smattering to Griffith Stadium for a 4-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers. That night, 24,492 welcomed the Redskins.
Ten minutes before the game Flaherty addressed his players. Shirley Povich of The Washington Post was inside the locker room to take down the words. Flaherty almost had a Rockne flair:
"All right, you guys. You've got a football game out there. What are you going to do about it? You're gonna kick hell out of those Giants, that's what. You've got to. You've moved into a new town, you and me and all of us. And the future of pro football in Washington depends on this game tonight, here. You've got pretty good jobs, all of you. And me, too. And we want to keep those jobs. And that means we've got to win this ball game. Not only that, there's a hell of a crowd out there tonight. They've come out to see what pro football is like. Well, show `em."I want 60 minutes of the best that's in you. I won't take anything less. Sixty minutes of 100 percent effort. Those Giants are going to be tough tonight. You know how they hate us. And I'll tell you something, I've found out that they're out to get Erny Pinckert. I want you guys to give Erny plenty of protection. I don't want anybody standing around when they start to give Erny the works. You've got hands, use `em. You're as big as they are. And I think you're tougher. Understand?"
Then came the crux of the message:
"For three years now you guys who've been with the Redskins have been complaining that you haven't had a passer. Well, we've gone out and got you one. And I want plenty of protection for Sammy Baugh. You know damn well those Giants will be out to cut Sammy down the first chance they get and try to get him out of there. Well, what are you going to do about that? You know damn well what I want you to do. I don't want to see a Giant get to Sammy. Don't let `em get to Sammy, understand?"
The Giants watched Sammy. The crowd watched Sammy. Wearing number 33, he was Number 1 in home fans' hearts before he had touched a ball and Number 1 on opponents' hit lists. As it turned out, the quarterback in the wing formations, Riley Smith, an all-American at Alabama and the Redskins' No. 1 draft pick of 1936, scored all of Washington's points in a 13-3 victory. He kicked an 18-yard field goal in the first period. He broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth period with another 18-yarder.
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Other Pages in Chapter 1: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42
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Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Names, Numbers Trivia Quiz Index |
