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We Didn’t Steal Your Stupid Fight Song!!
The time has come to put an end to a rumor spread by Washington Redskins fans. This rumor is part of an aggressive campaign to discredit the Dallas Cowboys, America’s Team.
The rumor, which is heavily discussed and mongered here, is that somehow the Dallas Cowboys stole the Redskins fight song. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Redskins first owner, George Marshall, hired local band-man and Shoreham Hotel orchestra leader Barnee Breeskin to compose the team’s fight song and lead the team band. His song was intertwined with “Hail to the Red(dead)skins” lyrics written by silent-movie actress Corinne Griffith. Of course, the racial undertones of the song had to be taken out after the Redskins became the last team in the NFL to integrate, so it is not exactly the same song.
The Redskins were in financial ruins and the team was playing poorly in the 1950s. Marshall even considered selling the team. Clint Murchison, who would eventually become the first owner of the Dallas NFL franchise, was a prospective buyer. After the deal fell through, Murchison went to the NFL to try to get an agreement for an expansion team in Dallas. Sounds harmless, right?
Marshall wanted none of this and he put up roadblocks to Dallas getting a franchise. He feared his Southern Dixie team would be under challenge from a Dallas team. We can equate Marshall’s anti-expansion stance with the modern day dissenter, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who fought hard to keep Major League Baseball from allowing another team in the Washington region. Angelos failed. So did Marshall.
Marshall not only failed to prevent Murchison from starting a new franchise, but he also failed basic business economics because he did not get ownership rights of his own fight song. Doh!
Right around this time when Marshall was throwing up roadblocks, Breeskin got mad at him. Whatever Marshall did to him was so bad that Breeskin called his attorney and told him to sell the “Hail to the Red(dead)skins” to Murchison.
Buy another team’s fight song? Murchison saw this as an opening to negotiations with the crotchety Marshall. He bought the fight song, a price unknown to the world of tubes, and held onto it until Marshall came to his senses and voted in favor of a franchise in Dallas. Murchison then sold the fight song back to the Red(dead)skins.
The Dallas Cowboys never used the fight song. They certainly did not STEAL the fight song.
The truth to the story is a fan and friend of the Redskins stabbed his own brothers in the back and sold it. There was no theft involved. The transaction was legal.
And the moral of the story is never, ever, ever trust a Redskins fan.
Let the rivalry continue!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That song belonged in the hands of the Washington Redskins. By acquiring property that rightfully belonged in the Redskins hands, you stole it. Your entire team was founded using extortion and dirty, underhanded tactics. End of discussion.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:01 pmYou are an idiot Tulip. You can stretch it to fit into your stupid little glass house, but I just gave the facts. And the facts are, never never trust you slime
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:39 pmNearly two out of three of those lines were actually coherent sentences. You’re getting better Dan! Have a cookie. Are you taking lessons from Lance?
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 pmWell, too bad for you Foreskins fans that we actually hold the deed to the NFC East. Have since the mid-60s. It’s also not for sale. And lets not forget about dirty tactics. The Redskins integrated in 1962, a full 42 years after the first black players made their way into the NFL, and 15 after Jackie Robinson kick-started the Civil Rights Movement. It’s not your mascot that’s racist. It’s your whole damn franchise, which by the way, you stole from Boston to begin with.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:50 pmWe don’t have a mascot. The closest thing we have to a mascot are those Funky Four idiots (if you don’t know who they are, be grateful) and we got rid of them a year ago. I assume you mean the logo. As for racism, you do have a point about integration. All I can say is that I wasn’t a fan (or, indeed, even alive) when that went on. Before you start pointing fingers, you should look at your own team. How many minority offensive or defensive coordinators have the cowboys had in their entire history? I’m not saying the Redskins are a beacon of racial harmony, but you might want to take a look in the mirror before you "go there."
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:25 pmBesides, all things aside, I really don’t think it’s terrible that the two teams have such animosity towards one another. The fact that we can tell fun stories about the Redskins fight songs and letting loose wild animals in the stadium to disrupt things has it’s own sort of charm and makes a great rivalry even greater. Both teams are better off having an arch-enemy to hate, and it makes those two games a year even greater.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:29 pmHey, when we go to the movies, we don’t want to watch someone just drinking tea, we want to see a protagonist (that we cheer for) vs. an antagonist. Cannot have one without the other. Of course, in football, which is which is in the eye of the beholder. But it is the rivalry which brings the enjoyment, cheering for "your" guys to kick the crap out of their "guys". The outcome is always in doubt. Otherwise, we would just be wasting time.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:47 pmAlthough is the Steelers never won another game for the rest of their existance my life would be pure joy. 70’s buying off the ref’s thieves!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 pmRoger Staubach should be wearing at least one ring that Terry Bradshaw owns (stole)
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pmThe Dallas Cowboys don’t need Redskins fans to discredit them. We have police and a judicial system for that.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:21 amImage and reality are actually far apart. Dallas is one of the least criminal teams in the league. But people keep grasping at straws. Pacman only fuels the mythhttp://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/nfl/arrests.html
April 24th, 2008 at 2:40 pm[...] We didn’t steal your stupid fight song. The tale has gotten so skewed by lying Redskins fans and the organization. The truth is, the [...]
July 7th, 2008 at 6:49 pm