing Kyle Rote to catch a 14-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Conerley, the Redskins scored the next 21 points to close out the first quarter. Their early efforts were not good enough as they would go on to lose 24-21 before finishing the year a paltry 1-12-1. Their lone victory was a 34-24 triumph over the Dallas Cowboys at DC Stadium in the last game of the season. Better days were ahead.

The Glory Years

In 1962, the Washington Senators moved into DC Stadium where they beat Detroit 4-1 in the opener in front of 44,383. DC Stadium hosted the All-Star Game that summer and president Kennedy threw out the first pitche before the NL won the contest 3-1. After the Senators finished their inaugural season in their new facility with a 60-101-1 record, they hardly ever enjoyed a winning season at DC Stadium. What's more, they were almost always the worst draw in the game.

The team created some buzz in 1969 when they hired Ted Williams as their manager. Their attendance rose to the middle of the league and they finished a respectable 86-76. That was an exciting year for the stadium. Earlier in the year, it was renamed after the recently slain Robert F. Kennedy and midway through the baseball season, it hosted its second All-Star Game, a 9-3 NL victory. Not only were the Senators above .500, but the Redskins had seemed to find their stride after hiring Vince Lombardi. Although he was there for only a year, he instilled within the team a belief that they could win.

Shortly after the Redskins hired George Allen in 1971, the luster of the Senators had begun to die down. Once the time they finished the year 63-96, drawing just 655,156, they left for Dallas after that season and became the Rangers, leaving RFK Stadium to the Redskins.

It was not a moment too soon for George Allen's "Over the Hill Gang". Never a strong believer in rookies, Allen filled his roster with hardened veterans who were hungrier than ever for a championship. They finished the 1972 regular season 11-3 and dusted off the Packers 16-3 in RFK Stadium's first playoff game. With a spot in the Super Bowl on the line, the Redskins were more than ready to take on the Cowboys the following week.

Charley Taylor was the hero of the game as he caught touchdown passes of 15 and 45 yards from Billy Kilmer in front of an exuberant D.C. crowd. with the 26-3 victory in hand, the Redskins marched on to the Super Bowl where their dreams of glory died in the L.A. Coliseum, losing to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 14-7.

In 1981, the Redskins hired Joe Gibbs as their head coach and spent that whole season figuring out how they could blend a terrific running attack with one of the better passing minds in the game. AT season's end, Gibbs had begun to see the formula for success in the nation's capitol.

The 1982 Redskins were filled with characters, nicknames and diesel horns. Early that year, offensive line coach Joe Bugel began calling his charges "Hogs" and printed out tee-shirts for the group to wear. Washington immediately fell in love with the concept and fans stated showing up to games wearing dresses, sun hats and pig noses. Much of the offense relied around the adept running of John Riggins behind the more-than-competent blocking of the Hogs with Gibbs's craft passing attack sprinkled in throughout. They powered their way through an abbreviated, strike-shortened schedule in 1982, losing just once on their way to the NFC Championship Game.

George Allen had spent much of his stay in the nation's capital creating a rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys. The team and the city fed off his hatred of "America's Team" and carried that passion well into the Joe Gibbs era. The stands literally bounced as the fans chanted "We want Dallas". With the gray, gloomy sky and a playing surface that had been beaten into mush, RFK Stadium resembled something out of a war movie than a sports spectacle.

The Redskins rolled through much of the game and it looked like they just might coast into the Super Bowl. However, once they knocked out Cowboys quarterback Danny White, they were caught off guard by his replacement, Gary Hogeboom. The Redskins spent much of the third quarter trying in vain to stifle Hogeboom's nifty strikes to Drew Pearson and Butch Johnson. Soon, Hogeboom had brought Dallas to within four.

After league MVP Mark Moseley's field goal made it a seven point lead, the Cowboys lined up for what they hoped would be a game-tying drive. Gary Hogeboom ran out of magic as his pass was tipped and picked off by defensive end Darryl Grant who took it the remaining 10-yards into the endzone to take the late 31-17 lead. RFK Stadium was immediately abuzz, the crowd's shouts of joy reverberating off of the wave-like look that always seemed to make the venue louder than the size of the crowd.

With the clock ticking down, the Redskins still had a little too much time on their hands. Gibbs sent in a passing play, but right guard Russ Grimm refused it in the huddle, instead calling for a run play (50 Gut) right at the Cowboys great defensive tackle Randy White. The two had been battling in the trenches all day and Grimm needed White to feel as badly as possible about the loss. The Redskins ran it and Gibbs called another play away from White. Grimm refused and again suggested 50 Gut. Gibbs got the message and decided to keep calling Grimm's play. The Redskins called 50 Gut seven straight times to run out the clock and the Cowboys never stopped them.

Eight days later, the Redskins traveled to the Rose Bowl where they beat the Miami Dolphins to win their first Super Bowl. They were even better the following year, losing just twice in the regular season before dismantling the Rams and 49ers at home in the playoffs. However, the Redskins good fortunes hit a brick wall in Tampa Bay when the Los Angeles ran roughshod all over them to stifle any hopes of a Super Bowl repeat.

Over the next couple of year, the Redskins still played well as some of their older veterans retired. On Monday Night, November 18, 1985, Joe Theismann zipped a 10-yard touchdown pass to Don Warren to open up the scoring against the rival New York Giants. It would be the last touchdown pass of Theismann's career. A short while later, Theismann caught a flee-flicker from John Riggins when pass rushing virtuoso Lawrence Taylor came screaming off of the left side, wrapped Theismann up and slammed him to the ground where his leg lay in two.

While Taylor was viewed differently, he was not a vindictive man. He never wanted to hurt his opponent. Once he saw Theismann writhing in agony, Taylor quickly bounced up and waved for the training staff to tend to the crippled passer. Possibly knowing that his career was over, all Theismann could do was give a thumbs up to the RFK Stadium crowd. As doctors tended to him at a nearby hospital, his teammates rallied to beat the Giants 23-21.

Two years later, the Redskins again made the NFC Championship Game where they faced off against a a hungry Minnesota vikings squad. Facing one of the best pass rushes in the league, the Hogs did all they could to keep the pocket clean as a whistle for their quarterback.

All year long, Gibbs had given both Jay Schroeder and Doug Williams chances to start. While Williams never won any of his starts, he did lead the team to victory when he stepped in for an injured Shroeder. As the season went along, Gibbs noticed how the team seemed to rally around Williams much more than Schroeder, so he tapped Williams as the starter heading into the playoffs.

Gibbs' intuition proved effective as Williams led the Redskins to a 17-10 victory over the Vikings. Two weeks later, the Redskins scored a Super Bowl record 35 points in the second quarter. With more than 300 yards and four touchdowns to his name, Doug Williams was named Super Bowl MVP, becoming the first Black quarterback to start and win the Super Bowl and instantly becoming the gold standard for all who dreamed of following in his footsteps.

The Redskins made another Super Bowl run again 1991 and although they still had the Hogs and many of the same receivers as their Super Bowl triumph in 1987, they had a new quarterback under center: Mark Rypien. After being drafted in 1986, he had spent much of his time riding the bench, waiting his turn as both Jay Schroeder and Doug Williams went elsewhere. By 1990, Rypien was the full-time starter and although he showed promise, he proved inept against elite competition.

With a full season under his belt, Rypien entered 1991 brimming with confidence. He led Washington to an 11-0 start before finishing the regular season with a league-best 14-2 record. The crowd at RFK stadium tossed yellow seat cushions high into the air after the Redskins trampled the Falcons 24-7 and roared their approval when Washington held Detroit's Barry Sanders to just 44 yards on 11 carries in their 41-10 NFC Championship Game thrashing. In many respects, that was RFK Stadium's last hurrah. Indeed, its long, painful demise was near.

A Lengthy Demise

The Redskins were the first to go. Having built a new stadium in Landover, Maryland, the Redskins bid RFK Stadium adieu on December 22, 1996. Although not overly dominating, running backs Brian Mitchell, Terry Allen and Stephen Davis combined for 155 yards on 38 carries while scoring four touchdowns in a 37-10 trouncing of the Dallas Cowboys.

RFK Stadium had always been friendly with soccer, having hosted the Whips (NASL) in 1967-1968, the Diplomats (NASL) from 1977-1981, Team America in 1983 and the Diplomats again (APSL) from 1988-1990. Earlier in 1996, NLS's DC United began playing in RFK Stadium and would remain there until the stadium unofficially closed in 2017. In 2005, the Montreal Expos moved to Washington DC and became the Nationals. They would spend the next three years in RFK Stadium before moving into Nationals Park. RFK Stadium also hosted college football's Military Bowl from 2008-2012.

RFK Stadium has remained vacant ever since DC United left after 2017. Yeasrs went on by and rumors swirled about the relic. Recently, the Washington Commanders have announced plans to build a new stadium on the same site in 2030.

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