The Redskins Blog

Slinging Sammy And The Anniversary Unis

Who knows how many additional yards and touchdowns Sammy Baugh could’ve racked up had today’s technology been available to him?

It’s a question that’s fun to ponder, but both the Redskins and Nike had “Slinging Sammy” in mind as they developed the team’s new 80th Anniversary Uniforms, which were unveiled Thursday afternoon at Redskins Park.

Though the organization began in 1932, it wasn’t until five years later that the Redskins made the move from Boston to the Washington, D.C. area.

According to a press release, the 2012 80th Anniversary Uniform design “pays tribute to 1937 QB ‘Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, who in his first year in the league led the newly relocated Redskins to their first National Championship.”

The photo above is from that 1937 season. It shows Baugh carrying the ball in the Redskins’ 28-21 win over the Chicago Bears on a frozen Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Pretty cool, huh?

Even in black and white, you can tell the similarities between the actual 1937 uniform and the 80th Anniversary Uniforms.

Nike’s football Twitter account also tweeted out a photo of a No. 33 version of the Redskins’ 80th Anniversary Uniform, the same number Baugh wore with the Redskins:

#FollowFriday #FF @Redskins, and check out their new alternate "anniversary" uniforms in the meantime. #httr http://t.co/jd7BlWXA—
Nike Football (@usnikefootball) May 11, 2012

An organization like the Redskins can boast one of the greatest traditions in all of professional football, and it’s always neat to see that past literally coming alive, as it has in recent days — and as it will in the coming months.