The legendary Sonny Jurgensen died this week at age 91¹. A hall of famer, he joined the proto-Commanders in 1964 and remained a part of the franchise and region for half a century.

Jurgensen was an elite passer whose talent transcended the mediocrity of the team.²³ Late in his career, the team’s fortunes changed with one season of Vince Lombardi coaching followed by George Allen a few years later.

Injuries kept Jurgenson out of the playoffs and notably Super Bowl VII. Allen may have preferred Billy Kilmer anyway, because Allen played not to lose. Jurgensen and wide receiver and Charley Taylor were Hall of Famers, plus Jerry Smith⁴., who should have been in the hall, but had his production depressed by Allen’s conservative approach.

Allen was a defensive-minded coach; what he mostly wanted out of a quarterback was that he not turn the ball over. Kilmer didn’t throw many interceptions. “He just took a liking to the way I played,” Kilmer recalls.
Jurgensen broke his shoulder in an exhibition game, and with Kilmer at the helm, the Redskins won their first five games and beat Dallas at Dallas. A quarterback controversy was on.
Under Kilmer the team made the playoffs for the first time in the 26 years since 1945. Throughout the 1970s the Sonny-Billy rivalry was the city’s most interesting topic of conversation. Bumper stickers divided the Billy people from the Sonny people. Billy and Sonny also rivaled each other in the late-night-fun department…

…Despite the Sonny-versus-Billy controversy, Jur­gensen was helpful to his rival, a trait that Beban says Sonny showed all potential usurpers. If there was one thing Sonny was not, it was insecure…

…in 1974 the team had its third good season in a row. The Billy-Sonny act worked. Neither man had ever played on a championship team before. “We knew it was a good thing,” says Kilmer. “And it didn’t hurt that we hung out in the same saloons.⁵”

…Theismann arrived during a preseason players’ strike, started the team’s first exhibition game in Houston, and played pretty well. Asked after the game how things would be when Sonny and Billy returned, Theismann replied that there still would be room for them on the bench.
After reading Theismann’s quote in the paper, Kilmer called Jurgensen. “Sonny said not to worry,” Kilmer recalls. “ ‘We’ll have him catching punts by the end of the year.’ ”
Sonny was prophetic, Kilmer says. “Theis­mann ended up that year doing exactly that—returning punts.”

Sonny, Billy & the Boys: Greatest Redskins Quarterbacks – Washingtonian, 2006

The two rivals were lifelong friends – Redskins Greats Billy Kilmer And Sonny Jurgensen Attend Nationals Game

George Allen is the most overrated coach in NFL history.⁶

Nevertheless, in 1974, at age 40, Jurgensen won the passing title and made his only playoff appearance.⁷

In 2023, his number 9 was retired. It had not been issued since he played. He is still the only Washington quarterback to pass for over 30 touchdowns in a season.

PRO FOOTBALL REFERENCE: Sonny Jurgensen

Broadcaster

While the on-field exploits of Jurgenson were legendary, I knew of him for his years of broadcasting.⁸ Starting in 1981 ,Sonny, Sam (Huff) and Frank (Herzog)⁹ were radio broadcasters for over 20 years and 4 Super Bowls. Watching the games with the sound down and the radio turned up was common in greater Washington.¹⁰ These unrepentant homers were the historical soundtrack of the greatest era of Redskins¹¹ football. NFL Films inclusion of the Super Bowl broradcasts spread their folklore across the football world.

The were fun, even if it were not a fan of the Skins.

Jurgenson also appeared on local television, notably as the second sports anchor behind Glenn Brenner on Channel 9. George Michael on Channel 4.

Videos

Several videos celebrating the life of Jurgensen from the team, Hall of Fame and outlets he worked for, people he worked with¹²

Footnotes

1. Days after non-Washingtonian, Jeff Bezos, killed The Washington Post sports section and most of the formerly great newspaper. ↩︎
2. He apparently went 2 for 3 throwing the ball with his left hand. ↩︎
3. Upon being thanked by Johnny Unitas for visiting the Golden Arm for dinner, Jurgensen said “thanks for naming your restaurant after me. ↩︎
4. The Football Life episode on Smith was quite good. ↩︎
5. He also hung out with Senators slugger Frank Howard which may be how he got the curly W cap he wore during training camp one year. ↩︎
6. His sons haven’t helped his legacy either. ↩︎
7. He was Norm Van Brocklin’s back-up on the 1960 NFL Champion Philadelphia Eagles, but did not play. ↩︎
8. He was a CBS analyst for several years, including the “Miracle in the Meadowlands” game. ↩︎
9. Fired by Dan Snyder in 2004, because…Dan Snyder ↩︎
10. Believe it or not, this used to be a really good football town. Now, it’s a solid sports town stuck with disappointing teams. ↩︎
11. I still use it as a matter of historical accuracy, but the portion of the fanbase that can’t let a single social media post go by without referencing the slur is toxic. They aren’t good people and probably too scared to actually go into the District of Columbia. What a bunch fragile crybabies. Nobody under 40 remembers the Redskins being a respectable franchise. The Commanders have won as many playoff games in year 3 than the Redskins won in their final 25. ↩︎
12. But not Granth, what a Orioles-loving dweeb ↩︎