History of the Commanders
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at FedExField in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility is in Ashburn, Virginia. The team has played more than 1,000 games and is one of only five in the NFL with more than 600 total wins. It was the first NFL franchise with an official marching band and a fight song, "Hail to the Redskins". The franchise was valued by Forbes in 2021 at roughly US$4.2 billion, making it the league's fifth-most valuable team.
The team was founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves; it changed its name to the Boston Redskins the following year. The franchise moved to Washington, D.C., in 1937 and became the Washington Redskins. The Redskins branding was seen as pejorative by various Native American groups for decades. In 2020, pressure from several NFL and team sponsors led to it being retired as part of a wave of name changes in the wake of the George Floyd protests. The team played as the Washington Football Team for two seasons before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022.
Established
1932
City
Boston - Washington D.C.
League History
1932 - Present / National Football League
Team History
2022 - Present / Washington Commanders
2020 - 2022 / Washington Football Team
1937 - 2020 / Washington Redskins
1933 - 1936 / Boston Redskins
1932 / Boston Braves
Nickname
Commanders - Jason Wright told the assembled crowd, which included 17 alumni members, that "we landed on this in part because we believed the Washington Commanders can carry the rich legacy of this team, a championship legacy. It's got the weight and heft of something befitting a 90-year franchise. It's something that broadly resonated with our fans in this process and something that embodies the values of service and leadership that characterizes the DMV [D.C., Maryland, Virginia region]."
Championship
Super Bowl 0
1992, 1988, 1983
NFL Championship 0
1942, 1937
Stadium
2000 - Present / FedEx Field
1997 - 1999 / Jack Kent Cooke Stadium
1969 - 1996 / RFK Stadium
1961 - 1968 / D.C. Stadium
1937 - 1960 / Griffith Stadium
*Boston*
1933 - 1936 / Fenway Park
1932 / Braves Field
Owner
1999 - Present / Daniel Snyder
1997 - 1999 / Jack Kent Cooke foundation
1985 - 1997 / Jack Kent Cooke
1974 - 1985 / Jack Kent Cooke and Edward Bennett Williams
1969 - 1974 / Edward Bennett Williams
1932 - 1969 / George Preston Marshall
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
33 / Sammy Baugh
49 / Bobby Mitchell
*Blue is this team’s history