With the Redskins' 80th Anniversary Campaign fully underway, it's an opportunity to reflect on the storied history of the franchise. Today, a look at the team's 60th Anniversary season.
The year was 1992, and the Redskins were the defending Super Bowl Champions for the third time in a decade.
The face of the franchise was head coach Joe Gibbs, whose legend had outgrown any who came before him. He had brought three Lombardi Trophies to the Nation's Capital, and each with a different starting quarterback.
After assembling one of the greatest teams ever in 1991, the Redskins had the tall task of extending their dominance.
It was an anniversary season for the franchise, and a celebratory season for the team, but the focus was on winning and trying to rekindle the magic of a year before.
Here is a short list of highlights from the 1992 season, beginning with a trip across the pond to London:
Aug. 16, 1992: Redskins Falls To San Francisco in the American Bowl.
The Redskins were one of the biggest sporting acts in the world, but had declined invitations to play internationally prior to the 1992 season.
To remedy this, the NFL Clubs passed a measure that would allow the NFL to schedule games overseas without the club's permission, opening the door for the Redskins to go global.
In the third 1992 preseason game, the Redskins and 49ers squared off in London's Wembley Stadium.
The week in England included much fanfare and publicity for the Super Bowl Champions, but ultimately ended in a 15-17 defeat.
It did, however, open the door for a European Redskins fanbase, which remains loyal to this day. It also made the team receptive to future international trips.
Oct. 12, 1992: Art Monk Breaks NFL's Career Receptions Record.
In the fourth quarter of the Week 6 game vs. the Denver Broncos, Art Monk trotted out to his spot on the line and waited for the snap.
He had just caught career receptions 818 and 819 on the previous plays, drawing the soldout RFK crowd into a frenzy, as millions around the country tuned in for the Monday Night broadcast.
As quarterback Mark Rypien stood under center, Monk went in motion from left to right. At the snap, he exploded towards the sidelines, drawing a bullet from Rypien, right in the numbers.
The result of the play was a 10-yard strike for a first down, but the gravity of the catch was so much more. With his 820th career receptions, Monk cemented his status as the best receiver ever, having broken Steve Largent's career reception mark.
March 5, 1993: Joe Gibbs calls it a career, for now.
On a 9-7 record, the Redskins made it into the 1992 playoffs as a wildcard team, beating the Vikings before falling to the 49ers in the Divisional Round.
After the season, legendary head coach Joe Gibbs had some time to step away from football and spend time with his family and racing team.
It was two months after his final game as the Redskins head coach, that Gibbs decided to call it a career. He announced his retirement to the team and the public on March 5th.
In 1996, Gibbs was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as the third-winningest coach of all time (John Madden, Vince Lombardi).
He would eventually be lured out of retirement in the early 2000s, and helped set the stage for the rebuilding effort undertaken by the current administration.
