105 Cheers for George Allen

[rtandler]

I don't know what would have happened to my life as a football fan had George Allen not arrived on the scene. The teams of the Allen era turned the Redskins from an interest for me into an obsession.

One hundred and five cheers For George Allen

If you’re an old school Redskins fan get yourself a dish of ice cream, nervously lick your thumb, get yourself into a losing-is-like-death frame of mind and position yourself in front of your computer. Then, this Friday evening, log on to www.redskinsatoz.com to relive all of the games the Redskins played under George Allen, who is to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

All 105 games that Allen coached for the Skins will be recounted on the site. The scoring summaries, game accounts, and other details are from the pages of a unique book, The Redskins From A to Z, Part 1: The Games, by Rich Tandler. The book has accounts of all 925 games the Redskins have played since moving to Washington in 1937.

“I originally intended to select about a dozen or so of Allen’s games to post on the Website as a tribute to the coach,” said Tandler. “When I got down to choosing them, though, it occurred to me that I should follow the same philosophy that I did when writing the book. I wrote up all of the games and the reader can make his own highlight package out of them.”

Allen’s selection to the Hall of Fame raised some eyebrows. Despite his impressive lifetime winning percentage of .685 (118-54-5, regular and post season) compiled in 12 years of coaching the Rams and Redskins, an Allen team played for the title just once. The 1972 Miami Dolphins finished off their 17-0 season with a win over the Redskins in Super Bowl VII, Allen’s only appearance in the NFL title game.

“Certainly, the lack of either a championship or multiple appearances in The Big One is a minus on Allen’s resume,” said Tandler. “To make an informed judgment about his credentials, however, you have to look at the whole record. The book and the Allen section on the Website give everyone an opportunity to do just that, at least as far as his record with the Redskins goes.”

The Allen era chronology will remain posted on the Website until next week.

The Redskins From A to Z, Volume 1: The Games (336 pages, paperback, $19.95) is on sale at the Website www.redskinsatoz.com,