Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Classic

Bobby Mitchell
Former Redskins Football Player and NFL Hall of Famer
Friday, June 30, 2006 1:00 PM

More than 40 legendary pro football and basketball stars will gather next weekend at Landsdowne Resort for the 16th annual Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame classic. The tournament raises money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Former Redskins player and NFL Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell will be joined by fellow football legends Gale Sayers and John Riggins, basketball legend Marques Haynes and other notable athletes on the green as they golf to raise money in memory of Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis, who died of leukemia at age 23 before being able to play pro football.

NFL Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell was online Friday, June 30, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the tournament and his years with the Redskins.

Learn more about the Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Classic here .

The transcript follows.

This year's tournament will honor 11-year old Brendan Lackey. The seventh grader has been battling leukemia since last summer, and started a candy store from his hospital bed that raised over $400 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Now in remission after a bone marrow transplant, the avid Redskins fan will attend to the tournament to meet some of his favorite sports legends.

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Bobby Mitchell: It's my pleasure to be able to talk to the fans today as we embark upon our 16th year of our golf tournament for Leukemia and Lymphoma. We are very excited about all of our Hall of Famers who come to our area each year, supporting us in the Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Golf Tournament.

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Washington, D.C.: Mr. Mitchell, It always makes me happy when celebrities do something worthwhile with their fame. Thank you for organizing this tournament for such a worthwhile cause.

I was wondering whether you have an opinion -- as a former Redskin and Hall-of-Famer yourself -- on Art Monk's candidacy for the Hall of Fame.

Bobby Mitchell: Thank you. I've been asked this many many times of course, why isn't Art Monk IN the Hall of Fame? And consequently each year at the Super Bowl I have questioned some of the selectors as to why he is not in the Hall of Fame. I think what it boils down to now is they won't talk to me anymore. Personally, I certainly think he is Hall of Fame material and I want to leave the fans with one thing you must remember: most all of us are local heroes and not national heroes, and because of that the selection committee is a national panel. So they usually take a little longer for you to get into the Hall if you're not considered a national hero. I think I went through it, Sonny went through it. I think the only player to go in recently with a national tag was John Riggins, who went in pretty recently.

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Fairfax, Va.: Thank you for all your work on behalf of charity and the many memories you provided over the years even to a Giants fan whose Dad went to high school with Alex Webster. If we could somehow magically bring your era players back today to play again current NFL players, how would you guys make out? Would the fact that the current players are more "full time" in terms of year round workouts make that much difference?

Bobby Mitchell: That's a good question, and I've received that many times before. You must understand that those of us who played 25 years and so backwards, obviously we think we could play today because most of us feel we are better foot ball players-we do things technically better. However we must admit that the player of today is bigger, faster, and certainly as strong as we were. I think that we had certain individuals during our time who certainly could play today and hold their own and I think most people could pick that up. But obviously the players of today are great athletes and we certainly enjoy watching them perform.

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Anonymous: What's it like golfing with a former Harlem Globetrotter? It sounds like a lot of fun for a great cause! Good Luck!

Bobby Mitchell: We are so excited because this year we will have two Harlem Globetrotters in our tournament besides Marcus Haynes. We are being appreciated this year by Meadowlark Lemon, so we're very excited. They're super guys, great golfers and a lot of fun. They're two people the other Hall of Famers can't wait to see when they arrive. Thanks for asking that question.

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Washington, D.C.: Mr. Mitchell,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you have done. You are a top class individual. Not only do we appreciate everything that you have done for the Washington Redskins community, but we appreciate everything that you have done for the Washington, D.C. community. Thank you.

Bobby Mitchell: Well thank you very much, it's been my pleasure to be a Washington the last 42 or 43 years. Some of the great people in the world are around here and they have been very nice to me and my family, so it's only natural that I would get out and do things for this community. This dreaded disease has devastated so many young kids that all of my Hall of Famers look forward to coming here to give their support. We're in our 16th year and a lot of those guys have been coming for all of those 16 years. There is no other tournament in any medium that can get 40 Hall of Famers at the same time, and we do it for the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society.

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Seattle, Wash.: Dear Mr. Mitchell, I am a lifelong huge Redskins fan and you are my all time favorite Redskin. I am very sorry that the Redskins let a player wear your number 49 some years ago. I was shocked when I saw that on TV and I read that you were upset by it, which is totally understandable. I wonder if anyone ever apologized to you from the Redskins for allowing that to happen, and if you have forgiven them. I hope you have and to me you will always be no. 49 for the Redskins.

Thank you for all the great play and great moments you gave all of us Redskin fans and the Redskins for so many years. You are a role model for all of us.

Bobby Mitchell: Thank you. I must admit I was upset when I saw my number on the field. Let me give a brief history of why: my number, 49, was the first number retired with the Washington Redskins. Sammy Barr is the only number that has been retired and the rest of these numbers, including me, are what we call a set aside number that can be reused. So I was the first Redskin to be set aside, and to be the first to be pulled out was disturbing to me. It was an oversight by ownership, and I felt it shouldn't have happened since I was working for the organization and they know who I am, and would know 49 belonged to Bobby Mitchell. So there was some pride, but everything is in the past now. I love 49 and will always be 49 in my heart and whatever happens with it from now on it won't matter so much, because if there is any damage done, the damage has already been done.

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Alexandria, Va.: Mr. Mitchell:

I never saw you play, but my parents told me many stories about your days with the Redskins. I wanted to say that I'm so sorry you parted company with the organization the way you did. Please know that I honor and respect the #49 by wearing it for every Redskins game with your name on the back of the jersey. God bless you for everything you have done and continue to do in the DC Metro area.

Bobby Mitchell: Thank you very much. That fills my heart because I very seldom see a #49 jersey in the stands so I really appreciate that. Hopefully if you get an opportunity to watch some films, you may think I played a little football. But I am happy to hear that you've heard of me and I hope you will continue to admire me. Thank you, thank you very much.

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Las Vegas, Nev.: Bobby,

As someone who was recently diagnosed with lymphoma, I would like to express my gratitude to you for all your work in this benefit. It is likely that fundraisers like this have developed the research for the standard protocols that is in use for my kind of lymphoma. Thank you.

Bobby Mitchell: Thank you. When I started out the cure rate for young kids in particular with leukemia was 14%, obviously very low. And the shocking thing for those involved in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was that those young kids who we saw each year were not around the second year. So it was a horrendous disease. We have watched that cure rate over these 15-16 years increase in some of the cancers to almost 80%. But there's just so many more-we're still losing so many people. So that has kept us working very hard each year, because now we are seeing some of the young kids a second, third and fourth year. We honor a patient hero each year at our weekend banquet and we follow that young person each year. We've lost some, but we also have some who are still standing tall. So lots of love to you and thank you very much for your comments.

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Maryland: What's going to be going on at the gallery on Sunday - will you be playing Lansdowne's new course?

Bobby Mitchell: We are very excited this year to again play out tournament at the Landsdowne Resort, who have been tremendous friends of the Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Classic. The resort has opened their second golf course and I played it recently and it's tough. We will play both courses for the weekend and I can't wait to see Sonny Jorgensen get beat up by the Norman golf course. It's new and beautiful and it's tough and I think that great golfers like Paul Krause, Lem Barney and someone like Mel Blount--it will be great to see the course bring them to their knees. Another new golfer joining us for the first time this year is Steve Largent, the great Seattle receiver. He will have to meet the new Norman golf course, we'll see how he handles it. He was a great Congressman and great player, and it'll be interesting to see how he handles this course.

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West Coast: It's so nice of you to continue to help out the legacy of the great Ernie Davis! What was it like to be traded for him? I can still see the highlight reels of Davis's punishing runs! THANKS~~

Bobby Mitchell: I admired Ernie Davis very, very much. Thought he was a super young man and there is no doubt in my mind that he would have had a super career in the pro ranks. Our heartfelt thanks go out to his family for producing such a great young man, and we're going to continue to fight this Leukemia-Lymphoma fight for people like Ernie Davis.

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Anonymous: Do you ever dream about your career in the NFL? Do you dream about catching one of Sonny's passes, or what? What a great career you had! It has only been exceeded by the fine work you do for charities such as the Ernie Davis foundation. Walk Tall, and express yourself, Mr. Mitchell!

Bobby Mitchell: This isn't the Ernie Davis foundation; the first time I was aware of Leukemia was because Ernie died of it. So he has been associated with this tournament even though it isn't the Ernie Davis foundation or tournament. It was conceived by me since I was working with the foundation as a volunteer. We will continue to work on behalf of the society because this work needs to be done. That's why someone like Oscar Robinson has come here 15 years, Gale Sayers has come the last four or five years. I think that Lennie Moore and Willie Lanier and Sam Jones and Bill Russell and Deacon Jones--people of that caliber keep on coming because they believe in what we do. The Classic raises a tremendous amount of money--close to $5 million dollars for Leukemia and Lymphoma since we've been in existence that we have put into research against this terrible disease.

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Haymarket, Va.: Bobby:

First off, thanks for all your years of service to the Redskins and the Washington, D.C. Area. Continued success with your outstanding Hall of Fame tournament.

Thanks for the memories, thanks for the class you've always displayed and thanks most of all from an old Redskin fan, for almost single-handedly raising the Redskins from the ashes of mediocrity to a Team with spirit and a winning attitude. Your are truly a one-of-a kind athlete and individual. It was a privilege watching you play!

How would you handle the receivers of today vs. 20-30 years ago if you were still coaching? Do you feel they are more talented today than yesteryear?

Thanks, Jim

Bobby Mitchell: The receivers and defensive back of today are probably the most tremendous athletes on the football field. They have world-class speed and jumping ability. It would be difficult no matter which side of the ball you're on, defense or offense, you would have a tough time against these great athletes of today. Coaching that kind of talent isn't very difficult. Maintaining the control of these individuals is more difficult. That part I would not like today.

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HOF: Hey Mr. Mitchell,

Long time fan of the Redskins (35 years and counting).

1. Do you think Art Monk should be in HOF?

2. Do you see any current Redskins as potential HOF candidates?

Thanks.

Kevin

Bobby Mitchell: Obviously all of us here want Art Monk in the Hall of Fame, we think he has earned that right and hopefully it will happen soon. As for the Redskins lineup since Art, I think Darrell Green has a chance. There are some other guys whose names will probably be mentioned but I think will have problems getting in. But I think Darrell Green has a shot. He played a very long time, and that will help. The rest will depend on his statistics and we'll have to wait and see how he will measure up against the other players coming out from his era to see if he totally matches up. But we have our fingers crossed and we certainly hope it happens for him.

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Anonymous: Dear Mr. Mitchell, How did you arrive at the number 49, did you request it, or was it assigned? You certainly own it, at this point, as Bobby Mitchell and jersey #49 are as one!

Bobby Mitchell: Very seldom, it happens some today, does a player come into the league and request a number as a rookie. So that's the difference. Veterans, when moved from team to team, will try to request the number they have worn before. A rookie can request numbers but very seldom does the team respond. I did not request a number as a rookie, I was assigned 49 and once that number has been worn and you have distinguished that number, then you try to keep it because that is what people recognize you by. I felt that with 11 seasons and the pro football Hall of Fame enshrinement I felt I had earned the right to keep that number.

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Anonymous: To this day, I consider a down and out pass by Sonny J. to be the most unstoppable play in the history of football.

How much practice went into that play, as Sonny seemed to throw it without having to look, purely on timing and perfect routes by the receivers?

Bobby Mitchell: That down and out play from Sonny to myself and to Charlie Taylor and even Jerry Smith in the tight end spot--we practiced that play over and over and over again. When practice would begin Sonny would take the receivers to the end zone and we would practice those routes and maneuvers until we perfected them. So when you were seeing Sonny virtually not looking before he released it, he knew where we were going to be. So based on the defensive setup each of us pretty much knew who would receive the ball. That's perfection.

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Bobby Mitchell: It was my pleasure today to be able to talk with all of you. I want to thank you very much for talking with me and remember that all of this is to fight Leukemia-Lymphoma and to bring about a better life for those people who are devastated by this disease. The fact that we have this year almost 45 Hall of Famers coming in from all over the country to spend a weekend with us while we work for funds to help the research that fights this disease. We will be holding out tournament next week on the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th at Landsdowne Resort and we're sponsored by a great group of people headed by the Toyota dealerships. We can't wait to get started next week because we want to raise more money than we did last year and move the cure rate higher. So thank you so much for talking to me. Good day.

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