Yes, they beat the Giants: Five Redskins scorers in a 1957 upset — from left, Bert Zagers, who ran a punt back 76 yards, back Ed Sutton, kicker Sam Baker, end John Carson and back Don Bosseler — enjoy a rare opportunity for a victory celebration. (Associated Press Photo)

"Marshall was a showman first of all. He wanted entertainment. That's how he looked at his draft picks. We never had very good defensive teams when I was there, but we kept drafting offensive players. [From 1951 through 1960, the Redskins took six quarterbacks — Larry Isbell, Scarbath, Ralph Guglielmi, Don Allard, Richie Lucas and Norm Snead — on the first round.] He wanted big names, people who would draw fans and bring excitement. It was like treading water."

The team also was seriously hurt by Marshall's whites-only policy, which was coming under increasing attack from several quarters, including the press. Washington Post columnist Shirley Povich not only wrote that the Redskins' colors were "burgandy, gold and Caucasian" but that Cleveland runners Jim Brown and Mitchell had "integrated" the Washington end zone. The players knew that Marshall's bigotry was hurting them, but they did not speak out at the time.

Podoley: "There were only so many good players anyway — and when you eliminate half of them, it was tough. Very tough."

Other Pages in Chapter 2: 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Names, Numbers Trivia Quiz Index

Redskins | NFL | Sports