Year of the Scab (2017) Movie Script

1
[calm relaxing music]
[tense relaxing music]
[Narrator] "30 for 30."
[tense dramatic music]
[sprayer whooshing]
[Announcer] Play action
faked, rolls to his left,
dumps it up here
to the tight end.
[Interviewee] We came
here and done a job.
[Reporter] 100s of
men have found work
in a whole new field taking
the jobs of striking players
in the National
Football League.
I thought that's what I was going to be
doing for the rest of my life.
If you answered yes,
give yourself a point.
[Announcer] ...again,
again he's crushed it.
We were all given
an opportunity,
we shared that opportunity,
and that made us a team.
[Reporter] NFL players
try to hold the line.
[beeps] Scabs.
[Announcer] Second down.
It was called Scabball.
[Eric] That was what I
did, that's who I was,
that was my identity.
- You bunch of scabs!
- We want players,
- you got scabs.
- This is a union town,
it's gonna stay a union town.
[Interviewee] He
thinks he can get through
a big restaurant--
[Interviewee] this is not
real professional football.
- [Announcer] The Redskins--
- [Skip] Our backs were to each other.
We're like the Christians
about to go out,
and face the lions, you know?
[All] Scabs go home, scabs go home!
[Announcer] This time he fires it over
the middle to McEwen.
[Ed Rubbert] It was something
you worked your life to get to,
and embrace the moment because
obviously it's gonna end,
and you're gonna have to go
back to your life, to your job.
[Announcer] It's a horserace,
40, 30, 20, he's gone.
[Anthony Allen] 28-years-old,
you're at the crossroads of my career.
I was hoping that
there was, you know,
one more chance out there.
[Reporter] NFL
players will strike.
[Interviewee] It's getting
scary, I tell you what,
- people are getting mad.
- Man got him the corner, touchdown.
[Interviewee] Right there
where's the pain comes in
on the front of the hip now.
[Striker] Take that jersey
off, you're disgraceful.
The games goes away
and the pain goes on.
Physically, I'm broken,
mentally, I'm broken, and spiritually.
Sometimes I almost
wish it didn't happen.
[tense dramatic music]
- [cicada screeching]
- [car engine growling]
[tense dramatic music]
[Tony] Growing up, I start
playing quarterback from,
I was about five,
six years old.
That's all we done
in my neighborhood,
we played ball in the streets.
It was a dead-end street.
It was on a hill, and you
just imagine playing football
up on a hill,
that's the way I learned to
play some tackle football, man,
we had some fun.
I left a lot of skin on
those streets. [laughs]
Yeah, that's semi-gloss
right there too.
Yeah, yeah, that's
all semi-gloss.
You know, you had to be tough
to grow up in my neighborhood,
and it just made me
even tougher, you know,
going into college, and
I'm a competitor, you know?
If I can beat you
100 to nothing,
I'd beat you 100 to nothing.
I throw a shake and
bake every now and then,
- but I pay for it afterwards.
- [all laughing]
I pay for it afterwards.
Looking back at it now, when
the opportunity's there,
you got to jump on it
to get it.
You know, you got to cherish
them while they're happening,
and that's how I got my
shot to play in the NFL.
[tense dramatic music]
You can trace all the
largest of NFL teams today,
it's $3.2 billion
franchise value,
huge television
contracts, big stadium,
all to the fact that there's
been labor peace since 1987.
[Reporter] Jack Donlan
arrived first this morning,
Just before 11:30.
The Executive Director of
the NFL's Management Council
is a veteran of the
negotiating wars.
We're gonna know in a
couple of days whether or not
we're gonna be able
to cut this deal,
and if we can't this
deal, I think it's--
[Leigh] The owners at that
point seem to have
a very simple agenda,
break the union,
and crush the players.
Now, the players say we're
trying to break the Union,
which is utter nonsense.
I just ask who's
trying to break who?
We're not here
to destroy the NFL.
[Narrator] In August of 1987,
NFL Players Association
Director, Gene Upshaw,
a former Oakland Raider,
who was inducted into the Hall
of Fame earlier that month
was now preparing to do
battle with the owners.
We're not coming
off our position I
[Narrator] With the
Players Collective Bargaining
Agreement set to expire,
the Union wanted a better deal,
and Upshaw drew a
line in the sand
over his Union's
most pressing issue.
[Reporter] The big
issue is free agency.
The opportunity for players
to change teams at will.
The players want it,
the owners don't.
Back then there
wasn't any free agency,
so if you were drafted
by a team you were there,
basically saying that you're
the property of this team,
and you cannot move,
that is not right.
Yeah, I said, at what
point in a player's career
could he be free?
And they said, not
even after 100 years.
[Everson Walls] They want as
little turnover as possible
in regards to their team,
and free agency was
a threat to that.
[Gene] They told me either I
accepted their position,
or we could strike.
I said, I'll see
you on the street.
[Narrator] The threat
of a strike was hardly new
to NFL owners.
In 1982, a 57-day work stoppage
cost the League $325 million
as stadiums went
dark for eight weeks.
Now, labor was threatening
to walk out once again.
Publicly the owners
played the victim.
Privately they were
spoiling for a fight.
This is a rotten,
dirty trick to the people
who have made this the most
popular sport in America
to again in five
years say, frig you.
[tense dramatic music]
[Narrator] Terrified of
losing the entire season,
team owners looked
for a secret weapon
to keep the revenue flowing,
but the players decided
to walk.
They turned to one of
the most powerful figures
in the history of the NFL.
Tex Schramm was the visionary
GM of the Dallas Cowboys.
He'd engineered everything
from the NFL/AFL merger
to sideline cheerleaders.
Well, we've had four strikes,
and four bargaining sessions,
and we just decided
that this time,
we were not going to go black,
we were going to play football.
[Narrator] He concocted
an alternative NFL universe
in which the regular season
schedule would continue
with replacement players,
a collection of NFL
cast-offs, has-beens,
and never-weres,
otherwise known as--
- Scabs.
- Scabs.
- Scabs.
- Scab.
[slow relaxing music]
[Flames whooshing]
[Anthony Sagnella] You know, when I had
the NFL dream as a teenager,
my intention was
not to hurt anybody,
to take bread off the table
of other people's homes.
Everything that I did,
all of my intentions,
and all of my work,
and my dedication
was to make a roster, and
that's what I set out to do.
When I fell short
of that, you know,
I had to deal with reality.
You know what, you call it
what you want to call it.
We contributed to
breaking a union strike.
Where we're gonna go with
this in future lessons
is we'll start to look
at the ability for you
to meet the demands
of everyday life.
I respect unions,
don't get me wrong,
I mean, I'm in a teacher's
union so I understand the value.
I was called scab today at
work, believe it or not,
by a woman.
She'd found out, and
she turned to me,
and said, "Oh, you
were a scab."
And, you know,
that's a raw nerve.
[metal clanking]
I don't mean any disrespect
to the Players Union,
but you're comparing it to a
working class American family.
This lead's whooping
our ass today.
I don't know if
professional athletics
is the same as looking at the
teamsters or pipe fitters.
[whistling] That a boy, Ned.
There was no opportunity for me
to play football for anybody.
Let's have everybody
take one shot, okay?
But, reality changed for me
in the late September of 1987,
and it was the Washington
Redskins, and I accepted it.
[tense dramatic music]
[Narrator] The 1987 NFL
season started as scheduled,
but as the League entered
its second week of play
things were hardly
business as usual.
[Reporter] Once again
professional athletes
are preparing to perform
on a picket line.
Of course, nobody
wants to strike,
including the players.
Everybody's gonna
lose if we go on strike.
[All] No strike, no strike!
The NFL owners promise stadiums
will not remain empty, even if
it means replacing strikers.
Hopefully it won't come to
scab games and picket signs.
The real key is gonna be
the solidary of the players.
The Washington
Redskins unanimously
voted to back the Union 100%.
I'd be heartbroken if the
players kept their word on that.
I don't believe they will.
We can't sit around, and wait,
and hope for miracles to
happen,
we know what the strike
date is, September 22nd.
At this point we have no
choice,
but to prepare for the worst.
[Narrator] NFL owners
would do the same.
With the strike looming the
gold rush for talent was on.
Should there be a strike
next week, and we play,
would you, do you wanna play?
[Reporter] 290-pound
Tracy Franz had been working
as a construction
laborer, and truck driver.
We were shocked that
they would do something
so detrimental to the brand.
I think we can field
exciting football teams.
[Interviewer] Is that why did this,
just for one last shot at glory?
Oh yeah, I wouldn't
have much of a chance,
if I stayed in a bar
down in Williamsburg.
Good all-around bartender.
If you have to play a
game a week from Sunday
- how you gonna get started?
- I don't know.
I'm not trying to
be funny or nothing.
[Narrator] While most teams
around the league scrambled
to prepare for a strike,
one team had put together
an airtight blueprint
for success.
- [audience cheering]
- Hail to the Redskins
Hail victory
[Bobby Beathard] I mean, it's
fun, it's exciting,
and that's what I'm hired
for to put the players
on the team that can win,
and that's what Joe Gibbs is hired for,
to coach the players to win.
Yeah, I think that's
what's exciting about it,
you got guys who got
their opportunity,
that's something
they've always wanted.
[Christine Brennan] Joe Gibbs
and Bobby Beathard,
this brain trust was one
of the greatest formed
in the history of the NFL,
and they were able to win
Super Bowls because of it.
Bobby was excited, let's go
get as many guys as we can.
let's try... and win games.
It's like an arms
race, you got to,
have to get out there,
and get it done.
[uptempo patriotic music]
[Danny Burmesiter] I was doing
deliveries for a rust proofing company,
and I got a call, and they
said the Redskins wanna know
if you wanna come play
during the strike,
and I thought to myself,
no, I wanna drive around
in this car doing deliveries
for a rust proofing company,
of course, I wanna play.
[Anthony] My brother, John,
said the Washington Redskins called you,
and I said, get out of here,
and I said, okay, who was this,
and he said, Charley Casser,
and I said, Charley Casserly?
[Charlie Casserly] This
wasn't really scout now,
this was collecting as many
bodies as you could get
to line up and try to
run a practice pool.
[Craig McEwen] I was in my
dad's living room.
I'm just sitting there
with my Count Chocula,
Fruity Pebbles, and
when the phone rang,
I didn't care if I was playing
against North Port High
School's JV team. [laughs]
All I know is I'm gonna
get to get on the grass.
Got this guy from Hamburger U,
he just showed up.
McDonald University, what
was he doing last week?
We got players out of Canada.
We got players out
of a halfway house.
We got players who
had been ex-Redskins
that hadn't played in a year.
[Tony Settles] Charley Casserly
is calling my house,
sometimes twice a day.
The girl that I was
dating at that time,
even called her house.
[Reporter] Tex Schramm of
the Cowboys left talks early
this afternoon, saying that
there had been no progress.
Almost a panic situation,
we've got to get these
guys signed right away.
[Skip] I remember
talking to Beathard,
and are we really
gonna play a game?
He said, you're gonna
play an NFL football game
in like 10 days.
[Reporter] NFL
players will strike
after Monday night's game.
I didn't even
go home and pack.
I went to LaGuardia
and jumped on a shuttle
dressed like this.
As everyone well knows
by now, the players in the
National Football League
will go on strike at midnight.
It was on like Donkey Kong,
and I was ready to
roll out the barrel,
and monkey around like
a 300-pound gorilla.
In other news, National
Football League players
are on strike this morning.
The 1987 season came to
a halt during the night
when the final gun
sounded at the end
of the Jets/Patriots
game at Giant Stadium.
NFL owners are vowing to
resume the season October 4th
with a collection
of free agents,
and any players who
cross the picket lines.
[tense dramatic music]
[Reporter] Many players
around the NFL were pounding
the sidewalks on this walkout.
The players haven't
gotten much sympathy
from fans around the country.
I'm a season tickets holder.
I am too, mother [beeps].
[Reporter] While some
players argued with fans,
they were being replaced in the
locker rooms by free agents.
[Man] Yeah, get
the press out here.
The regular players decided
that this is the plan,
that we're gonna go out to the park,
we'll get there early,
and make a statement.
[Reporter] They were out
early, and out in force,
outside the Redskins
Training Center.
[Mark Carlson] Before that
first practice it was explained to us
that we're going to be shuttled
back and forth by a bus,
that is was recommended
that we stay with the team,
that we don't wander.
[Dexter Manley] Darryl Grant
had his armor fatigue going,
it's like the '60s, the Black Panthers
or something, [laughs] you know?
[Reporter] A chartered
bus carrying the new,
non-union Redskins made
its way down Redskins Lane.
The Skins carry,
I'll tell you what,
I think people are getting mad.
[Danny] We had heard all kinds
of rumors about, you know,
what was gonna happen,
and as we took the right
to go through the gates
at old Redskin Park,
[bus brakes whooshing]
we're riding into
God knows what.
[Reporter] In front,
strikers positioned themselves
in its path while the
men on the bus nervously
looked out the window,
things began to get nasty.
- Sit down, Gus.
- [beeps] all you guys.
You [beeps], you
know, come off this bus,
we'll beat the living
[beeps] out of you.
[beeps] scabs.
Darryl Grant was being
egged on by McEwen.
F these guys, man, who
are they to call me a scab,
they don't know me, let
'em in the fence, let's go.
Go [beeps] yourself,
you rich, fat [beeps].
[beeps] scabs.
I'm just kind of staring
down and out of the blue, boom.
[glass shattered]
[Reporter] Defensive tackle,
Darryl Grant,
actually broke one of the windows.
It just ran and shattered
and all of the glass fell out,
and then I heard a bunch of
girls screaming on that bus,
and they were crying,
"Oh, they're shooting."
- Shut up!
- [beeps] you!
That's when it really hit
home that wonder if this
is the best decision or not.
- [beeps] scabs.
- Scab!
[Ed Rubbert] We didn't expect,
you know, getting attacked,
but that's how angry, and how upset they
were that we were there.
[Joe] It's a traumatic time
for everybody I think.
We're probably gonna
have two or three
I think we're gonna lose,
guys that change their
mind after they got here.
Got a little emotional
thinking like, all right,
do I wanna do it, do
I wanna stay here?
We're gonna be
underdogs I imagine,
and, you know, they got like--
I think Ed Rubbert started
watching the TV, you know?
What's gonna happen when
we get there Sunday?
Well, it's gonna
be unfortunate if
that can play in the NFL.
If they ever get on a team, the
guys won't ever accept them.
[Ed] Would we ever get a
chance to play in the NFL,
or would we just not ever
get that opportunity,
'cause we crossed
the picket line?
Nobody knew I was leaving.
I just got my bag, called
a cab, went to the airport,
got on plane, and went home.
[slow dramatic music]
[water flowing]
[Ed] We're heading to my Mom's
and Dad's house in New City,
it's kind of where I grew up
loving the game of football,
and playing with
my older brothers.
This is home, and this is where nobody's
gonna call me a scab today.
Hey, hey, hey.
Hey, what's happening, brother?
- How're doing, buddy?
- Hey man, how's it going?
Good to see ya.
[Ed] I always idolized
my older brothers.
How's it going, how're doing?
My brother, Billy's, team,
you know, I was the ball boy.
I guess I had to be, maybe
six or seven at the time
he was playing, just really
gravitated to wanting
to be a football player,
wanting to be just like him.
[Billy] There's the contract
from it, look at that.
- It's the contract.
- Mom had saved that.
[Brother] You could get a
lawyer and find some perks
in there that they
never gave you.
Legality is that a mode?
Look at this too what she had,
signing with the Redskins.
Obviously you had
some second thoughts,
Rubbert leaves redskins.
- [Ed] Local paper, and news.
- Yeah, very little article,
although it became the biggest
thing in the county. [laughs]
Not much going on
in this town, hey?
You were the talk of
the town for awhile.
You were the talk of the town.
He was looking
for free drinks,
- pretending he was you.
- I was getting free drinks,
because they thought I was you.
[Narrator] With
Ed Rubbert MIA,
Beathard was desperate
for a quarterback.
True to form he found one in
the most unlikely of places.
[Reporter] Former Tennessee
star, Tony Robinson,
was released today from
the Knox Valley Penal Farm
on a work release furlough
after serving 90 days
on a drug conviction
that threatens to derail
a once promising
future in the NFL.
[Reporter] How does it
feel to be going home, Tony?
[Craig] Tony Robinson, as
far as I'd heard, man,
he was some ex-con that
they'd pulled out of jail
on a parole to try, you know,
sneak across the state line
to come up and
play ball with us.
I mean, can he play?
[Announcer] Robinson
will throw the ball.
Ducks away, and on, he's
got it, and a lot more,
you don't think that's a
natural quarterback, huh?
Tony Robinson, he's one
of the best in the country.
[Reporter] Before
his stint in prison,
Robinson had been
a Heisman hopeful
at the University of Tennessee,
a pro career seemed certain.
Tony was an incredibly
talented player.
[Tony] Sports Illustrated come
to do a story on Bo Jackson,
in my stadium.
I'm like, no, not
here at Knoxville.
That's not gonna happen.
[Announcer] Tony Robinson
goes back, checks it early,
goes deep with it, he's got
a man, McGee, touchdown!
I think I threw four
touchdowns in that game.
One a month, I'm playing
in front of 100,000 people,
and the next month,
I get arrested,
and I'm walking here couple
1,000 people in prison,
you know, murderers
and, you know, whatever,
and, you know, being a 21,
22 year-old kid, it's devastating.
As far as football's concerned,
you know, I thought it was over with.
[Narrator] The first time
offense seemed to sentence
Robinson to a life
without football,
but a reprieve came in the
form of Bobby Beathard.
I had the feeling
after being with Tony,
and some of the people
that were close to him,
he's a good guy, he
was a good person.
So, I think it was right of
us to say, hey, we want him.
I've never heard of anybody
being let out of prison
to go play football.
Maybe this will
be his only chance,
I said, hey, let's
give the guy a shot.
But the stipulations were
once I got through playing
that I had to turn myself
in, and finish my time.
[Reporter] While the
picketing continues
outside Redskin Park, inside,
the Skins have close to 63
agents preparing for a game
next week against the
Cardinals.
[Mark] We were just excited
with the opportunity to play,
but we all knew about
what was going on outside
of those walls.
- [bush rustling]
- can you see anything?
Here's some big cats.
You're being stalked. We're the prey.
They were out
there in full force.
They knew a lot of
the guys that had come
to the Redskin training camp,
and they would call
those guys out by name.
Hey, McEwen, how's it feel
to eat my daughter's Cheerios?
How does it feel to
make my girl hungry?
You're a scab, you're
supposed to catch that thing.
My wife at the time
was up on my shoulders
with a megaphone.
You think you're something,
- you're nothing.
- Screw it.
What are they gonna
do, beat me up?
Hell, it'll probably hurt
less than what they did to me
on the football field in
training camp. [laughs]
[Reporter] Are you satisfied
with the progress so far?
I don't think I've ever
been satisfied with practices.
You know, always other
things you'd like to do,
and I think we'll
probably know next Sunday
where we stand, really.
[Narrator] Washington
Head Coach, Joe Gibbs,
had reason to be nervous.
Fresh from prison, Tony Robinson
was under intense scrutiny
from the League which included
additional drug testing.
All of a sudden
the NFL called,
and said I couldn't
practice anymore.
[Narrator] Just days before
Washington's first game
against the St. Louis
Cardinals,
Robinson was summoned to the
League offices in New York
where his fate would be decided
by Commissioner Pete Rozelle.
[Tony] Mr. Commissioner
won't let me go play.
I go back to prison.
You're like, hey, I
think I'm moving forward,
[Narrator] With
Robinson in limbo,
Gibbs needed to move quickly.
[Ed] I was at my
parent's house.
Phone rings, it was
Coach Gibbs, he said,
hey, understand why you
left, but we want you back.
[Man] Beathard and Gibbs
want Rubbert back,
and I remember
talking to Joe Gibbs
- on that phone right there.
- Yeah.
How many people
wanna play in the NFL,
and yet there's only a
few that can make it.
[Ed] "I mean, I know it's
not how you want to get
into the League,"
is what he said,
and I said, yeah, I don't
wanna cross the picket line,
I don't want to do this.
[Joe] There was a lot of
emotion wrapped up in that.
You wanna do what's best
for them, too, you know,
their chance to play
in the NFL.
[Ed] And then my brother,
Billy, just pulled me aside.
He's like, hey, you know, I
don't know why you're here,
you should be taking
advantage of this opportunity.
It was a scene out of
that movie of Tom Cruise,
"All The Right Moves,"
I took him to couple
of the local pubs, and
saw all these losers
shooting pool all day.
[Ed] Said, you sure you
want to stay home?
You're living in your parent's
house, you don't have a job.
If you don't go back,
you're gonna regret it
the rest of your life,
and he was 100% right,
and I got on a plane, and
went back the next day,
and checked myself
into the hotel,
and was at practice that day.
We're starting to feel
a lot more comfortable
with each other, at first
it was kind of tough,
'cause we didn't know
each other, and--
[Joe] It's just one of those
things where it was chaos,
but it was all
happening so fast,
you didn't have time to really
think about a lot of stuff,
you're just trying
to get people ready
to play a football game.
[laughs]
It should be interesting
to see what happens Sunday.
[Narrator] As Ed
Rubbert rejoined the team,
Tony Robinson was
cleared by the NFL
to return to Washington
as well.
With Ed here I might not get
a chance to play, you know?
And, you know, if that's
the case, you know what?
I like to win, if I'm on
the bench or on the field.
I'm a risk.
I'm a risk, man.
[Reporter] These guys might
not be the real Redskins,
but they'll be wearing
the Burgundy and Gold.
The question now is, will
the fans support them?
[fans jeering]
[Reporter] It's a tale of
two highly emotional sets
of feelings on the picket
lines for striking NFL players,
and their free
agent replacements.
[All] Scabs go
home, scabs go home!
You know who the
first scab was?
Judas.
[Skip] The Union was not
trying to provoke a riot.
So, whenever that kind
of thing happened,
we let people know that that
wasn't helping the cause.
[Reporter] In St. Louis,
striking players tried to block
the delivery of
Anheuser-Busch products.
[crowd jeering]
[Neal Olkewicz] Violence was a
part of our life. I mean,
football players were
violent every day,
so to us it wasn't
that big a deal.
[car horn honking]
[Gene] There will not be any
cracks in our armor,
and we will not be
treated as cattle.
[Reporter] In Kansas City,
striking players arrived
brandishing firearms.
[Darryl] It was like a
shot that rang out,
anything can happen
at this point.
We are human beings that must
be treated as human beings,
and we're going to
stay in this fight
until that is addressed.
[slow relaxing music]
[Craig] You know, people,
you know,
like oh, wow, you played
football.
What's it like to
be rich and retired?
I'm like, I don't
know, tell me. [laughs]
Am I a scab, sure.
But, it's tough, you know?
I wouldn't talk about
it a lot for many years,
but if you think about it,
this NFL dream can actually
be the downfall of you
if you don't handle it right.
When I first got
out, I was angry.
I was mad as hell.
What did I do?
I bought a bar, I put
Guinness in my bar,
and I had an unlimited
supply of Vicodin.
It was like taking an
aspirin for a headache.
All of a sudden
I'd be pain free.
[exhales] At least
I had that going.
[Therapist] If you have
any pain at any point,
let me know, Craig.
Right there I've got that,
it's on the side actually now.
Okay, let's come on back
up, slow, and control,
and go arms up in
line with your ears.
Oh, yeah.
I mean, I look at my life now.
I've been out of
work for a while.
I've been trying to find
work, and I can't get work,
because what do I got?
I don't have a trade
or a skill.
I don't have a degree,
you know?
The thing I've done the
most significant, you know,
would probably be being
a replacement player.
But, the name doesn't
carry any value.
[water whooshing]
I struggle with that.
Sometimes I almost
wish it didn't happen.
[tense dramatic music]
Management is really
trying to divide the Union,
and bust the Union, there's
no doubt about that.
[Rick Walker] You know,
Gene Upshaw,
there are a lot of
things he did very well,
but there was never a
case to where I think
he had 100% of the players.
[Reporter] Sportswriters say,
teams with more solidarity,
like the Redskins,
stand to gain.
[Charlie Casserly] Because Joe Gibbs
had made a point to the team
before they went out, you're
a team, go out together,
come back together,
and he preached it.
Yeah, I think we're
still a tight team,
of course we have a lot of
discussions as far as what we do,
but once we decide,
we do it as a team.
Not that it was easy
because it wasn't like we mad,
and we just
high-five each other.
There were some discussions,
because everybody had mortgage
payment, and bills to pay.
I can tell you right
now that a lot of Redskins
wanted to cross the
picket line.
They kept a united
front publicly,
but behind the
scenes it got testy.
I'm putting my
family in jeopardy,
I'm putting the
Redskin organization,
I'm really cheating the fans,
because I'm holding out.
I grew up in the ghetto in
third ward Houston, Texas,
didn't give a damn about
no union or nothing.
I just wanted to have
sex and play football
when I was young.
Yeah, I wanna do whatever
I can to get in there,
hopefully that we can start
winning some ballgame.
Dexter was the one that we
were the most frustrated with,
because Dexter made
big money in the media.
Yeah, I was running
through my money,
you know, like water.
So, I went and talked
to Joe Gibbs, and said,
I'm crossing the picket line.
Gibbs, said no,
you're not crossing.
We didn't want
people to break ranks,
and start coming
across the line,
because I felt like that
would destroy our chemistry.
We're all going up together,
and we're all going
down together.
You know, and I'm sure
a lot of those teams
in the other cities,
they didn't have that.
[Narrator] And if there was one team
that did things
differently, it was Dallas.
You're the leader though,
you can lay things out.
[Narrator] As
the strike wore on,
it became a tale of two cities.
If Joe Gibbs was
preaching unity,
Tex Schramm was planning
to divide and conquer.
[Reporter] Randy White is
destined for the Hall of Fame.
He's the anchor of the
Cowboys defensive line,
but Randy decided he
wouldn't, and couldn't strike.
I can't afford to
give up the salary,
the money I'll be making because
at this point in my career,
I'll never make that up again.
[Reporter] Randy
White knows his decision
isn't popular with the Union,
but he knows he doesn't
believe in free agency,
and he doesn't believe
in losing $31,000 a week.
[Jeff Bostic] How many people
really care for Randy White?
Even the people in
Texas don't like him,
because he came across
the picket line,
and I'm sure in Dallas there's
gonna be some hard feelings.
[Reporter] Within 12 hours
members of the Dallas Cowboys
were gathering for
a team meeting.
At the meeting that we had
while everyone in the room
was trying to at least fane
some type of solidarity,
Randy came in, he had been
drinking already that morning,
because that's a lot
of pressure right now.
I remember they had a
bunch of people in there,
rah, rah this, and, you know,
I knew I was gonna have
to stand up, and say,
you know, hey, I'm
not going on strike.
Here's Captain Scab.
Captain Scab.
You know, I'm a
captain with this guy,
I don't even know if I want,
could even be a captain of
the Dallas Cowboys with him.
[Leigh] The biggest problem
in the Dallas approach
was that it turned
player against player.
It was inherently
destabilizing.
[tense dramatic music]
The 1987 strike was
the NFL's Civil War.
Teammates were against
teammates, and in
Tex Schramm didn't care
about team chemistry,
or the things that
would divide the team.
He only cared about players
playing by his rules.
We're about to find
out whether the fans
prefer scab or scrub
football to no football.
[Reporter] 300,000 ticket
holders who stood in line
for refunds may
have been a preview
of fan sentiment.
They're gonna give a less
than superior product,
therefore I'm turning
my tickets in.
The prospect of having an
empty stadium was unheard of.
Good morning, I want
this credited, please.
I think a large part
of the NFL fanbase,
they saw this as a war
between multimillionaires
versus millionaires.
The club's overpaid, they're
making too much money now.
I think they saw the
players as "spoiled brats".
These guys are making half
a million dollars a year,
they're not gonna get
any sympathy from us.
I wanna see football, and
I wanna see real football,
not USFL rejects.
[Gene] When you buy NFL
football, you buy prime rib,
you don't expect to
be served hot dogs.
[Protester] Scab
tickets for sale,
Get your scab tickets today,
this is what the
owners are giving us.
[Narrator] After losing
a game to the strike
that wouldn't be made up,
Washington was
ready to resume play
with the rest of the NFL
on October 4th, 1987.
[Danny] I just remember it
being a quiet ride down to RFK Stadium.
You don't know what
you're heading towards,
you don't know what's gonna
be there when you get there.
[Reporter] Nastiest
confrontations of the day,
at Philadelphia.
We heard that in Philadelphia.
Guys were getting dragged out
and getting knocked around.
This is a union town, it's
gonna stay a union town.
[Gene] We have no
intentions whatsoever
to have massive picketing.
We do not plan to
ring the stadiums.
We don't like
strikebreakers,
we don't like union busters!
And we will have fun events
surrounding the
games this weekend.
[crowd jeering]
[Tex] We think the game
is gonna be exciting,
and we're gonna try to
make it fun for the people
to come out,
and watch the game.
[crowd screaming]
They tell me that
the waiting list
for Redskins season
tickets is 90 years long.
Could you imagine finally
having your number called,
and this is what
you get for waiting?
[Al] Scab play sucks!
Scab play sucks!
Scab play sucks!
Take that jersey off,
you're disgraceful.
[Tony Settles] You had people
outside the stadium
protesting with the Redskins
that were out front.
- God bless scabs.
- It's gonna be a great game,
you bunch of scabs.
we had teamsters out
there supporting the Union.
[crowd jeering]
[All] Go home, scabs!
- Go home, scabs!
- [punch thudding]
[Eric] We didn't know if the
fans were gonna support us.
We didn't know if they were gonna throw
batteries at us. We didn't know.
They want the real players,
not those clowns inside.
Terribly nervous.
[All] Shame on you!
Shame on you!
Shame on you!
[car engine growling]
I visualized playing in the NFL
from the time I was four,
five years old.
It's kind of cruel just for
doing something that you love
as well as you can, We
were mocked, and belittled.
Scabs go home!
[Eric] Has-beens,
burnouts, never-weres,
this should be one of the
coolest things in my life,
and instead it's something
that's creating a pain for me.
[car engine growling]
Am I a scab?
Sure, I'm a scab.
Call me what you want.
I was just a football player.
[tense dramatic music]
It's always been my identity.
Pretty sweet, huh?
You know, even 28 years after
I was done playing football,
what I tell my kids
now that is if you win,
you get rewarded, but if
you play sports long enough,
at some point it'll
break your heart.
[crowd jeering]
[Christine] We've had a couple
weeks of uncertainty,
fighting, and proposals,
and board rooms,
and players crossing
the picket lines.
Now, finally, the story
moves to the playing field.
[Reporter] Gene Stallings is
the head coach of St. Louis--
[Narrator] Washington's opponent
would have the advantage,
with 14 veterans who
broke ranks to play.
Washington had none.
[Bobby] Roy Green would be
playing, their receiver.
I mean, he was one of the
elite receivers in the NFL.
[Ed] They're the real deal,
they're the real NFL.
Am I gonna get blindsided
by Curtis Greer,
is Roy Green gonna
score five touchdowns?
[Skip] It's such a
surreal moment.
Like, oh, wow, you always
said you could be here,
you wanted to be here, and
now you're here, you know,
don't get beat deep, don't
miss a tackle, you know,
'cause the whole world's
gonna see you now, right?
When Roy Green says, hey, be
nice I won't beat you deep.
[Announcer] Oh, flea-flicker,
back to Howard, and going deep.
Down the near side
for Roy Green.
And I said, [beeps] you, Roy.
[Announcer] Double-teamed
off his finger tips,
- incomplete at the five.
- [tense dramatic music]
[Danny] Yeah, after that one we
started to believe in each other
and started to say, you know
what, we might be pretty good.
[Announcer] Close and by,
Wilson to the far side.
Takes the snap,
drops straight back,
protection's good, got a
man, got it in the corner.
- Touchdown!
- [crowd cheering]
Anthony Allen with a touchdown.
[Ed] Going into that game
nobody knew who Anthony Allen was,
including me, until I
met him in the huddle
a couple days before the game.
[Doug] Well, Anthony Allen
had played the League.
He was a little bit
reluctant about, you know,
coming across the picket line,
but we finally convinced him.
He's like, well, this
may be your last chance
of playing NFL,
I think you better come.
By crossing the picket
line at so late,
when I got there
it was game week.
If he tries to come there like that on
the run, see what I'm saying?
They had came up and
tied the game at 7-7,
we called like a
little waggle wrap,
both guys run a little
deep, out and ups.
[Announcer] Back
is Rubbert to pass.
And I said, this guy, Anthony
Allen, he's pretty good,
I'm gonna throw it to him.
[Announcer] Works
around at the goal line,
got a man deep, got it to
Anthony Allen mid-field.
40, 30, 20, he's gone,
goodbye, touchdown!
[audience cheering]
Anthony Allen with
his second of the day.
[Danny] Anthony Allen,
he just went nuts.
I mean, every time you
look up at the score board,
he was running
down the sideline.
[Announcer] Going
deep, gonna get a bundle,
- got Allen, touchdown!
- Oh, oh, all right!
[Announcer] And a new single-game
receiving record, and a third touchdown.
[Bobby] I think as the
game wore on,
fans start sensing
the competition,
and how hard guys were playing,
and they respected that.
He's the bomb, Anthony Allen.
Yeah, Anthony Allen
went for glory today.
In a place like this, when
you have a day like this,
because everything
goes your way,
and today, everything went my way.
[tense dramatic music]
It was just crazy that
you can go from being cut
three weeks earlier to
coming and breaking a record.
- Stay on strike!
- Stay on strike!
The stadium started to rock,
- and they were screaming--
- Stay on strike!
[Anthony] Stay on strike, it
was an unbelievable feeling.
Stay on strike!
[Neal] Yeah, that was strange
hearing cheers from the stadium
where you play all the time,
and it was the start of,
you know, a bad thing for us.
We don't need 'em
anymore, stay out.
[All] Stay on
strike, stay on strike!
Stay on strike, stay on strike!
[truck engine growling]
[Anthony] Spring of '83 I got
drafted in sixth round
by the Atlanta Falcons,
and so I was in NFL,
and I was in the Union,
but I got cut at the
last cut in 1987.
You can go from the NFL
making that kind of money
to not making money at all,
and then, you know,
the strike comes up,
and you got to make decisions.
It wasn't just something
I took lightly.
I thought long and hard
about all my Union brothers,
felt I was a Union guy
just like they did.
Kennedy, how many
years with Safeway?
- 29.
- 29 years.
29 years, yeah.
I was in the Union when
I first started working
for Safeway, and I was Union
employee for seven years,
before I joined the
management side,
and once you join the
management side, of course,
you can no longer
be in the Union.
The Union is strong
here in the warehouse,
I believe in the Union.
You got contracts that come up,
but we haven't
had a strike here.
I don't believe we ever have.
We make it work every day.
- Good. [claps]
- [employee murmuring]
Am I a scab?
I've never liked the term.
I think we're better than that,
now whether you regulars
or not,
I think you risked
an arm and limb,
in doing a job and
playing a sport,
and all you asking
for is your time
to just show what you can
do, and we got the job done.
No one could dismiss that.
[audience cheering]
Just from football standpoint,
I was surprised how
smoothly it went.
I didn't think I was gonna
like it, but it wasn't bad.
[Leigh] After the
networks agreed
to televise replacement games,
teams were able to go on,
get their television revenue,
and they were able
to do business.
Anybody who understands
professional football
realizes the quality
was inferior to what
It looked like football.
This is not real
professional football.
It was better than whatever
else there was to watch.
Redskins are doing great.
We consider them the Redskins,
they're the Redskins.
[Reporter] It is
Wednesday morning,
and Everson Walls is
wearing his thoughts.
He and his teammates
are on strike,
and Tex Schramm
is fighting back.
[Narrator] With his Cowboys
tied for the Division lead,
the Dallas GM was
about to unveil a plan
that would make it
virtually impossible
for his stars to
stay on strike.
[Reporter] Tony
Dorsett and Ed Jones
were notified they would lose
big bucks from their annuities
if they missed one game.
I didn't want some of
the players to not be aware
of the effect on their contract of their
absence from the team.
The annuities are
basically retirement plans
for NFL players.
As a matter of fact
I had one myself.
Once you get into the
strike you're gonna figure
you're gonna lose some money,
so it really doesn't
bother me at all.
[Reporter] Dorsett believes
in the Union's cause,
but he knew it wasn't
worth sacrificing
his $6 million
annuity and land deal,
and that is why Tony D.
crossed the picket line,
and returned to Valley Ranch.
Coach says I got to
play, I got to play,
but I'm not really
looking forward to that.
Holding annuities
over somebody's head
to get 'em to cross
the picket line,
to me, sounds like blackmail.
[Reporter] You expect the
Union to check into that?
No, it'd be nothing,
I don't know what they would check into.
Tex Schramm led the move to bring
replacement players into the game.
He put the annuities
in player's contracts,
but in doing that, he
didn't care about the fact
that the chemistry of his team,
was being destroyed
by this strike.
The players are strong,
there's no doubt about that,
and they're willing to close
the season if necessary.
And when I heard that
Gene Upshaw say that players
were willing to stay out the
entire season if they had to,
I realized right then and there
that he wasn't representing me.
[Reporter] For Joe Montana
it was just a matter of when.
Today the two-time Super
Bowl Most Valuable Player
finally broke ranks
with the Union.
[Narrator] As the strike
continued to drive a wedge
into the picketing
players' solidarity,
the Scabskins were
turning into a real team
as they prepared for
their second game,
a week-five matchup against
the New York Giants.
When you first got
here all on a bus,
everybody's looking around,
what's he like, what's he like,
feel each other out.
Now, it's really come together
at an incredibly
accelerated pace.
Since last season's NFC Championship
loss to the Giants,
Redskin fans have eagerly
awaited this week's rematch.
[Tom] The last season, the
Giants and Redskins
had just played one of the most
epic NFC Championship games,
and the Redskins got
their butts kicked.
Now, it was a four o'clock
game in the middle lands,
this was gonna be, you know,
the big TV game, if
you will, of the week.
[Anthony] I remember Coach
Gibbs saying to us vividly,
if we win these games, he
will put us one game up
on everyone in our division.
It's a homecoming
of sort for me,
'cause I grew up in New York
and graduated high school
in New York so I'm pumped up
just to go there and play.
A lot of my friends
were Giants fans,
and some friends came
out to see the game,
'cause they could get tickets,
and my family all watched,
everybody was excited.
[Tony Settles] Walking into
Giants Stadium, it was almost surreal,
but once I get past the fact
that I'm actually
in Giant Stadium,
the first thing that
comes to mind is,
okay, where are the people
who are the Giants fans?
[Commentator] They scheduled this game
here today, but nobody came.
I have never seen Giant
Stadium look like this
with this few people
in attendance.
But, we thought the
crowd represented the team.
[Announcer] Okay, and it
looks like the Redskins have it.
And the team we were
playing just wasn't that good.
[Announcer] A push coming
from the Redskins... successfully.
And the push goes over
the one-yard line.
I know I got two sacks
in the Giants game.
[Announcer] Chased, and
he's down by Curtis Legrif.
Why they didn't put it in
the stat book, I don't know.
[Announcer] I beg your pardon,
Anthony Sagnella got the sack.
[Danny] We could have put 100
points on them that day...
[Announcer] Touchdown
by Wayne Wilson.
...but Gibbs pleaded
with us at half-time
not to run the score up.
[Announcer] We're
only here for the beer,
there should be a lot left.
My whole family, oh, my
god, who's from Westport,
came down in a bus, and they
had over-served themselves
quite a bit, and they had
maneuvered their way down
behind our bench, and I
was trying to ignore them,
but they're screaming at the
top of their lungs at me,
and the whole team's
laughing at me.
They're throwing
beer cans at me.
Coach goes, these
are your people?
I said, yes, sir, Coach,
those are my people.
He's like, "Wow, what a
bunch of hooligans."
It's just such great memories.
[Announcer] Skip
Lane made the stop.
This is day he'll remember.
[uptempo triumphant music]
- [slow dramatic music]
- [door unlatching]
[Skip] I grew up, you
know, in football.
My father was a high
school football coach,
so it's always been a
big part of my life.
I was recruited out of high
school as a quarterback.
I played in Westport, and Steve
Young was at Greenwich High.
Steve and I played
against each other,
think we even dated
the same girl.
- Look out kid.
- Hey, what's up, buddy.
I never thought it would end. I thought
I could always be a pro football player.
I played in the NFL,
you know, not that long,
bounced around, but didn't
quite get my opportunity.
Hi, Michael, Skip Lane.
I'd moved on into the
real world if you will,
and got a real job.
It's got three stories,
5,000 square feet each.
It was difficult to be
motivated to come read a lease,
or show an office building.
It will never be the same
as coming out of the tunnel
on Monday Night
Football and, you know,
snapping that chin strap.
When the opportunity came
to go play for the Redskins,
I mean, it was the easiest
decision of my life.
That's the boss right there,
so you got to be quiet
when you come down this corner.
I had to go to the boss, and
he was a little apprehensive,
you know, that was a
$100,000, $200,000 decision
to walk away from him,
but the life I was
walking away from,
I knew I could get back into,
and if I had the
physical body right now,
I'd pay $100,000 to
go play in free safety
for the Redskins,
wouldn't you? [laughs]
[tense dramatic music]
It's a very unusual year,
and it's very frustrating.
[Reporter] More breaks
occurred in the ranks,
including big names, like
Andre Tippett in New England,
and on the Super
Bowl Champion Giants,
Lawrence Taylor took a
good look at his wallet.
I come back because
I don't like to lose
roughly 60 grand a week.
The guys that crossed,
weren't first-year players,
they were guys that were making
a lot of money back then,
and were tired of
the non-negotiations.
Management broke off talks
with no dates set
to resume them.
The goals that they
wanted to achieve
that they promised the players,
you know, it wasn't realistic.
Plain and simple,
union busting,
that's exactly what it is.
In Dallas, that's the
indication that we have.
Tex Schramm, you schmuck!
Bargain!
Hell, we're union guys,
we're gonna break 'em,
we're gonna show 'em, bologna.
And we're talking about
guys that are worth hundreds
of millions of dollars,
we're gonna break them?
[Reporter] Frustrated players
called out for the Union
to do something even if
it meant backing down.
We took free
agency off the table,
and they have now
broken off negotiations.
You seem to have
demonstrated one thing
beyond any shadow of a doubt,
And that is you don't have the clout
to bring these guys down.
[Reporter] And in the meantime,
20 player reps reported
their teammates
were losing patience.
We were very aware of,
especially the Cowboys,
that were crossing the picket line.
- Thanks a lot.
- Thank you.
[Narrator] Tex Schramm's
strategy to gain the strike
for his advantage was
working to perfection,
heading into their third
game of the strike,
a Monday night battle for the
Division against Washington.
The Cowboys replacement roster
was stacked with
21 veteran players,
who had crossed
the picket lines,
more than any other
team in the NFL.
Once again, Washington
had none.
Holy [beeps], Cowboys have
Danny White, Tony Dorsett,
they had Ed Too Tall
Jones, Randy White.
It would be a very
difficult task for Joe Gibbs
to take a team down there
of replacement players,
and beat the Cowboys in
Dallas, I would think.
[Tim] The regular Redskins,
they wanted to be
playing in that game,
and these scabs
were impersonators.
You're taking my uniform,
you're taking my coach,
everything that I am, and
you're going to Dallas,
and you're gonna
play the Cowboys?
[Neal] We were pissed
off at the Union,
we were pissed
off at the owners,
we just decided there was
no reason to continue.
I called the Union
to let them know
that we had voted to
go back in,
and I think that's when they
realized that it was over.
What began with a bang
appears to be ending
with a whimper,
the NFL players strike
has crumbled, dissolved,
come apart at the
seams, you name it,
and as of now, the NFL owners
are in the driver's seat.
- [cameras shuttering]
- [tense dramatic music]
Could you give
me a little room?
Let's face it,
we've got nothing.
I mean, we got it
right in the back side.
It's unfair to the players
to continue making
great sacrifices
in the face of blatant
display of monopoly powers.
The player reps
therefore voted today
to send the players
back to work.
[Babe] Veteran players crossed,
and the owners just sat
back, and reeled us all in.
They knew, you know,
it was a domino effect.
Them guys had to look
at themselves, and say,
- am I gonna be a martyr?
- [tense dramatic music]
[Narrator] The players had
suffered a humiliating defeat.
They were ready to
return to the field,
but the owners would
launch one last salvo.
[Reporter] In city after
city teams had already voted
en masse to go back
to the stadium,
but when they got there,
they were told in every case
that they had missed
the deadline for
We knew the deadline, but we figured
they changed everything else,
why couldn't they
change the deadline?
Bottom line is
they're locking us out,
we can't play, and we're
on strike all at once.
We're not locking
out anyone, sonny,
because it was well
publicized that any player
who failed to return by
1:00 p.m. on Wednesday
would not be eligible to
play on Sunday or Monday.
[Reporter] In retrospect,
it seems the player strike
has been for players
bargaining power,
what Pearl Harbor
was for diplomacy.
It's a tough situation
for them, you know,
they'd rather be out
there playing I'm sure,
but, you know, they're gonna
have to sit out one more game,
and we're gonna go
out, and play hard,
and try to get 'em another win,
and get 'em to first place.
I'm not really informed.
It's like who do you root
for if Libya fights Iran,
my answer is nobody.
I didn't give a [beeps]
what they thought,
'cause it had no impact about
what was gonna happen to us.
We've got some aces
in the deck here.
We didn't just hold back,
Coach Gibbs put a lot.
[Craig] We were all hyped
on it.
This is your dream, and it's
for the Division League,
oh, hell yeah, give me a second,
and third serving of that.
[uptempo patriotic music]
[Announcer] Hello
again, everyone,
and welcome to Texas
Stadium for this,
the final replacement
game of the NFL season.
You look at the Dallas Cowboys,
and you're gonna
recognize those names
that are above those numbers,
not so with the
Washington Redskins.
[Charley] This was the
Christianson alliance.
I don't know what the odds
were,
but you could have made them
a million to one in that game.
[Skip] There's something
about the Cowboys,
that little pretty boy
image I just never liked it.
Joe Gibbs walks in the room,
he had this half-assed grin.
He said, guys, we're playing
the Dallas Cowboys tonight,
and basically the
Dallas Cowboy.
[Craig] Joe, walking around
the locker room,
come on, come on, Q, come on, come on,
McQ, and just getting us up.
[Joe] NFL players, some of
the best in the world
are gonna be playing across
from me in this game.
You wanna match
up, and show people
that you can play at this
level,
this is your opportunity.
[Craig] Here we are baby,
we're the Scabskins,
Playing for the Division
League, come on now.
[Reporter] The Washington
Redskins were the only team
that remained unified
throughout the strike.
The whole country is watching
"Monday Night Football,"
and first play in the game,
they blow a big hole in us,
and here comes
Dorsett with the ball,
stiff arm me in my helmet,
he actually broke my nose.
There's blood all over,
shut up, I don't even care,
just stuff that thing for me,
like let's go, come on, man.
[crowd cheering]
[Announcer] They're
down one, Dorsett.
Could've grabbed the
football in there,
the Redskins are saying
they have the football,
now the Dorsett did not fumble.
- They got it.
- Eight consecutive games
into tonight, and this
time he coughs it up.
This crowd just doesn't
know how to react.
By the numbers and on
paper, they should beat us.
The pressure was on
them, we just competed.
[Announcer] Throws
out, and thumps it on.
[Announcer 2] Let's
see Randy White
nine times in the Pro Bowl
and Darrick Brilz buries it.
I think we've probably had a tremendous
psychological advantage,
because our guys
were all together,
and they're all fighting
their heart out,
and from the Cowboys standpoint
that wasn't the case.
We were up in the game, and
things were going very well.
Hut, hut.
[Announcer] Mark is the 37, second down
and six, and pressure on Rubbert,
and down goes Rubbert.
Rubbert appears to be
shaken up,
and Rubbert now is
going to have to go
to the sidelines, the
Redskins calling time out.
I'm on the sideline
watching the game, "Tony'
and they, "Tony, get your helmet,
get your helmet, you got to go in."
[Announcer] Well, it appears
we'll have a new quarterback,
Tony Robinson, who had to meet
with Commissioner Pete Rozelle,
prior to reporting
to the Redskins
regarding drug-related
convictions.
[Anthony] If you come in cold,
at quarterback,
into that situation,
that was unsettling
for all of us.
[Tony] Grabbed my helmet, and
the coach just telling me,
just run the offense, you know,
just do what you been
doing, and everything.
So, he calls the play, I
don't know what play it was,
but I'm Tony Robinson
and, you know,
we're the Washington Redskins,
we're coming here
to your stadium,
and coming to destroy you all.
[Announcer] And he looks
over at third down at six.
- Gets away from Ed Jones.
- [crowd cheering]
And fires up field, and
that was his first play
at the National Football
League, and look at that.
It's a Redskins first down.
[Anthony] I think that right
there show the toughness
of Tony Robinson, and
which at that time,
we definitely need it.
[Announcer] Here comes
clash against Robinson.
Very clean move
by Tony Robinson.
Flushed out of the pocket.
Intended for McEwen,
is he in bounds?
He zipped that thing
on a clothes line
you could have hung
your socks on to dry.
I got my big toe and my pinky
toe on the line and whoop.
[Announcer] A big
play by McEwen today.
Back down once
again, no, a bootleg,
and a hand off to Wilson,
16-yard touchdown.
[Skip] Tony Robinson came
in like "Con Air,"
like on chains and shackles,
that kind of set the mode
for the team, you know?
[Neal] It's hard to root for
the guys who replaced you,
but then, you know, as
the game progressed,
you get the pit in your
stomach,
you definitely don't
want the Cowboys to win.
[Announcer] Dallas now
has a big order in front.
2:37 remaining.
I can just remember that
last drive, it was surreal.
It seems like the last two minutes of
that game lasted hours.
We were either gonna
hold them off and win,
or they were going
to score and beat us.
[Announcer] They're
down in seven.
- Clock ticking away.
- [crowd cheering]
Nine seconds, eight
seconds, seven seconds,
and the Cowboys stop the clock
with their final timeout.
First place in the
NFC East on the line.
[Skip] That goal line stand,
and to turn of those guys,
and know that this is it,
our back's against the
wall, this is our last play.
And I told them in that
guys, we've had come too far,
do not turn back now.
[Eric] We had learned
to love each other,
and to play for each
other in three weeks.
This is it, 'cause we knew we
were going home after this.
[Skip] That brotherhood that I
had formed with those guys,
and believed in those guys,
I could cry right now.
[crowd cheering]
Don't be the guy that blows it.
Do your job, win the damn game.
[Announcer] This has to be a
play into the end zone.
[crowd cheering]
And complete.
Jubilation on the
side of the Redskins,
They have won their
three replacement games.
When the clock struck
zero, Washington was on top.
Best feeling in the world.
[Announcer] Joe Gibbs is
being carried off by a bunch
of youngsters.
[Mark Mays]
We hate the Cowboys.
For those replacement
players to go out there,
and kick their ass, there
could be nothing finer.
It's the absolute
ultimate insult,
and it was a beautiful
thing to watch.
Now, wasn't it one
of the great games
you've ever seen in your life?
Now really and truly,
wasn't it.
These guys play their
guts out in every game,
and I don't know that I
could ask for anything more.
For us it was jubilation, man,
it was our Super Bowl. We did it.
[Craig] This is the greatest feeling,
I'll never forget in my life.
I'll remember it, I'll
tell my grandkids,
and my children about
it, all my friends,
hope they're all watching,
hope they enjoyed it,
- I enjoyed it, it was great.
- [uptempo orchestral music]
[Reporter] It was
a forgettable ending
to an unforgettable saga for
the NFL, the replacement games.
How could the Cowboys
lose to the Redskins,
a team with no strike breakers?
[Charley] The concept of winning
football, it's a team game.
Joe Gibbs, and I give him
all the credit in the world
for this, he felt team
chemistry was number one.
I think with Dallas,
they felt that if maybe they
could steal three wins here,
be in first place coming
out of the strike,
might give them the
momentum to ride through
to a playoff appearance,
and ignoring team chemistry
which totally backfired.
It's hard to imagine
a team more fractured
in sports history
than the Cowboys were
after the 1987 players strike.
Fans had come to resent
players like Tony Dorsett,
people they were
supposed to cheer for.
By the end of 1987, the
Cowboys were on their way
to another losing season.
Tony Dorsett was
asking to be traded,
it was all falling apart.
That was really the
beginning of the end,
not for just for the Cowboys,
but for one of the
greatest coaches
in the history of the NFL.
[Narrator] Tom
Landry would never
have another winning record.
Less than 18 months after
losing to Washington,
the legendary coach was fired
by the team he made famous.
Eight weeks later, Tex Schramm
resigned after 29 years
as General Manager of
the Dallas Cowboys,
but they weren't the only
casualties of the strike.
[Man] Replacement players knew
during that third game
that they were going
to be gone,
I don't think they had a sense
of how quickly they
were going to be gone.
For the huge majority of
them, it was over on Monday.
[Skip] Last night I was
in the NFL
playing against
the Dallas Cowboys,
and tomorrow, I'll
be back at my desk,
making an honest
living, sort of.
[Tom] They were the ultimate
Cinderella story,
and that was the reason why
the scabs were so beloved.
[Skip] I remember going out to
some bars in Georgetown,
and people broke out
in applause for us.
You know, they loved
their Redskins, you know,
and we replaced those
Redskins to them.
Scabs, all the way!
[airplane engine whirring]
[Willard Scissum] After we beat the
Cowboys, and flew back to Washington,
there was a meeting
scheduled for the next day.
[slow somber music]
[Anthony] At that point
then you went into,
who was gonna stick around,
who was not gonna stick around.
[Joe] There definitely
was some emotion
where you kind of
look at and say, man,
the guy gave it
everything we had.
[Skip] Joe Gibbs was,
I played for seven different
pro football teams, you know,
and besides my dad, he's probably the
coolest coach I ever played for.
Everything he said
you listened to,
and when he turned to me,
and I could just see it
in his eyes, you know,
and he just kind
of nodded his head,
he said, you can play
in this League, kid,
and I wish we could
keep you around here.
[Anthony Sagnella] When I was
packing my gear,
and I remember slowly
putting it in the bag,
that was the end of the
road for me, that, you know,
I played my hand out, and I...
it wasn't in the cards for me
to play 10 years in the NFL.
[Neal] I think most guys are
drug away kicking and screaming,
especially guys that, you
know, only got a taste of it.
In a way they were
used, you know,
I mean, I can certainly
understand how they feel.
It was crushing, you know,
besides a death in a family,
or something to that effect,
it was something that really,
really hurt you
deep down inside.
[Dexter] It must have been
awful for those guys,
especially the ones
who had some success
as a replacement player, and
they don't get an opportunity.
Your whole life, you know,
you were a football player,
and they ripped that out of
you as if a part of you died.
I mean, it's like a scar.
I mean, just like people
were calling us a scab,
once it's healed up,
you don't want to have
anything to do with it.
[Reporter] Not making
the team, quarterback,
Tony Robinson, who came off
the bench to lead the Skins
against Dallas last night.
[Tony] Well, Coach Gibbs
came and told me himself
that they were gonna
release me.
The stipulations were
once I got through playing
that I had to turn myself in.
They took me to jail,
and they extradited me
back to Knoxville,
and I went, and I done
four years, 10 months.
- [sprayer whirring]
- [sprayer whooshing]
[slow somber music]
Well, I knew my football days
were over with, you know,
so one thing I wanted to
do was get this behind me,
you know, that was
the main thing.
Get this behind me, so I can go on,
and live my life, you know?
My key?
- [door latching]
- [tense dramatic music]
[Reporter] Coach Joe
Gibbs this afternoon
informed 13 players they'd
made the regular roster.
They're the ones that
we really felt like
were the ones that
would fit in with us,
and would have a chance
talent-wise with us.
We did keep a few
of those, you know,
strike players on our team,
'cause we felt like
they'd earned it.
[Eric] I was one of a handful
of guys that was identified
as guys that were
gonna be retained.
I couldn't believe it,
this just gets better.
[Reporter] And
there still stands
a few very proud
replacement players,
one is tight end, Craig McEwen.
Did he ever think he
would be in this position?
I was hoping, I had
a few prayers going,
and it's come to happen,
and I'm happy to be here.
But, there were a lot of
guys that were pissed off.
[RC Thielemann] Unity is built in
training camp, and through years,
not through telling people
who the team is gonna be.
It's, I don't
know, it's bizarre.
Now, there was tension in the
locker room with those guys,
I can tell you that.
They're dummies to hit.
We didn't like 'em.
We might have hated 'em.
We couldn't accept 'em.
[Reporter] Among
those making the roster
was several standouts including
Redskin pass-catching,
record holder, Anthony Allen.
I stayed on after
the strike was over,
played the rest of the
season with the team.
They come into the
practice, and there it was,
it really was Jay
Schroeder throwing a pass
to Anthony Allen.
It really happened.
Obviously proved something
to Coach Gibbs that they,
you know, can have a chance
at playing in this league.
Now, we'll find out if they
can perform the way they did,
then they deserve a job,
but if they can't, then
we'll weed them out.
[Tim] The best thing that
might have happened to them
was that strike.
People don't realize that.
This team was banged up,
this team needed that break.
[Narrator] Having lost their
last game before the strike,
returning Washington players
now found themselves poised
for a run at the Division title
thanks to three
consecutive Division wins
by their replacements.
We still had a chance
to make the playoffs,
and go to the Super Bowl.
[Tim] I think the Redskins
replacement players
were so successful that when
the regular Redskins came back,
it wasn't like, "Hey,
the Redskins are back!"
It was like, "Oh, they're
back, okay, let's see this."
Now we were in first place,
we were coming home
to play the Jets.
[RC] The replacements had kind
of won the hearts of the fans,
and we didn't show
up that first game.
[Mike Richman] They were
trailing the Jets 16 to 7
in the fourth quarter, and
boos started raining down.
[Tim] Kelvin Bryant
drops a pass,
and the fans at RFK Stadium
chanted, "We want the scabs."
[Announcer] Chanting,
"We want the scabs."
[Bobby] I mean, it was loud and
clear.
I was sitting up there
in the owner's box,
and I thought, oh my gosh,
this is gonna get ugly.
To bring back the scabs
kind of hit home a little bit,
and everybody kind of said,
hey, we better win this thing,
or it could be a rough week.
[Narrator] Washington
came back to win that game
on their way to
a Division title.
Their good fortune
continued in the playoffs
as they made it to the
NFC Championship game
where some replacement players
continued to make an impact.
[Announcer] Caught
by Anthony Allen.
I caught one pass
against Minnesota
in an NFC Championship game.
[Announcer] You say,
who's Anthony Allen?
He's one of the guys, who
is a replacement player
for this Redskins team, now
there is a heck of a catch.
[Anthony] Whether you played
during the strike game or not,
I still just, I consider
myself a football player.
At some point they had to
thank you for the job you did.
The Redskins number one.
[Eric] It was a pipe
dream for us to think
we may set these guys
up to win a Super Bowl,
but it did happen.
[Announcer] And the head coach
of the Washington Redskins,
- Joe Gibbs.
- [crowd cheering]
[Tony Settles] Watching the
Super Bowl,
it was kind of a
bittersweet thing.
My boss on my
first day asked me,
what are you doing here,
and why are you not
at the Super Bowl?
First of all, they didn't
invite me to the Super Bowl.
[tense somber music]
[Anthony Sagnella]
So, try to keep moving.
Move towards the post lead, and
try to get around it, okay?
You could be of some use here.
I watched that game
in my parent's house.
That was maybe one of
the few times in my life
that I actually got emotional
watching a football game.
[Skip] The Redskins
were by contract supposed
to give us all the right to buy two
tickets to the Super Bowl.
And pay for the tickets
to the Super Bowl.
[laughs] It's kind
of funny, huh?
I went to the Super Bowl, and I was
high-fiving people all over town.
It was almost embarrassing,
you know [laughs]?
[Tony] I watched the Super
Bowl from prison.
Everybody in prison
for the Denver Broncos,
and well, I just said,
I'll tell you all what,
if you wanna, you
for Denver Broncos,
you wanna bet, I cover
every bet in the place,
and I got Washington Redskins,
so put your money up.
[Announcer] And
Williams going deep.
Sanders beats Haynes,
Sanders out in front.
80-yards touchdown.
Thank you, Doug Williams,
thank you. [laughs]
[Announcer] Our
congratulations to Joe Gibbs,
the Redskins, and in
particular,
Doug Williams, sensational.
Oh, yeah, it was mighty quiet
in the jailhouse that night.
- Where's Ricky Sanders?
- Here he come.
- [people cheering]
- Yeah!
[Eric] I was at the White House,
I shook Ronald Reagan's hand.
I had no reason to believe
I wasn't getting a ring,
until the ring fittings
had come, and gone,
and nobody checked me.
Thank you for doing this.
Appreciate it.
[people murmuring]
I thought being
active for four weeks,
it was just a
foregone conclusion
that we would be getting rings.
[slow somber music]
I was promised
those three games
were regular season
football games in every way.
It was heartbreaking.
[Joe] Those crucial victories
helped us win the Division,
and have a chance to play at
home and get to a Super Bowl.
That would be hard
for me to answer.
I don't have a good
answer for that.
I would say, you know,
they certainly deserved
a lot of credit,
but a Super Bowl ring,
that'd be kind of hard for me to answer.
I think that was a very small
portion of Redskin history.
- [crowd cheering]
- [siren wailing]
[RC] Gibbs actually
coached the replacements
as if to win football games,
and that's what carried us
all into to the Super Bowl.
[Charley] They were deserving,
but it was a unique situation.
This was a strike, those
players got playoff shares,
I think got a 50% playoff
share,
which is about 35,000
as I remember it,
but I think there had a
difference on a standard
for the Super Bowl ring.
[Photographer] That's
it, old it right up there.
[Wayne] I think when I think
about all ups and downs
that I've been
through, and you know,
I can look at this ring,
all that is over with.
Everywhere I go everybody
ask me, where's your ring,
where's your ring?
I mean, it's...
There isn't a day
that doesn't go by
that somebody
doesn't ask me, well,
how come you didn't get a ring?
Well, where's your ring?
Hey, where's your ring?
I don't have a ring.
- Thank you.
- It's an owner's decision,
and he decided not
to give us a ring.
You know the guy who parks the cars at
Redskin Park got a ring.
The girl who answers the
phone up front got a ring.
Nothing.
Well, if you're eligible
for playoff money,
how are you not eligible
to receive a ring?
That is a rhetorical
question, isn't it?
- No.
- It doesn't deserve
- an answer.
- It does.
We certainly did discuss it,
but we didn't have enough
money from the League
in order to give another
squad Super Bowl rings,
they're terribly expensive.
Those rings were paid for by
the National Football League,
then the clubs have to
allocate that out to the people
who were working at the
Washington Redskins,
players, and coaches,
and front office staff.
[Player] Yeah, yeah--
[Eric] Those guys worked their
butts off loading the trucks,
and moving equipment around,
they're gonna get rings,
and they deserve it, but these
guys, we're done with them.
[slow somber music]
[Anthony] I played all the way
through the championship game
that year against Minnesota,
and I didn't play
in the Super Bowl,
but by playing the NFC
playoff game... got ring.
The strike team, won every game
we played for the Redskins,
and no matter what happens
they can't take that from us,
whether you got a ring, or not,
we did our job for
those three weeks.
[Eric] After the rings
were distributed,
one of the coaches, and he
said, why don't you take mine,
and have some duplicates made?
You know, that's a
difficult ring to replicate.
I was disappointed
with the settings.
I didn't think they set
the stones very well.
Love it, and hate it. I don't.
I love it.
Yeah, I earned it.
In some ways it's a
kind of a metaphor
for the whole experience.
It's not quite the real thing.
- [birds chirping]
- [slow somber music]
[Christine] To say they were used,
to say they were used and forgotten,
discarded, yes.
[Man] They do not have rings.
They do not go to
team functions.
They're not listed as official
alumni for the Redskins.
[Tony] I've never been invited
to Redskin Park again.
I haven't heard anything
from the Redskins, anything,
you know, not even a letter
or nothing, you know?
All I got from the Redskins was,
"Hey, thank you and see you."
[slow somber music]
[Christine] There are some
glaring things here
that should be corrected.
I'm not exactly
gonna hold my breath,
but those players
deserve Super Bowl rings.
[Tim] They don't win a Super
Bowl without these guys,
so it's time that someone
steps up and says that.
[Man] I have to say
they were Redskins.
They wore the burgundy and
gold, they wore the uniform,
and I think they should
be able to have their day
in the sun.
[slow somber music]
[crowd cheering]
[Bobby Beathard] I was a little upset
that some of the replacement guys
weren't recognized
for what they did,
because we would have never
have gotten where we were
that year without those guys.
It's unfortunate that those
guys didn't share in the ring,
because they did put us
in position to go forward.
Well, they have to get credit,
I mean, the games
counted, so absolutely.
[Mark] They should be recognized,
it was a special time,
it was a difficult time.
Those games are in that book,
they're there for a reason,
because that's history.
And so, if they get rings
I'm very happy for 'em.
[RC] What they did those three
weeks has to be monumental
in success of that year,
and now, is the time that we
should welcome those guys back,
because they were
part of the team.
[crowd cheering]
[Danny] For me, my
friends like,
well, aren't you upset you
don't have a Super Bowl Ring?
Aren't you upset, I'm
not upset about anything.
I got to spend time with Joe
Gibbs and Bobby Beathard,
who molded me so
that I could go out,
and be the business
professional that I became.
[Joe] I think one of
the hardest things
that I've ever
experienced has been
the end of a football
player's football life.
That was a lot of their
identity, they loved it.
For many of 'em, they kind of
think it's going on forever.
Well, at least you
have an excuse, I don't.
And you have to be
the one to tell 'em
that, you know,
their career is over,
and it's just a
devastating time for 'em.
Make sure we're
communicating, this it, man,
this is what we do right here.
[Joe] And so what you
hope most of the time
is that they're able
to prepare themselves
for the rest of their life.
- [players grunting]
- Run!
You're gonna have an
outcome on Friday night,
it's gonna be a win or a
loss, that's the way it goes.
We've got to do a better
job of hitting these things
in strike.
The big picture,
the win and loss,
may not matter so
much down the road,
but how you handle
it is gonna matter
every day of your life.
[Anthony] The game was
good to me.
I loved every moment
of playing football,
but at the same time when
it's over, it's over,
and you got to be able
to move on from it.
You got to raise your kids,
you got to support your wife,
it helps you to transition
into other things,
and enjoy more than life
than just being an athlete,
or being a football player.
- [waves whooshing]
- [seagulls squawking]
[Craig] You know, I think
about the guys,
and wonder what could have
been if I'd made the team.
You know, look what I got.
I made the team,
I got the ring,
and even still yet
I feel unfulfilled.
Sometimes I feel
like I'm losing.
So, it doesn't fix you.
The game doesn't fix you,
the ring doesn't define you.
There's so much more that's out
there than football in life,
and I'm coming to
terms with that,
but sometimes I just wish
Coach Gibbs would just show up
in the room, like
all right, Craig,
here's the practice
plan for today,
here's what we're gonna do,
here's what we're preparing for.
[people murmuring]
Listen, listen, first hall
all whip, first half all whip.
The second half,
it's our half, okay?
Hey, we all make mistakes.
I make mistakes too, okay,
big mistakes, big mistakes,
all right, okay?
What y'all doing is real small,
I made big mistakes, okay?
So, what we gonna do right there?
We're gonna clear it up, right?
We clear it up?
- We're gonna clear it up?
- Yes, sir.
- We're gonna clear it up?
- Yes, sir.
All right y'all, come on now.
Panthers, on three.
- One, two, three, let's go.
- Let's go.
Let's go, let's
go, on the field.
[Tony] You know, I got a second
chance with Washington,
and I showed everybody
that I could do it,
and now I'm getting another
second chance at life again.
Hey, good run, son, good run.
Good run, son, good run.
During the football season I
coach a Pee Wee football team
called the Country
Club Panthers.
You know, I'm just trying to
lead them in the right way,
so that they don't have to
follow the path that I took.
You know, 'cause I don't want
things that happened to me
to happen to them.
There you go, Stephan,
there you go baby.
I'm a tough individual.
Let's go!
[claps]
You know, words never
bothered me in life.
You know, I'm an ex-con,
replacement player, scab,
whatever you wanna call it.
You call me what you want,
but when I get on
that football field,
I'm a football player.
...let's go.
Way back in my day, I think I
played with the best of 'em.
You can never take that
away, never take that away.
[All] One, two,
three, Panthers out.
- All right.
- [slow sentimental music]
[slow sentimental music]