Before They Were Redskins
I have had a lot of fun collecting the rookie cards of Redskins before they were Redskins. Over the years, the Redskins have had a lot of very accomplished players pass through the doors. Some have worked out better than others. There is no checklist for this kind of set so if you have any suggestions, simply send me a message. What follows is a pretty good start, but there are some obvious omissions such as Deacon Jones
There are also some interesting stories about how we acquired these players. Over time, I will write about each them in this site’s blog.
Below each name I have put the years they played for the Redskins plus anything else I could think of.
Please take a look...
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Bill Dudley 1950-1953 His real rookie is 1948 Bowman or Leaf. However, all I have is the 1949 Leaf card right now. |
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Dick Stanfel 1956-1958 A top-70 Redskin! |
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Sonny Jurgensen 1964-1974 Who says that Jay Cutler is the first franchise QB ever to be traded in his prime. This Hall-of-Famer and Redskins legend might have something to say about that. |
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Sam Huff 1964-1969 So, why did the Giants let this Hall-of-Famer go? |
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Bobby Mitchell 1962-1968 The true “Redskin for Life”. I believe he only recently retired from the organization. |
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Billy Kilmer 1971-1978 George Allen’s first acquisition was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49’ers. |
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Billy Kilmer 1971-1978 While not his rookie card, this is his first card with the Saints. He went from the 49’ers to the Saints to the Redskins. |
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Jack Pardee 1971-1972 He is part of some of the most memorable groups in football history including The Junction Boys, Over-the-Hill-Gang, Run-and-Shoot, and Cancer Survivor. Not bad. |
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Pat Fischer 1969-1977 The diminutive cornerback could take anyone on one-on-one and if he hit them, they would remember it. |
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Verlon Biggs 1971-1975 This is the first 1965 card I was able to actually win on eBay. I like this set and can see why people collect it. I have also included his 1966 Topps card because it is the only card I have from that set and it is part of my Redskins football card type set. |
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Roy Jefferson 1971-1976 He took some of the pressure off of Charley Taylor. |
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Ron McDole 1971-1978 The Dancing Bear!! One of my all-time favorite Redskins. I have a clear memory of him making an awesome interception in 1975. |
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Jim Hart 1984 Brought in by Joe Gibbs to provide a veteran backup on the bench. His record as a Redskins – 2 games played, completed 3 of 7 passes for 26 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns. |
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Mike Curtis 1977-1978 We had the pleasure of having Curtis as a middle linebacker for the last two years of his career. I have to post the video of him tackling a drunk fan who ran onto the field. If I do not post it, you can easily find it on YouTube. |
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Joe Theismann 1974-1985 Joe went from the Golden Dome to playing in Canada to returning punts for the Redskins. This is his true rookie card. All Theismann’s CFL cards are on this site. |
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Duane Thomas 1973-1974 We should have learned with this first Cowboy export. |
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Ken Houston 1973-1980 I still do not understand why they did not let him take the field during his last game in 1980. He is pure class. |
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Jake Scott 1976-1978 The MVP of Super Bowl VII played his last years in D.C. However, he never redeemed himself for what he did to us in our first Super Bowl appearance. |
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Mark Moseley 1974-1985 The kick he made in the snow against the Giants to break the NFL record for consecutive field goals made is a classic Redskins moment. |
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John Riggins 1977-1985 His game clinching touchdown against the Dolphins during our first Super Bowl victory is another Redskins classic moment. However, “I’m bored, I’m broke, and I’m back” and “Loosen up Sandy-baby” are also classics. |
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Coy Bacon 1978-1981 A sack specialists brought in at the end of his career. This is one of the more interesting air brush jobs. Bacon was originally with the Rams before he joined the Chargers. |
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Terry Metcalf 1981 He used to kill us when he was a Cardinal. |
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Jean Fugett 1976-1979 What were we thinking letting an ex-Cowboy join the Skins? |
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Billy "White Shoes" Johnson 1988 Billy never got to do his touchdown |
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Calvin Hill 1976-1977 This worked out better. |
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Joe Washington 1981-1984 The facemask that could not be tackled. |
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Doug Williams 1986-1989 Sprained his knee and then threw 5 TD’s to win the Super Bowl. That is more than enough. Thank you Doug. |
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Matt Millen 1991 Helped us win a Super Bowl. Linebacker: check Commentator: check General Manager: not so good |
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George Rogers 1985-1987 One of 7 people who have won the Heisman to play or coach the Redskins. For the full list, go here. |
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Gerald Riggs 1989-1991 Got the job done. |
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Reggie Roby 1993-1994 What time is it Reggie? Is that watch you are wearing water-proof? |
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Ricky Sanders 1986-1993 Malcom, Devin, Fred – you guys need to watch some tape of this guy and shut up until you have done something. |
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Kelvin Bryant 1986-1990 Has to be the skinniest guy ever to play running back in the NFL. |
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Irving Fryar 1999-2000 Was only 350% more productive during his last year with the Redskins than our three second round draft picks were last year. |
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Henry Ellard 1994-1998 A class guy who did a nice job during some terrible years. |
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Gary Clark 1985-1992 Guys, when you are done watching film of Sanders, watch this guy. |
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Wilber Marshall 1988-1991 Huge free-agent acquisition at the time (cost us two first-round picks, I believe). Got the job done. |
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Earnest Byner 1989-1993 Tremendously effective during his four years with the Redskins, Byner made the Top-70 All-Time Redskins team. |
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Jim Lachey 1988-1995 Silently was won of the best ever to play for the Redskins. |
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Andre Reed 2000 Stopped by Redskins Park for the last year of his career. Caught 10 passes in 13 games. |
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Bruce Smith 2000-2003 His name comes up when Redskin free-agent busts are discussed. I disagree. He did pretty good while he was here. |
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Deion Sanders 2000 Prime, only one year? What happened to scare you off so quickly? Are you going to put that Burgundy suit up for sale on eBay? |
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Ken Harvey 1994-1998 Became one of the top-70 Redskins of all time. |
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Jeff George 2000-2001 His name often comes up when Redskins free-agent busts are discussed and deservedly so. What were we thinking? |
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Terry Allen 1995-1998 This guy rocked after having BOTH of his knees reconstructed. |
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Brad Johnson 1999-2000 I think we let him go because he was not good enough to win a Super Bowl. Oh wait... |
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Trent Green 1997-1998 I think we let him because he could not be a long term solution at quarterback. Oh wait... At least the Chargers screwed up before we did. |
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Mark Brunell 2004-2006 During Gibbs II was the first player acquired by Gibbs. |
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Larry Centers 1999-2000 It took an Act of Congress to get this guy the ball. Why didn’t we use him more? Why didn’t we keep him? |
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Dana Stubblefield 1998-2000 Giving a defensive lineman a huge contract after a big year may work. Unfortunately, this time it didn’t. |
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Tony Banks 2001 Was our QB during some of the darkest days of the recent drought. I always liked him. |
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Shawn Springs 2004-2008 A pro’s pro. |
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Ki-Jana Carter 2001 Injuries tortured this guy during his entire career. |
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Donovan McNabb 2010 - 2010 Shanny better get it right the second time. |
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London Fletcher 2007-Present A terrific signing. |
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Santana Moss 2005-2014 Can we please get this man some help? |
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Albert Haynesworth 2009 - 2010 DIAF |
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Clinton Portis 2004-2010 Southeast Jerome is cool. Acting like an idiot is. not However, this guy is as tough as they come. If he chooses to, he can be the leader the Redskins need and own this town like nobody has since Riggins was bar hopping. |
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Vernon Davis 2016-Present Hopefully he has something left in the tank |
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Antwaan Randle El 2007-2009 He worked hard. |
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Tim Hightower 2011 He showed great potential but unfortunately got injured. |
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Rex Grossman 2010 - 2013 SexyRexy - worst Twitter handle ever. |
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Larry Johnson 2010 - 2010 Dude, put your Twitter away. |
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DeAngelo Hall 2008-present I hope he learned enough from Shawn Springs. |
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Willie Parker Cut during 2010 training camp He didn’t make the team, but I want his card up here anyway. I thought he did a great job with the Steelers. He never made it into a Redskins regular season game, but I think he still has something left. |
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DeSean Jackson 2014-Present Does great when healthy. |
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Colt McCoy Seems to be a good backup. |
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Pierre Garcon 2012-Present Very good signing. id |
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Josh Norman In Scott we trust. Hopefully this isn't another big signing that turns into a bust. |
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