Knicks NBA title win brings back memories of a certain Washington team

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So, the New York Knicks won the NBA Championship, and it made me think of the 1973 Washington Redskins.

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That's right, I was a ten-year-old kid who followed the NBA as closely as I could. It was 1973, and I can still tell you the Knicks' starting lineup from memory: Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe, Walt Frazier. Others who played a lot off the bench, whom I recall, were Jerry Lucas, Phil Jackson (yes, that Phil Jackson), Dick Barnett, and Dean Meminger.

I can't tell you that much about any NBA team in the last 20 years, but that's how it was for me as a kid. When the Knicks won in 1973, defeating the Jerry West/Wilt Chamberlain Los Angeles Lakers in the finals, that was a special time for the Washington Redskins as well. Again, from memory: In January, they lost Super Bowl VII 14-7 to the Miami Dolphins, who finished 17-0, and are still the last NFL team to finish the postseason, still undefeated.

The 1973 Redskins were coached by George Allen, and their offensive coordinator, Ted Marchibroda, was in his last season with Allen before taking over as head coach of the Baltimore Colts. That Redskins team could play some ball and, at times, marveled the DMV with how they pulled out some games.

For instance, Brig Owens intercepted a Craig Morton pass for a pick six, giving Washington a 14-7 lead over Dallas. Then Ken Houston stopped Walt Garrison on 4th down in the last seconds to preserve that MNF home RFK victory. That was also the only season in my lifetime that Washington played at Detroit in the early Thanksgiving Day game. The Redskins defense shut out the Lions 20-0 that day.

That team was led by two older veteran quarterbacks, Billy Kilmer and Sonny Jurgensen. Charley Taylor and Roy Jefferson were both gifted receivers, and Jerry Smith was still the tight end. Some older fans may recall that was the year George Allen went out and picked up RB Duane Thomas, bringing him to the Redskins. Allen, seeing when a veteran might be slowing down (RB Larry Brown), would go out and find another veteran.

Allen did this sort of thing even more on the defensive side of the ball. When safety Roosevelt Taylor played his last NFL game in Super Bowl VII, Allen determined Houston Oilers (before they moved to Nashville and became the Tennessee Oilers and then, the Titans) safety Ken Houston was his target. Allen gave up several players for Houston to be his next strong safety.

Earlier in that calendar year, Washington linebacker Jack Pardee had also retired after the Super Bowl loss. Interestingly enough, so did longtime Packers linebacker Dave Robinson. But Allen wanted him badly. So, the Packers still having Robinson's rights, fleeced the desperate Allen, talking him into giving up a second-round choice for the retired Robinson. The rejuvenated Robinson had a great year for the '73 Redskins, intercepting four passes (1 TD), recovering two fumbles, and producing 5.0 QB sacks.

But the Redskins had to travel to Minnesota in the playoffs; the Vikings played outdoors in those days. The Redskins gave the Vikings all they wanted, losing a heartbreaking 27-20 game, before the Vikings easily beat Dallas 27-10 (in Dallas) to go to Super Bowl VIII.

It was 1973; Washington was still a contender; the Knicks won the NBA; and we did not yet have cell phones, laptops, GPS, DNA, the WWW, or YouTube. It was a different time, a different era.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Knicks' NBA title win brings back memories

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