The 5 O’clock Club reconvened in Canton, Ohio on Saturday.
Russ Grimm became the latest Washington Redskin to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A member of three Super Bowl champions and the 1980s All-Decade Team, the best of the Hogs finally received his immortality.
But for those who were around him, Grimm has always been unforgettable.
Grimm was a throwback to the old days when offensive linemen were simply modern-day Vikings with a legitimate way to plunder. Grimm and his compatriots played hard and drank harder.
It wasn’t unusual for Grimm to exchange pranks with teammates, coaches and even team workers, one of whom donned a cast for a supposed broken arm until told several days later it was a joke. Grimm filled cars with popcorn, smeared the photographer’s stand with honey to attract bees, stole coaches’ desserts, ran bikes up flagpoles and tended bar at one Frostburg tavern after practice while paying the tab for everyone. And those are the G-rated stories.
“All of my memories are more of the camaraderie with the guys, touchdown runs, championship games, certain blocks,” Grimm said. “But a few hits in the head over the career, I probably forgot a lot of them.”
The best Grimm story was a prank gone bad. After throwing trainer Bubba Tyer in the whirlpool, Grimm went to practice only to see Tyer bring all of the guard’s clothes onto the field, douse them in lighter fluid and drop a match. The video was a Saturday feature film during team meetings for years.
Grimm always said he’d summer in Carlisle, Pa., watching Redskins practices from a neighboring home’s deck. Along with fellow Hogs, they planned to harass successors.
Instead, Grimm is the assistant head coach of the Arizona Cardinals while the Redskins summer in Ashburn, Va. Grimm should have been named Redskins coach over Jim Zorn in 2008, but a combination of bad timing and owner Dan Snyder’s distaste for Grimm prevented it.
Grimm is a bit, well, rough around the edges. He doesn’t play political games, but he’s as real as they come. Snyder didn’t especially like Grimm while the latter was a Redskins assistant.
Marty Schottenheimer didn’t keep Grimm as the offensive line coach when taking over in 2001. Joe Gibbs wanted Grimm on his staff when returning in 2004, but the Steelers refused permission in retaliation for Snyder trying to hire away coach Jim Haslett in 1999.
With better timing and more political correctness, Grimm might be entering the Hall of Fame as the Redskins coach. Oh well, it might still happen one day. And then the cars in the parking lot at Redskins Park better be locked or the popcorn might flow again.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
