{"id":3307,"date":"2009-04-19T02:19:45","date_gmt":"2009-04-19T06:19:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thehogs.net\/blogs\/?p=3307"},"modified":"2025-06-02T00:21:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T04:21:15","slug":"bruce-allen-george-allen-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2009\/04\/19\/bruce-allen-george-allen-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Allen? George Allen? Memories…"},"content":{"rendered":"

All I can say is wow. Cerrato. Gone. Poof. I sure didn’t see it coming. Of course, in hind sight… there have been a number of Daniel Snyder \u2013 Bruce Allen sightings… and I think that there have been a couple of quickly dismissed rumors… We all wished… http:\/\/ourtadalafil.com\/ but no one expected… for Cerrato to leave the scene.<\/p>\n

So, there is delirium… rumors continue to swirl… it seems that most money is on Mike Shanahan to become the next HC… but, who would expect that to be announced before the end of the season?<\/p>\n

Anyway, I’ve found the thought of Bruce Allen (whom everyone, by now, is aware is the son of Hall of Fame Redskins coaching legend George Allen<\/a>) has provoked some very old memories…<\/p>\n

really good, for the most part… but, some, bittersweet. One thing the George Allen era had plenty of was personalities. I’ve been surprised at the flood…<\/p>\n

Sonny and Billy…<\/span><\/p>\n

AKA “Hobble and Wobble”<\/span><\/p>\n

Billy Kilmer glances at Sonny's ankle, as he comes in to replace him<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kilmer had come into the league in ’60, and was tearing up the league as a tailback… a very serious car accident and a very improbable recovery turned him into a quarterback… behind the legendary John Brodie.\u00a0 In high school and college, he was one of those athletes who could do anything he wanted.\u00a0 He was offered a contract to play for the Pirates out of high school (a .525 batting average will get those kind of offers).\u00a0 He loved, and excelled, at basketball.\u00a0 He didn’t think of himself as much of a football player. Kilmer was one very<\/em> tough son of a gun… who threw the ugliest pass in NFL history… and, therefore, Wobble.<\/p>\n

Billy liked to party.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobble was Sonny Jurgensen… Where Kilmer made his mark as a quarterback primarily through grit and determination, Sonny was easily the best pure passer in football. NFL Records fell to his arm. No one’s release was quicker, and no one could thread a needle better than Sonny. Why \u201cHobble\u201d? Ever see Sonny run? (Of course, in 1971, Kilmer wasn’t much of a runner either… but that is part of the greatness of Billy, that I’ll try to write about some other time.)<\/p>\n

Sonny liked to party.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Coach Allen appreciated Jurgensen’s skills, Sonny’s style of play caused him some concerns. Sonny was not above taking major risks… and was known to improvise. While that could result in some VERY exciting plays, it did not exactly jive with Allen’s conservative, ball control philosophy… That’s where Billy came in. When Archie Manning was drafted by the Saints, Kilmer (then their QB) became expendable. He was George Allen’s first player acquisition.
\nWhen Billy came to Washington, he wasn’t immediately happy, and, in fact, asked Allen to trade him. He wanted to play for a team where he had a shot at starting… but, he sucked it up. He met Sonny, and immediately asked \u201cWhere can a guy get a beer around here?\u201d Sonny just happened to know a place. A friendship was started.<\/p>\n

Both could be seen all over town… anyone who lived in DC during the 71 and 72 seasons remembers the bumper stickers… \u201cI follow the Redskins, and I like SONNY\u201d… \u201cI follow the Redskins, and I like BILLY\u201d There are stories of them being in a car together, and pulling up next to a car with one sticker or the other, and feigning offense toward the driver… Apparently, they found it most amusing. While the \u201ccontroversy\u201d was hot, the two, despite their very different games and skills, were very much alike.<\/p>\n

Personal experience<\/em>… I can remember driving home from class at Washington Technical Institute (now the University of DC). I was going a bit out of my way to drop off a friend. Driving along Nebraska Avenue, NW, we came upon an accident at the intersection with Military Road… there, directing traffic (and getting a lot more attention than he wanted) was Sonny Jurgensen. He had stopped to help… but, I’m pretty sure that his presence was causing a worse problem…<\/p>\n

During the 1972 season, Sonny snapped his achilles tendon… an injury that effectively ended his career… while he did play a couple of games after healing, he was never the same. Following Sonny’s injury, Billy’s guts and leadership led to Washington’s first trip to the SuperBowl. The Miami Dolphin’s year of destiny.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Billy’s guts could not overcome the very skilled Miami defense. Would the outcome have been different were Sonny availible to play? Obviously, we’ll never know…<\/p>\n

At least we got to see Garo Yaprenian demonstrate why he was a kicker…<\/em><\/p>\n

The memories are flooding back… more later.<\/p>\n

BTW, my bumper sticker said “I like Sonny”<\/p>\n

HTTR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All I can say is wow. Cerrato. Gone. Poof. I sure didn’t see it coming. Of course, in hind sight… there have been a number of Daniel Snyder \u2013 Bruce Allen sightings… and I think that there have been a couple of quickly dismissed rumors… We all wished… http:\/\/ourtadalafil.com\/ but no one expected… for Cerrato … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[666,661,665,536,635],"class_list":["post-3307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washington-redskins","tag-billy-kilmer","tag-bruce-allen","tag-george-allen","tag-sonny-jurgensen","tag-vinnie-cerrato"],"yoast_head":"\nBruce Allen? George Allen? Memories... | The-Hogs.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2009\/04\/19\/bruce-allen-george-allen-memories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bruce Allen? George Allen? Memories... | The-Hogs.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"All I can say is wow. Cerrato. Gone. Poof. I sure didn’t see it coming. Of course, in hind sight… there have been a number of Daniel Snyder \u2013 Bruce Allen sightings… and I think that there have been a couple of quickly dismissed rumors… We all wished… http:\/\/ourtadalafil.com\/ but no one expected… for Cerrato ... 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