Ol' Ricky's Redskins Tales - Cowboys Hater Diron Talbert + AB to Redskins?
By all rights, Diron Talbert should have loved the Dallas Cowboys. He attended Texas City High and played for the University of Texas. Short of being nicknamed “Tex,” Talbert was the epitome of the Lone Star state. Why, he even returned to Texas after his football career to open oil and hotel businesses and became friends with one-time arch-enemy Walt Garrison.
But if coach George Allen transferred his hated of the blue star to any one player, it was Talbert. After four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Talbert was part of the 1971 Rams - Redskins trade that brought him to Washington for 10 seasons.
The defensive tackle didn’t like the Cowboys for their fancy ways. For paying players more, using computers for drafting and even being in the NFC East when they weren’t near the other teams.
"I don't have a lot of love for Dallas,” he told The Washington Post in 1978, “there's nothing new about that, and I'm sure they don't have a lot of love for me. That's how it goes.”
In particular, Talbert hated Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach. The two traded barbs during 1972 when the Redskins beat the Cowboys in the NFC Championship 26-3, which is probably Washington’s greatest win ever outside the title games.
Talbert would later say Craig Morton was better than Staubach, who countered that a “mediocre defensive tackle” was seeking publicity by bad mouthing an opposing quarterback. This went on twice annually. Talbert even said Staubach wore skirts and was a “sissy.” Talbert once promised to ring Staubach’s bell.
The Redskins-Cowboys met 15 times during the Allen era and Dallas managed an 8-7 edge. But Talbert never conceded nor did Staubach ever flinch. Even today, the duo reportedly won’t shake hands. But given the pandemic, is shaking hands even a thing anymore?
Tomorrow: Ol’ Ricky remembers how “Hail to the Redskins” became a tipping point to the Redskins voting for Dallas to get the Cowboys. 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.
