Hostile
The Duke
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http://i6.***BLOCKED***/albums/y244/2Hostile/helmets/CowboysVersusRedskins.jpg
I've already taken a minor shot at the Commanders fight song, Hail to the Commanders. I figured I should also pay it proper tribute.
The song was written by Band Leader Barnee Breeskin and it is based off the tune "Onward Christian Soldiers." The words of the song were originally written by Corinne Griffith, and Academy Award nominated actress and wife of Commanders owner and Founder George Preston Marshall. Once again, here are the original words to the song.
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Hail to the Commanders![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Hail Victory![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Braves on the Warpath![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Fight for old Dixie![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Run or pass and score -- we want a lot more![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Scalp 'em, swamp 'em -- We will take 'em big score[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Read 'em, weep 'em, touchdown - we want heap more[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Fight on, Fight on -- 'Till you have won[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Hail Victory![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Braves on the Warpath![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Fight for old Dixie![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Run or pass and score -- we want a lot more![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Scalp 'em, swamp 'em -- We will take 'em big score[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Read 'em, weep 'em, touchdown - we want heap more[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Fight on, Fight on -- 'Till you have won[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah![/FONT]
In line four the reference is to Dixie. You may be wondering why. At that time the Commanders really were the team of the Confederacy. If you look at all the teams in the south right now (Falcons, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Jaguars, Saints, Titans, & Panthers) none of them existed in those days. GP Marshall had a huge empire and he had a stranglehold on it. He also owned a lot of southern TV stations and fans in the South got the Commanders games.
Not exactly the politically correct version of today. The words were changed during the Civil Rights era of the 1960's and in part due to political pressure. The words were not changed until after 1962 when faced with pressure from the Kennedy Administration the Commanders became the last team in the NFL to integrate.
When we play in Washington, chances are you will hear this song. Every Cowboys fan should smile when they hear it. Just a little anyway. Yeah it is the Commanders fight song, but at one time the Cowboys owned it.
Barnee Breeskin left the Commanders as band leader in 1951. From 1938 until then he was the man waving the baton and leading the 150 piece marching band as they belted out this tune. He was gone, but his tune lived on.
By 1958 a bitterness had developed between Marshall and Breeskin allegedly over royalties from the song. Along came Clint Murchison. He was trying to establish a team in Dallas and the number one person in opposition to this was GP Marshall. Remember, he had a monopoly in the south at that time. He was also arguably the most influential owner in the NFL.
Murchison needed an edge. He found it in Barnee Breeskin. Murchison bought the rights to Marshall's beloved "Hail to the Commanders" from Breeksin for $2500.00. He immediately held the song hostage. He threatened to ban Marshall from using it unless he voted for expansion to add the Cowboys to the NFL and buy back the rights to the song. He had Marshall by the balls and once his vote of yes for inclusion was garnered Clint Murchison and his partner Bedford Wynne officially owned a football team, our beloved Dallas Cowboys.
Courtesy of the Commanders fight song.
The fun loving Murchison was not done though.
In those days the Commanders pregame and halftime shows with the band were very elaborate. The band was all dressed in buckskins and Indian headdresses, there were dancing Indian princesses, and all kinds of hoopla.
Murchison had some fun loving friends who lived in the DC area and who loved to get under the skin of Marshall. Every year for the last home game of the year, Marshall had a grand tradition of a Christmas celebration complete with Santa Claus. In 1961 the last home game was to be the Dallas Cowboys. Murchison's henchmen began an elaborate hoax.
The day before the game some of them snuck in the stadium and sprinkled chicken feed all over the field. They had two large crates filled with hungry chickens snuck into the stadium near the entry tunnel. There were 76 chickens in the crates. 75 white ones, and one black one meant to represent the first Black player who would play for the Commanders the following year (1962) after the pressure from the Kennedy Administration courtesy of a great Arizonan named Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior. Born in my wife's hometown (ironically the St. John's Commanders) and a fellow Arizona Wildcat.
For the half time extravaganza Santa was going to be brought out onto the field pulled in a sled by a team of dogs, all amidst the hoopla of the dancing princesses and the marching band. Murchison's henchmen were going to release the hungry chickens so that they would be all over the field frantically eating the dispersed chicken feed. All of this was to be televised on National TV by CBS.
Alas the prank failed when a security guard heard the chickens and went to investigate. A bribe failed and the plot was foiled. Marshall was furious. He complained to NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle and he threatened the lead henchman Bob Thompson.
Marshall did get the last laugh that day as the Commanders won the game 34-24. It was their only win of the season. 1989 was payback.
Undaunted by Marshall's threats, Bob Thompson boldly promised that in 1962 there would be chickens at DC Stadium.
Kickoff was approaching. The Indian princesses danced onto the field followed by the marching band in full regalia. As the band reached midfield four large banners unfurled along the upper concourses. One each at the 50 yard lines and in both endzones. The banners each had one word, "Chickens."
This was also a cue to two acrobats who had been hired. Wearing chicken costumes they came out of the stands and onto the field and began to run around flapping their wings. They each carried a bag with colored eggs which they tossed as they ran and flapped. One was quickly caught. The other proved to be much more elusive.
Out of his bag he pulled a real chicken and released it. Now security was not only trying to catch the elusive man in the chicken suit, they were trying to catch the real chicken. The acrobat escaped into the crowd.
Dallas won the game 38-10, and the last line in the box score told the best story of all.
Attendance -- 49,888 (and one chicken)
