Ol' Ricky's Redskins Tales - Turk Edwards + Sonny, Darrell & Riggo
Ol’ Ricky has seen players injured on the first play of the season and at the end of the last game of the year. Some came on the practice field, too. But Turk Edwards’ career ended after the coin toss.
Wait, the coin toss?
Albert “Turk” Edwards joined the 1932 Boston Braves after owner George Preston Marshall won a bidding war for the offensive tackle over the New York Giants and Portsmouth Spartans. The cost - $1,500.
Edwards played nine seasons for the Braves/Redskins as a member of the All-1930s team. Known as the “Bouncing Boulder” and “Rock of Gibraltar,” Turk was All-Pro four of his first six seasons as a lead blocker for fellow hall-of-famer Cliff Battles. The two-way player once missed just 10 minutes of the entire 720-minute season.
But it all ended in 1940 after reaching midfield for the coin toss against the Giants. After shaking hands with his former college teammate Mel Hein, Turk turned to the sideline only to have his cleat stick in the turf. His knee ligaments were torn and Turk never played again.
Turk remained in Washington as an assistant coach for five years before becoming head coach from 1946-48. The team was just 16-18-1
When inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969, his presenter was ironically Hein. Turk died in 1973.
Tomorrow: Visiting Jack Kent Cooke’s grave. Lots of stories in my book and these are the types of tales I’ll tell on my “Pizza and Pigskins Tours” later this summer.
Rick Snider is an award-winning sports writer who has covered Washington sports since 1978. He first wrote about the Redskins in 1983 before becoming a beat writer in 1993. Snider currently writes for several national and international publications and is a Washington tour guide. Follow Rick on Twitter at @Snide_Remarks.
