‘Hail to the Commanders,’ Explained: Inside the History of Washington’s Football Game Song

Tradition in sports is what can bring a community together. Those same cheers or chants bond fans and make you feel part of something.

The NFL is full of tradition with fans buying in with every touchdown. You have the Jets and their fans who spell Jets and say Jets three times. Eagles spell out Eagles and then exclaim Eagles! The commanders play their battle song “Hail to the commanders.”

Some traditions over time need to be adjusted. The NFL franchise in Washington was formerly called the Redskins, and the song became known as “Hail to the Redskins,” which resulted in the development of signs, messaging and hashtags that all said “HTTR.” Amid heavy scrutiny and financial pressure to change its team name, the Washington Redskins moniker dropped and became the Washington Football Team and Washington Commander.

The song was changed to fit the new team identity, but this was not the first time the game song was changed. The sporting news looks at the history of “hail for the commanders” and the changes it has undergone.

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History of ‘Hail to the Commanders’

The Washington franchise was originally founded in 1932 in Boston. George Preston Marshall was the first owner and had the team play at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. They were originally the Boston Braves, but this conflicted with the baseball team of the same name that also played at Fenway. The team became the Boston Redskins and kept the name when the franchise moved to Washington in 1937.

When the franchise moved to a new city, a song was adopted. It was created by Barnee Breeskin and written by Corinne Griffith, George Preston Marshall’s wife. Breeskin was the leader of a marching band that Marshall commissioned to try to add some fanfare to Washington’s games and make them feel more like college football games.

“Hail to the Redskins/Commandants” is the second best game song for an American football team. “Go! You pack! Go!” was composed only six years before. “Hail to the Redskins/Commanders” was originally played at home games starting in 1938.

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‘Hail to the commanders’ texts

Here are the long-standing lyrics to the song. It is worth noting that they tried to capture the warrior aspect of Native Americans and have since been updated.

Hail to the Redskins! Hail Vic-to-Ry!

Braves on the warpath fight for old DC

Scalp ‘Em, Swamp ‘Em, We’ll Take Them Big Score!

Read them, cry them, touchdown – we want heaps more!

Fight on, fight on until you’ve won,

Sons of Wash-Ing-ton (Rah! Rah! Rah!)

Hail to the Redskins! Hail Vic-to-Ry!

Braves on the warpath, fight! For old DC

The original lyrics mentioned Dixie in the first stanza, but it was changed to “Fight for Old DC” in 1965. The lyrics were changed again in 1972, and the third and fourth lines changed accordingly.

Drive or pass and score, we want a lot more!

Hit ’em, swamp ’em, touchdown – let the points float!

The song did not play in 2020 and 2021, when the franchise was known as the Washington Football Team. After the Commanders rebranding in 2022, it was brought back with Commanders replacing the Redskins and “Fight for Our Commanders” as the first part of the final line.

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‘Hail to the Commander’ and the Dallas Cowboys

The Commanders and Cowboys are division rivals in the NFC East. The NFL wanted to expand into Texas, but Washington owner Marshall wanted a monopoly on southern football franchises, so they blocked the move.

Clint Murchison, a potential NFL franchise owner, decided to persuade Marshall to allow the expansion to happen by buying the rights to “shot the Redskins/Commanders” in 1958. He threatened to prevent Marshall from .

Murchison found an NFL franchise in Texas and in return gave Marshall the rights to the song.

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