Readers Point to Race as Reason for Cowboys Fans in Redskins Land

By Toni Monkovic

Two readers offered an interesting theory for the number of Cowboys fans in Redskins territory, something that has puzzled us since receiving the data from DirecTV about displaced fans.

A reader named Sam wrote:

I have heard there are so many Cowboy fans in DC for racial reasons. The Redskins were one of the last teams to integrate their teams; the Cowboys were one of the first. So many African-Americans in DC rooted for the Cowboys over the Redskins b/c they are rivals and were on opposite ends of integration.

Another reader wrote:

With regards to the Dallas fans in DC, I was surprised no one mentioned the history of the Redskins. I don’t have the names and date memorized, but I believe it’s something like this. Way back when, one of the past owners of the Washington Redskins was quite a blatant racist. He refused to sign black players, even though the NFL had long since desegregated throughout the league. The Redskins may have even been the last team to have a black player signed.

Among fans, this had two effects. The Redskins became the favorite team in many less progressive Southern areas, which at that time lacked their own pro team (now covered by Carolina). Secondly, the burgeoning African-American population of the DC area didn’t take kindly to this policy. So who to root for? How about the Redskins’ greatest rival? Given the Cowboys’ success through the 70s & 90s, and especially over the Redskins since Gibbs I era ended, that loyalty had no reason to be challenged.

I’ve lived in the DC area nearly all my life (after having been born in Texas, no less) and have also been struck by this situation. As opposed to one individual who thought the numbers could be accounted for by Texans moving up along with ex-President Bush, I can assure you there have been numerous, and very visible, Cowboys fans in DC for many years before W came around.

Many thanks for hearing me out. Again, very surprised no one posted with the above before. I encourage you to verify the details.

Thanks from a Redskins fan in Raiders territory.

Update 7:55 p.m.: KC Joyner, the Football Scientist, chimes in:

George Preston Marshall was the Redskins owner who opposed segregation. There are many stories about this but the most telling one relating to integration is told in Michael MacCambridge’s book “America’s Game”. The gist of the tale is that it took the Kennedy administration threatening potential action against Marshall before he finally capitulated and agreed to integrate the team starting in 1962.

Update, 7:59 p.m.: From the Wikipedia entry on the Redskins:
Marshall continued to refuse to integrate the team, despite pressure from the Washington Post and the federal government of the United States (a typical comment by Post writer Shirley Povich was “Jim Brown, born ineligible to play for the Redskins, integrated their end zone three times yesterday”).

On March 24, 1961, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall warned Marshall to hire black players or face federal retribution. For the first time in history, the federal government had attempted to desegregate a professional sports team. Finally, under threat of civil rights legal action by the Kennedy administration, which would have prevented a segregated team from playing at the new District of Columbia Stadium, as it was owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior and thus federal government property, the Redskins became the final pro football franchise to integrate, in 1962, in their second season in the stadium.