The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Commanders were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. [1] The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. [1] In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly played as the Washington Football Team before becoming the Commanders in 2022. [1]
The team's flagship station is WBIG-FM (Big 100.3), having been selected as the team's broadcast partner after following a partnership with iHeartMedia in 2022. [2] The team's previous longtime broadcast home was previously WTEM, by virtue of previously being owned by Red Zebra Broadcasting, a group co-owned by Snyder. [3]
Year | Play-by-play | Analyst(s) |
---|---|---|
1937 | Tony Wakeman [4] | |
1938 | ||
1939 | ||
1940 | ||
1941 | Harry Wismer | |
1942 | ||
1943 | Jim Gibbons | |
1944 | ||
1945 | ||
1946 | ||
1947 | ||
1948 | ||
1949 | ||
1950 | ||
1951 | ||
1952 | Mel Allen | |
1953 | Mel Allen [5] and Jim Gibbons [6] | Jim Gibbons and Bill Malone |
1954 | Jim Gibbons | Bill Malone [7] |
1955 | Eddie Gallaher [8] | Charlie Justice |
1956 | Arch McDonald | |
1957 | ||
1958 | Dan Daniels [9] | |
1959 | ||
1960 | ||
1961 | Bill McColgan [10] | Morrie Siegel [11] |
1962 | ||
1963 | ||
1964 | Steve Gilmartin | Chuck Drazenovich [12] |
1965 | ||
1966 | ||
1967 | ||
1968 | Mal Campbell | |
1969 | ||
1970 | ||
1971 | ||
1972 | ||
1973 | ||
1974 | Mal Campbell | Len Hathaway |
1975 | Len Hathaway [13] | Sam Huff |
1976 | ||
1977 | Dan Lovett | |
1978 | ||
1979 | Frank Herzog | |
1980 | ||
1981 | Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff | |
1982 | ||
1983 | ||
1984 | ||
1985 | ||
1986 | ||
1987 | ||
1988 | ||
1989 | ||
1990 | ||
1991 | ||
1992 | ||
1993 | ||
1994 | ||
1995 | ||
1996 | ||
1997 | ||
1998 | ||
1999 | ||
2000 | ||
2001 | ||
2002 | ||
2003 | ||
2004 | ||
2005 | Larry Michael | |
2006 | ||
2007 | ||
2008 | ||
2009 | ||
2010 | ||
2011 | ||
2012 | ||
2013 | Chris Cooley and Sonny Jurgensen | |
2014 | ||
2015 | ||
2016 | ||
2017 | ||
2018 | ||
2019 | Chris Cooley | |
2020 | Bram Weinstein | DeAngelo Hall and Julie Donaldson |
2021 | ||
2022 | London Fletcher and Julie Donaldson | |
2023 | ||
2024 | London Fletcher and Logan Paulsen |
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia. The Commanders have played more than 1,300 games and have won more than 600. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song, "Hail to the Commanders", which is played by their marching band after every home game touchdown. The Commanders are owned by a group managed by Josh Harris, who acquired the franchise from Daniel Snyder in 2023 for $6.05 billion.
"Hail to the Commanders" is the fight song of the Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL). At home games, the song is performed by the Washington Commanders Marching Band when the team scores a touchdown. Composed in 1937, the song was performed as "Hail to the Redskins!" until 2019, when the team retired the Redskins name.
WSBN is a commercial AM sports radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with 10,000 watts in the daytime and 2,700 watts at night using a directional antenna around the clock. WSBN's studios are on Jenifer Street in Northwest Washington. The transmitter is located off Black Rock Road in Germantown, Maryland.
Daniel Marc Snyder is an American businessman and former owner of the Washington Commanders, an American football franchise belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He bought the team, then known as the Redskins, from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke in 1999. Snyder is widely considered to be one of the worst owners in the history of professional sports, with the team managing only six playoff appearances and two wins during his 24 years of ownership.
Robert John Riggins, nicknamed "Riggo" and "Diesel", is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks. Riggins was known for his "bell cow" running style and productivity well into the later years of his career. In the 1983 season, at age 34, he rushed for a then-NFL record of 24 touchdowns, a record which stood for almost 20 seasons. Riggins again led the league in rushing touchdowns during the 1984 season at age 35. Although he earned only one Pro Bowl appearance in his career, Riggins had his greatest success in the postseason and was named MVP of Super Bowl XVII where he scored one touchdown and rushed for 166 yards in a 27–17 win for the Redskins over the Miami Dolphins. Riggins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
WJFK-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Manassas, Virginia, and serving the Washington metropolitan area. WJFK-FM airs a sports radio format and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc.
WTEM is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services the Washington metropolitan area as the flagship station of the Washington Wizards and the Washington Mystics. WTEM is also the co-flagship station of the Maryland Terrapins, and is the Washington affiliate of Fox Sports Radio.
Brian Keith Mitchell is an American former professional football running back and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a quarterback for the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL draft. Mitchell is considered one of the greatest return specialists in NFL history.
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Commanders were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly became the Washington Football Team, before choosing the Washington Commanders as their permanent name in 2022.
Red Zebra Broadcasting was a sports marketing company headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. The company owned and operated four radio stations in the greater Washington, D.C. radio market, one in Hampton Roads, VA, and two stations in Richmond, Virginia.
WDCJ, known on air as "Majic 102.3 & 92.7," is an urban oldies-leaning urban adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Prince Frederick, Maryland, and serving the southeastern Washington metropolitan area. The station's programming is a relay of WMMJ in Bethesda, Maryland
Bram N. Weinstein is an American sportscaster who is the play by play broadcaster for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously worked at ESPN from 2008 to 2015, most notably as a host for SportsCenter.
WWRC – branded AM 570 The Answer – is a commercial conservative talk radio station licensed to serve Bethesda, Maryland. Owned by the Salem Media Group, the station services the Washington metro area and is the market affiliate for the Salem Radio Network and The Sean Hannity Show. The WWRC studios are located in Arlington, while the station transmitter resides in nearby Germantown. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WWRC is available online.
The Commanders–Giants rivalry between the Washington Commanders, formerly known as the Redskins, and the New York Giants of the National Football League began in 1932 with the founding of Washington's predecessors, the Boston Braves, and is the oldest rivalry in the NFC East Division. This rivalry has seen periods of great competition such as the Giants and Redskins' competition for conference and division titles in the late 1930s, early 1940s and 1980s. Experts deem the 1980s as the most hotly contested period between these teams, as the Redskins under Joe Gibbs and the Giants under Bill Parcells competed for division titles and Super Bowls. During this span the two teams combined to win 7 NFC East Divisional Titles, 5 Super Bowls and competed in the 1986 NFC Championship Game with the Giants winning 17–0. This rivalry is storied and Wellington Mara, long time owner of the Giants, always said that he believed the Redskins were the Giants' truest rival.
WLZV – branded K-Love – is a non-commercial contemporary Christian radio station licensed to serve Buckland, Virginia. Owned and operated by the Educational Media Foundation, WLZV does not broadcast any local programming, functioning as the Northern Virginia network affiliate for K-Love; WLZV also services the southwestern portion of the Washington metropolitan area.
James Leo Gibbons (1914–2001) was an American sportscaster who called Washington Redskins games from 1943 to 1967.