4/16-4/18 Happy Bdays

Happy birthday Wilber Marshall. Wilber played 5 seasons for the Redskins from 1988-92. Marshall played in all 80 games over that span, despite battling many injuries during that time. Marshall tallied 621 tackles, 24.5 sacks, 12 int’s and 13 forced fumbles during his Redskins career. I’ve written before about how I feel about Wilber, he had an 8 year span where he was one of the best linebackers in the game and is a Hall of Famer in my mind. Happy 48th Mr. Marshall.

Happy birthday Fred Smoot. Fred played 7 seasons for the Redskins from 2001-2009. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft by Marty Schottenheimer, Fred would go on to appear in 104 games as a Redskin. Fred totaled 346 tackles and 18 int’s during his Redskins tenure. Although he was a fan favorite for his outgoing personality and quotable interviews, Fred’s skills had diminished the past couple seasons and he was released in March of this year. Happy 31st Mr. Smoot.

Happy birthday Richie Petitbon. Richie played 2 seasons at safety for the Redskins from 71-72. He’s more well known for spending 16 seasons on the Redskins coaching staff which included succeeding Joe Gibbs as head coach in 93’. Although the 93’ season was a disaster, Richie should be remembered as one of the great defensive coordinators of his time. For over a decade his teams ranked consistently in the top 10 each season in total defense. He was committed to the Redskins and turned down several head coaching jobs during his Redskins coaching career, that loyalty got him fired after 1 season at the helm. To my surprise, Richie has never coached in the NFL or football of any kind since then. Thought for sure some team would lure him back out of retirement. A quick look at his statistics as a player shows that he played 14 seasons in 3 different decades, intercepted 48 balls and was a 4 time Pro Bowler. He also returned an interception 101 yards for a touchdown…can you see old Richie lumbering 101 yards? Happy 72nd Mr. Petitbon.

Happy birthday Walt Williams. “The Wizard” played 4 seasons for the Terps from 1988-92. The fact that Walt stayed all 4 years is what makes him one of my favorite Terps of all-time. During his tenure the Terps were facing heavy NCAA sanctions and the program was in the dumps. Besides turning down the chance to transfer to another school, Walt also decided against turning pro early. This helped the Terps stay competitive and the program to start restoring its legacy on the national level. Walt was a forward/guard who wore #42. His game was similar, in my opinion, to Magic Johnson’s. Walt could pass, rebound and shoot well inside or outside. He averaged 26.8 ppg, 5.6rpg and 3.6 apg his senior season. Walt would take his high socks to the NBA and had a decent 11 year career. Happy 40th Mr. Williams.

Cheers and Hail

Editor’s note: I’m not 100% sure what the correct way to spell Wilber Marshall’s first name is, Wilber or Wilbur? Not sure, it’s spelled both ways in many diffrent publications on the net. I’m going with the Redskins spelling of his name, from their official website and his page on the 70 Greatest Redskins list. Surely the Redskins wouldn’t misspell the name of one of their greatest players would they? If someone is 100% sure of the correct spelling, let me know. Thanks