Ol' Ricky's Redskins Tales

Ol’ Ricky has covered four training camp sites as the Redskins return to the Ashburn facility this summer for the third time. What makes a great camp? .

Ol’ Ricky is in the vast minority in saying his favorite training camp was Frostburg. Like a million to one in the minority. That said, Ol’ Ricky so hated staying six weeks in the small Western Maryland college that on getaway days he’d back his car into the space to save three seconds when pulling out.

But the weather was perfect. Crisp and cool. The final week of practice in mid-August required a jacket for morning workouts. Everywhere else has been hotter than the sidewalks to hell.

The Redskins will soon return to Ashburn for the third time since 2000. That first season saw $10 admission and turned training camp into a circus, but owner Dan Snyder was just learning you can’t have a marketing company with a team as its product. The tail doesn’t wag the dog.

The team returned from 2003-12 before its current deal with Richmond that was a nice place to visit. Not quite the college town atmosphere of Carlisle, but enough to feel like you were living in the 21 century. Most likely, the Redskins will stay in Ashburn until figuring out their next stadium deal.

Carlisle was a great place for camp from 1963-94 and then 2001-02. Oh, the heat was just as bad as Washington’s despite being 2½ hours north. But, it was a quiet town with a few restaurants and polite locals who followed the team. Everybody enjoyed Carlisle. In fact, Friday’s column is memories from the Gingerbread Man.

Now Ol’ Ricky didn’t cover the 1937 camp, but the team has also trained at Anacostia Park (1937), Ballston Stadium in Arlington (1938), Eastern Washington University (1939), Wandermere Resort in Spokane, Wash. (1940), Brown Military Academy in San Diego (1941-42), Balboa Park in San Diego (1943-44), Georgetown University (1945) and Occidental College in Los Angeles (1946-62.) I know they practiced some outside Georgetown Hospital in 1970 where coach Vince Lombardi could watch from his room. Some players would then meet him in his room afterwards.

Tomorrow: running back Ricky Ervins. 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.