The HELMET HUT staff and family boasts a number of Washington
Redskins fans and a few others who may be fans of other NFL teams
but are at least admirers of the Redskins collection of beautiful
helmets. This one team, with such a lengthy membership in the NFL,
has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows yet the constants
have been the devotion of their fans and their distinctive head
gear. Die-hard Washington Redskins fans have a lot of wonderful
memories from the early to late 1970's and the tenure of head
coach George Allen. The rather woeful Redskins had more or less
abdicated any claim to superiority during the mid-1950's to late
1960's. A parade of unsuccessful coaches eventually led to the
sale of the team and the hiring of the immortal Vince Lombardi.
The tragic and untimely death of this towering figure at least set
the stage for Allen's appointment and the sometimes zany,
unorthodox, but ultimately successful manner in which the head
coach performed his tasks. When most Redskins fans and followers
look at the Allen-era, that spanned 1971 through 1977, their
immediate memories focus upon the more widely known high points.
Allen was NFL Coach Of The Year in his first season, taking the
formerly 6-8 'Skins to 9-4-1 and an appearance in the NFC
Divisional Playoffs against the Forty-Niners. 1972 was an all-time
season, legendary for Redskins and their followers as the 11-3
team won the NFC Championships over the hated Dallas Cowboys in a
26-3 laugher, hailed halfback Larry Brown as the league's leading
rusher, and boasted that quarterback Billy Kilmer and receiver
Charlie Taylor were both ranked at number-four in the NFC in
passing and receiving respectively. 1973 brought considerable
success with a second-place 10-4 finish in the NFC Eastern
Division sullied by a 27-20 defeat at the hands of the Vikings in
the Divisional playoffs. Kilmer was ranked as the number-five NFC
passer, Taylor the number-two receiver, and kicker Curt Knight was
the fifth-highest scorer. 1974 brought another 10-4 mark, another
second-place Eastern Division finish, this time to the Cardinals,
and quarterback Sonny Jurgenson was rated as the best passer in
the NFC. Amazingly, Kilmer was number-three and no one could point
to that type of quarterback production. Taylor was the mainstay,
at number-five in receiving and the top scorer on the team and
number-four in the Division was again the Redskins' kicker but it
wasn't Knight, it was now Mark Mosley. What memories, what a
legacy! My memories are vivid of those specific years but I
usually don't think of the obvious successes. I think of the
helmets and uniforms of course but my mind wanders to Herb Mul-Key
before it goes to the many stars of the team. Who?
If there was one thing that George Allen was known for, it was
doing anything and everything it took to win. His abilities as a
coach were never questioned and he was a recognized winner
wherever he went. He won at Morningside College in Iowa and at
Whittier College in California. He was a fine assistant under Sid
Gillman with the Rams and with George Halas at the Chicago Bears.
While Allen was given much credit for the great Bears' defenses of
1962 through 1965, his position as personnel director and his
accomplishments in astutely judging and choosing exceptional
talent have often been overlooked. After a head coaching stint
with the Rams, Allen won additional fame as the head coach of the
Redskins from 1971 through '77 and he was respected for being able
to "turn over every rock" in his quest for players who could help
his team win. Flying in the face of protocol, Allen posted public
notices and announced that he was having "open tryouts" for anyone
and everyone who thought they could play for his first Redskins
squad. In the spring of '71, over three hundred aspirants wandered
onto the campus of Georgetown University to run drills and
sprints. While one of Allen's proteges, Dick Vermeil was famously
noted as doing this in last year's Hollywood movie
release, "Invincible", the story of free agent Eagle player Vince
Papale, Allen's brainchild was roundly considered to be a crackpot
move by other NFL officials in 1971. However, knowing he could in
fact judge NFL-quality talent as well or better than anyone else,
Allen was confident that this would be one more move that could
help his team toward the ultimate goal of winning. The only player
to survive the open tryout was defensive lineman Otis Sistrunk who
coincidentally was a cousin, a number of times removed, of
Redskins' defensive lineman Manny Sistrunk. Otis Sistrunk had
played at William Spencer H.S. in Columbus, Georgia and toughened
himself up with the Norfolk entry in the Continental Football
League and again when the team entered the Atlantic Coast Football
League. He eventually stuck with the Raiders and played for six
seasons after the Redskins cut him in their 1971 pre-season
training camp. Allen was realistic and told reporters that for
every three annual tryouts, he would be happy if he could cull one
player that could contribute to the success of his Redskins. In
the 1972 version of the Redskins' open tryouts, the look and feel
was similar to the first year's bazaar of longshoremen, truck
drivers, and overweight former high school heroes. However, Allen
had been alerted to the presence of one applicant by Redskins
linebacker Harold McLinton. One of McLinton's teammates at Charles
Harper H.S. in Atlanta, GA, considered as too small by college
recruiters, had entered the Navy after graduation, filled out to a
robust 185-190 pounds, played semi-pro ball in the Atlanta
area, and would be coming to the tryouts, hoping to land a roster
spot as a running back and kick return man. This one player was
the obvious standout, running the 40-yard sprint in 4.35. When
Special Teams coach Marv Levy reported that the player had run
this outstanding time, the rest of the staff including
Allen wanted a repeat run, not believing that Levy's timing was
accurate. The second time was even better at 4.34! The 5'10", 185
pound Herb Mul-Key was signed at the end of the day.
Coming into the NFL via an open tryout camp, having never
played collegiate football, and being a tad undersized made Mul-Key
a crowd favorite as the ultimate underdog. In his three Redskins
seasons that spanned 1972, '73, and '74, his rushing yards total
was a mere 178 yards and 155 of that was gained in his rookie
season, but Mul-Key was a great kickoff returner, totaling a huge
1011 in a Pro Bowl 1973 season and a career aggregate of 1505. His
27.87 yards-per-return average places him second to only Hall Of
Famer Bobby Mitchell on the Redskins all-time list. A "tough-nut"
that came to practice and games with the mindset to play hard
every day, he was a popular teammate and as long-tenured defensive
back Pat Fischer stated, "You really kind of appreciate a guy who
comes from nowhere to make it."
Herb Mul-Key was the workaday "everyman" rising to the heights
of public recognition. While never achieving stardom, he fulfilled
the hopes and dreams of many, not just die hard Redskins fans.
When Allen first signed on with Washington, the Green Bay gold
helmet that had been introduced the season before by Coach
Lombardi was maintained. In '72, Allen put his own stamp on the
uniform and introduced the burgundy helmet and distinctive
circular Redskins logo on the sides of the head gear, a design
that has lived on for decades. While a glance at that milestone
design brings back memories of the Miami vs. Washington Super
Bowl, the "Ramskins", and so many great stars of the era, it is
Mul-Key as much as those Super Bowl performers and true stars of
one of the golden eras of Redskins football that comes to mind.
