Three Cheers for the Redskins

The listless waters of Washington sports were stirred up in 1971 as George Allen took over as coach of the Washington Redskins. His trades for familiar players and spending large sums for a first-rate training complex, were part of a true rebuilding program. The result: Washington made the playoffs for the first time since 1945. In shooting an hour-long film called Three Cheers for the Redskins, NFL Films was with George Allen every step of the rebuidling. Now, after 30 years, members of the 1971 Redskins are interviewed for this program. Steve Sabol chips in, explaining that some of George Allen's habits–labeling the trees just outside the Redskins' camp, for example–rubbed off on him. There was a certain eccentricity to Allen that Steve Sabol thinks about all the time.