There was Keanu Reeves, standing in the tunnel, ready to save the day. The only problem is “The Replacements” movie of 2000 and the Redskins’ 1987 strike team had barely one thing in common – football.
Ol’ Ricky covered the Scab Skins for three weeks, mostly baby sitting at Redskins Park after striking players threatened not to talk to beat writers if they also wrote about the replacements. I was covering horse racing so nobody knew me and I didn’t really figure on making a career covering the team, so sure, send me out.
The Redskins second Super Bowl crown is remembered for Doug Williams and Timmy Smith, but the real heroes of that season were general manager Bobby Beathard, assistant GM Charley Casserly and the strike players that went 3-0 to secure home field in the playoffs.
Basically, the Redskins kept in touch with released players expecting them to be re-signed after two weeks when the regulars walked. They wanted players who knew the system and could be quickly coached up. Sure, they also found four players in a halfway house, including quarterback Tony Robinson, who inspired Reeves’ character. There was also a 7/Eleven security guard and another who wheezed so badly climbing the steps to Casserly’s office the latter assumed the player just finished a long workout. The kicker even broke a window during practice with a field goal attempt that was miles wide.
There were a ton of great stories and the scriptwriter and I talked for an hour. He then talked to Casserly extensively. And yet, the only thing that made it into the movie was someone breaking a window of the bus bringing in strike players. Darryl Grant really did that on the first day. Afterwards, those players were hustled through a back gate by the woods.
Now the movie execs wanted to use the Redskins name, but ultimately the NFL nixed rights so the Sentinels were created and a stadium in Baltimore used for filming. It’s too bad because that strike team did some amazing things. Washington beat St. Louis at RFK despite 14 Cardinal regulars crossing the picket line. Anthony Allen still has the franchise record of 255 yards in a single game.
The Giants suited up a nearby semi pro team and Washington ran for four touchdowns to win 38-12. There were 4,000 in the stands and two Giants players asleep on the bench.
But the legendary moment was beating Dallas on Monday Night Football despite the Cowboys crossing the strike line in mass. Joe Gibbs gave a Super Bowl-caliber performance in his pregame speech, telling players this was their moment in life that would resonate forever. Think Russell Crowe in the opening battle of “Gladiator.”
The strike players shocked the world with a 13-7 victory. Players celebrated and then given their pink slips. Only four stayed for the rest of the season and were shuffled to a corner of the locker room by teammates. Indeed, it took 30 years for strike players to receive Super Bowl rings and only because then president Bruce Allen wanted them to be remembered.
But then, who remembers Keanu Reeves in “The Replacements,” either?
Tomorrow: Ol’ Ricky remembers Diron Talbert. Lots of stories in my book and these are the types of tales I’ll tell on my “Pizza and Pigskins Tours” later this summer.
Rick Snider is an award-winning sports writer who has covered Washington sports since 1978. He first wrote about the Redskins in 1983 before becoming a beat writer in 1993. Snider currently writes for several national and international publications and is a Washington tour guide. Follow Rick on Twitter at @Snide_Remarks.
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Ol' Ricky's Redskins Tales - 1987 Strike Team - Sports Illustrated
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