Tradition in sports is what can bring a community together. The same cheers or chants bind fans and make you feel like a part of something.
The NFL is full of traditions with fans buying in with every touchdown. You have the Jets and their fans spelling out J-E-T-S and saying Jets three times. The Eagles spell out E-A-G-L-E-S and then exclaim EAGLES! The Commanders play their fight song “Hail to the Commanders.”
Some traditions over time have to be tweaked. The NFL franchise in Washington used to be called the Redskins and the song was known as “Hail to the Redskins,” resulting in the evolution of signs, messaging and hashtags all saying “HTTR.” Amidst heavy scrutiny and economic pressure to change its team name, Washington dropped the Redskins moniker and became the Washington Football Team and Washington Commanders.
The song was changed to fit the new team identity, but this wasn’t the first time the fight song had been changed. The Sporting News looks at the history of “Hail to the Commanders” and the changes it has undergone.
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History of ‘Hail to the Commanders’
The Washington franchise was originally founded in 1932 in Boston. George Preston Marshall was the first owner and had the team playing at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. They initially were the Boston Braves, but this conflicted with the baseball team of the same name that also played at Fenway. The team became the Boston Redskins and kept the name when the franchise was moved to Washington in 1937.
When the franchise moved to a new city, a song was adopted. It was created by Barnee Breeskin and written by Corinne Griffith, George Preston Marshall’s wife. Breeskin was the leader of a marching band that Marshall commissioned to try and add some fanfare to Washington’s games and make them feel more like college football games.
“Hail to the Redskins/Commanders” is the second-oldest fight song for an American football team. “Go! You Packers! Go!” was composed just six years prior. “Hail to the Redskins/Commanders” was initially played at home games starting in 1938.
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‘Hail to the Commanders’ lyrics
Here are the long-standing lyrics to the song. It is worth noting that they were trying to capture the warrior aspect of Native Americans and have since been updated.
- Hail to the Redskins! Hail Vic-to-ry!
- Braves on the warpath Fight for old D.C.
- Scalp ’em, Swamp ’em, We will take em big score!
- Read ’em, Weep ’em, Touchdown—we want heap more!
- Fight on, Fight on till you have won,
- Sons of Wash-ing-ton (Rah! Rah! Rah!)
- Hail to the Redskins! Hail Vic-to-ry!
- Braves on the warpath, Fight! For old D.C.
The original lyrics mentioned Dixie in the first stanza, but that was changed to “Fight for old D.C.” in 1965. The lyrics were changed again in 1972, and the third and fourth lines changed accordingly.
- Run or pass and score, We want a lot more!
- Beat ’em, swamp ’em, Touchdown—let the points soar!
The song didn’t play in 2020 and 2021 as the franchise was known as the Washington Football Team. After the Commanders rebranding in 2022, it was brought back with Commanders replacing Redskins and “Fight for our Commanders” as the first part of the last line.
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‘Hail to the Commanders’ and the Dallas Cowboys
The Commanders and Cowboys are division rivals in the NFC East. The NFL would expand to Texas, but Washington owner Marshall wanted a monopoly on southern football franchises, so they blocked the move.
Clint Murchison, a potential NFL franchise owner, decided to persuade Marshall to let the expansion happen by buying the rights to “Hail to the Redskins/Commanders” in 1958. He threatened to prevent Marshall from playing it at Washington football games, and Marshall relented.
Murchison found an NFL franchise in Texas, and in return, gave Marshall back the rights to the song.
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