The forgotten Redskins owner....

SirClintonPortis

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While Dan Snyder, Jack Kent Cooke, and George Preston Marshall have been in fore of modern Redskins' fans minds, I came across one whom I have NOT heard at all in my fandom.

That would be Edward Bennett Williams.

By circumstance and a mother who dumpster dives, I came across a discarded biography, The Man To See. The bio focused mostly on his law career, but he was active in the 70s while Cooke was an absentee owner.
 
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So according to Wikipedia, Edward Bennett Williams was majority owner of the Washington Redskins for 5 years from 1969 to 1974, but moreover he was team President for 20 years (1965-1985), hired guys like Otto Graham, Vince Lombardi, George Allen, and Bobby Beathard; yet I didn’t even know his name before today. And to think I call myself a fan.

In my defense, this was a little before my time. My earliest Redskins memory was Super Bowl XXII, but I like to learn team history so this is cool.

I’ll be interested to see what others have to say about him. Maybe an old Orioles fan remembers him keeping the team in Baltimore. I doubt our demographics on BGO include people old enough to recall the drama of firing Otto Graham for Vince Lombardi, but that would be awesome.
 
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Faithful Fan said:
So according to Wikipedia, Edward Bennett Williams was majority owner of the Washington Redskins for 5 years from 1969 to 1974, but moreover he was team President for 20 years (1965-1985), hired guys like Otto Graham, Vince Lombardi, George Allen, and Bobby Beathard; yet I didn’t even know his name before today. And to think I call myself a fan.

In my defense, this was a little before my time. My earliest Redskins memory was Super Bowl XXII, but I like to learn team history so this is cool.

I’ll be interested to see what others have to say about him. Maybe an old Orioles fan remembers him keeping the team in Baltimore. I doubt our demographics on BGO include people old enough to recall the drama of firing Otto Graham for Vince Lombardi, but that would be awesome.
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This bio was published in 1991 by Evan Thomas. Quite a well written bio, lots of facts and human figures. Big list of famous guys he interacted with. According to the bio, he was what convinced Ben Bradlee to publish the Pentagon Papers....which catapulted the Washington Post up a level.
 
Damn, I am old. I didn't realize he hired Beathard - I had always thought that was JKC. I vaguely remember most DC people thinking he would move the Orioles to DC. My favorite EBW quote - "I gave George Allen an unlimited budget, and within two weeks he exceeded it."
 
EBW was a fascinating person, in more ways than one. The Evan Thomas book is a very good read and I highly recommend it.

I do not recall much from his time as owner as little kids tend not to notice that kind of thing. Plus he was fairly low key as opposed to Marshall and Cooke. But I do recall him stating, "I gave George Allen an ulimited budget. And he exceeded it!" Still not sure if that was supposed to be humorous or judgemental. In any case, he should be credited with sparking the renaissance that began under Lombardi and ended with the departure of Gibbs.

I do remember his time as Orioles owner, which was a bit controversial. He spoke of moving the team to DC due to low attendance and that did not sit well with the citizens of Charm City. But they stayed and won a World Series. Then came Peter Angelos aka Dan Snyder's long lost evil twin. I reckon they think better of EBW these days.

The issue with Otto Graham was certainly before my time. However, years ago I sent Graham a sign by mail request and asked him if he got along with EBW. He was very gracious and wrote me a short note. In it he stated 2x that EBW never called him and had someone else fire him. However, he said he was not bitter and things worked out fine. Nice guy.

Anyway, Thomas' book is better than my anecdotes, so grab a copy. I would also recommend “Fifth Quarter: the Scrimmage of a Football Coach’s Daughter", by Jennifer Allen. Some great observations about her father (and very little re her brother Bruce).
 
He was Catholic, and practicing as well. He hid it though

The list of notorious, famous, and infamous figures he made contact with was long.

He defended Vito Corleone(aka Frank Costello, the figure who inspired the character).

Some of the bodies are alive today. Rudy Giuliani was the "good guy" prosecutor trying to bust white collar crime while Williams was on the defense. RFK was thawrted by Williams at least once, so the relations were not exactly best friends. The Kennedys did attend his funeral. No doubt RFK, Sr.'s issue would recognize the name.

The firm Williams and Connolly lives on to this day. https://www.wc.com/Firm They repped Shannon Sharpe in the Brett Favre defamation laawsuit
 
When Cooke came back East the Redskins finished 6-10 under Jack Pardee in 1980 and it was obvious the veteran coach’s vision for the future differed from that of GM Bobby Beathard.

Beathard wanted to build through the draft while Pardee wanted to trade draft picks for more veterans for 1981.

Cooke ultimately decided Pardee’s vision was flawed and the Redskins were not a couple of veterans away from being a contender.

Beathard then put forward Joe Gibbs as HC candidate.

I remember Edward Bennett Williams, my girlfriend at the time used to work for him at Williams & Connolly in DC.

He was a ‘big move’ kind of owner and business manager.

He was a bit on the impatient side and Allen’s ‘the future is now’ approach appealed to him. Washington won games and created a buzz but were not able to rival the Cowboys or Dolphins in building an organization from the ground up.


Ultimately it was Cooke that got the team on a trajectory like Dallas and Pittsburgh in establishing a system that lasted and continued to win over time.
 
Allen's "Future is Now" yielded dividends. We made the playoffs several years in a row including an appearance in the Super Bowl. George Allen is in the HOF.

But .... "Future is Now" left the cupboard bare for the great Jack Pardee. The Over the Hill Gang was truly over the hill.

Still, Jack Pardee went 24 and 24 in his 3 seasons here. Going .500 with scant resources is not that bad. He ended up with winning records in the NFL, CFL, USFL, and the NCAA. Coach Pardee was a modest transition between George Allen and Joe Gibbs. He wasn't a Gibbs, Madden, or Knoll, but he was not a bad coach either.

That's why I always say the 2nd Skins Glory Period spans Lombardi to Gibbs. Most people would enjoy that run. I did.
 
Riggotoni said:
Damn, I am old. I didn't realize he hired Beathard - I had always thought that was JKC. I vaguely remember most DC people thinking he would move the Orioles to DC. My favorite EBW quote - "I gave George Allen an unlimited budget, and within two weeks he exceeded it."
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One of the things I had heard is he was going to split home games between baltimore and washington but they won the world series and there was no way he could do that
 
tomwvr said:
One of the things I had heard is he was going to split home games between baltimore and washington but they won the world series and there was no way he could do that
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I did not know all of this as I’m 50 and it was well before my time. Shocking to think that the O’s could have ever have been Washington’s team, especially how things have worked out.

Although I do know the Washington Wizards were at one time the Baltimore Bullets. They moved, so there was precedent.
 
Faithful Fan said:
So according to Wikipedia, Edward Bennett Williams was majority owner of the Washington Redskins for 5 years from 1969 to 1974, but moreover he was team President for 20 years (1965-1985), hired guys like Otto Graham, Vince Lombardi, George Allen, and Bobby Beathard; yet I didn’t even know his name before today. And to think I call myself a fan
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I just checked that Wikipedia link and apparently he was actually majority controlling owner for 14 years from ‘65 to ‘79. He was Team President from 1965 to 1985, even for several years when he was no longer majority owner.
 
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Apparently he was also responsible for what became Oriole Park at Camden Yards although he did not live to see it to fruition.
 
Commander PK said:
I just checked that Wikipedia link and apparently he was actually majority owner for 14 years from ‘65 to ‘79. He was Team President from 1965 to 1985, even for several years when he was no longer majority owner.
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My memory is vague, but Cooke was minority owner of the Skins while he owned the LA Lakers, Kings, and the Forum.

He was Josh Harris before Josh Harris.
 
Commander PK said:
I just checked that Wikipedia link and apparently he was actually majority owner for 14 years from ‘65 to ‘79. He was Team President from 1965 to 1985, even for several years when he was no longer majority owner.
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It’s a little unclear so I may be mistaken, but it says he was “controlling owner” from 1965 to 1979, I think because he was both owner and team President, but he did not have a majority share the whole time. It says he bought out George Preston Marshall’s share in 1969 and sold majority interest to Jack Kent Cooke in 1974.
 
Faithful Fan said:
It’s a little unclear so I may be mistaken, but it says he was “controlling owner” from 1965 to 1979, I think because he was both owner and team President, but he did not have a majority share the whole time. It says he bought out George Preston Marshall’s share in 1969 and sold majority interest to Jack Kent Cooke in 1974.
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That makes sense. I think I misinterpreted controlling to be majority.
 
Faithful Fan said:
It’s a little unclear so I may be mistaken, but it says he was “controlling owner” from 1965 to 1979, I think because he was both owner and team President, but he did not have a majority share the whole time. It says he bought out George Preston Marshall’s share in 1969 and sold majority interest to Jack Kent Cooke in 1974.
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It may also have had something to do with the NFL not allowing him to fully own the Lakers/Kings as well as the Redskins. Of course, nowadays that is not an issue.

Again my memory is vague, but it is in the Thomas book about EBW.
 

I found this old interview with Williams and a young Mike Wallace.

Oh, how society was different...shilling smokes. No wonder he didn't care when CBS had a 60 minutes report with Jeffrey Wigand in the 90s, and The Insider's portrayal was very unflattering to Wallace.

Williams was well prepared for this interview, with the journalist trying gotchas and Williams answering adequately; which is the result of a very good Jesuit training at the College of the Holy Cross and then Georgetown Law.
 
Yeah I've been reading a lot about the history of The Redskins lately - I've got like 20 books here - and Edward Bennett Williams was an amazing owner. Jack Kent Cooke was too. I read that JKC was ultimately responsible for bringing George Allen to Washington.


"We wondered why somebody didn't get Mr. Williams in after the first game instead of after five. The talk was the turning point for our team."

-Pat Richter, Punter, Nov. 7, 1965. The Redskins had started the season 0-5 when Edward Bennett Williams, minority owner, ordered a closed-door players-only meeting. The following game, the Redskins upset the 4-1 St. Louis Cardinals 24-20, a team which was favored to win by 13 points. Jurgensen completed 12 of 14 passing attempts for 195 yards and no interceptions. Jurgensen presented Williams with the game ball. The Redskins went on to beat the Eagles and the Giants, making three wins in a row. The following year, Marshall made Williams the Team President.


"The future? This team hasn't been to the playoffs in over two decades and you're worried about the future? The Future is Now!"

-George Allen, when asked by Warner Wolf about the future.


"I gave him an unlimited budget and he exceeded it."

It was meant to be amusing but it was also true.


"Everybody wants tickets to the games. We could sell 100,000 seats if we had them. I don't have room in my box for enough people. I can't keep Ed Muskie away. Ethel and the kids were there Sunday. Chief Justice Warren was bubbling. My wife says she can't go anywhere without being stopped by people wanting to talk about the Redskins. When the man came to fix the refrigerator, he said he'd fix it if she'd give him two tickets."

-Majority Owner and Team President Edward Bennett Williams, likely speaking to Jack Kent Cooke, minority owner. "Ethyl" was Ethyl Kennedy, widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Quote credit: Sports Illustrated



"I gave him unlimited patience and he exceeded it."

Jan 1978, referring to dismissing Allen after waiting six months for him to sign the new contract which Allen had previously agreed to verbally.
 
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