Wow.....anyone see it?? Got a running back a hearing aid in his helmet. Ok'd a gay player, Ray McDonald, until he screwed up....and not "screwed" up, but missed a meeting so Vince fired him. So ahead of his time......a great man and leader.
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I am too young to remember Lombardi I only remember being about 5 when I heard he died and I had to ask who he was. My Dad looked at me like I had three heads when I asked that by the way. I do try and forget that he coached the Redskins but I will give him credit they had a good year under him.
Anyhow, he really was ahead of his time in many ways. I think his brother or a relative was gay (cant remember from the book) so he was ok with gay players and made it know that it will be tolerated, He also approved the fact that one of his black players married a white woman. Which also was way a head of his time for that era.
Lombardi felt that his Italian heritage, vowel-ending name, & dark complexion resulted in him being discriminated against, & as a result was sensitive to it.
Pat Richter was on ESPN radio with Tauscher and Wilde the other day, it's a must listen. I forgot Richter was with the Redskins when Lombardi was there.
Excellent Timeline.
I'm hopeful Dom follows in Lombardis footsteps & retires after this season.
Boris posted:I'm hopeful Dom follows in Lombardi's footsteps & retires after this next Championship
works for me
I was born in the summer of 1969 so I only got to spend 1 year on this earth while Lombardi was around. He is such a fascinating character I wish I would have been old enough to understand what a living legend he was.
He is the kind of guy who would have been a great leader at anything you asked him to do. Could have been a U.S. President, could have been CEO of a giant company, you name it, he could have been great at it and yet he also had a true empathy for his fellow man, something that many high level leaders in our world do not have.
Maybe if he had not gotten sick, the Redskins could have been the team of the '70s instead of the Steelers or Cowboys. We will never know for sure.
Bryan Adams
fightphoe93 posted:I was born in the summer of 1969 so I only got to spend 1 year on this earth while Lombardi was around. He is such a fascinating character I wish I would have been old enough to understand what a living legend he was.
He is the kind of guy who would have been a great leader at anything you asked him to do. Could have been a U.S. President, could have been CEO of a giant company, you name it, he could have been great at it and yet he also had a true empathy for his fellow man, something that many high level leaders in our world do not have.
Maybe if he had not gotten sick, the Redskins could have been the team of the '70s instead of the Steelers or Cowboys. We will never know for sure.
I was born in 66 so my first football memory was when Lombardi died. I had no clue of course of who he was but I remember it vividly. My dad and uncles would always gather around the stove in our living room, drink beer, watch football, and hoot and holler. Not the Sunday after Lombardi died. They were all quiet and didn't say much. I asked what was wrong and they said coach died and I of course asked who coach was.
Anyhow, I completely agree with you that he could have been whatever he wanted to be. He was the perfect leader. He knew when to get on people, knew when to let up a bit, and was a very empathetic person. All things that more leaders regardless of line of work should strive to be.
"Lombardi's Redskins" reads to me like "Recreational Colonoscopies": Two words that just sound wrong together.
Oxymorons are like that. "Lombardi's Redskins," "Vikings Super Bowl," etc.
I remember. Saw his new backfield RB/FB combo as Larry Brown/Charlie Harraway (spell?). Got Sonny Jorgensen to work out a put some muscle in place of his fat belly. Reclaimed former Packer WR Bob Long, who was in a car accident and was told he might not walk again, to come out & he caught 48 passes in 1969. He also got LB Sam Huff to delay his retirement. They posted a 7-5-2 record. Before the 1970 season - Lombardi would be battling cancer and Bill Austin would be the HC. George Allen would take over in 1971 and would win 10 or more games in 4 of the next 6 seasons. That was when the season was 14 games long. And be in the playoffs 5 of those 6 years. They would lose in to Miami in the SB in 1972. Lombardi helped lay the ground work for George Allen.
