Ol' Ricky's Redskins Tales - The Gingerbread Man

Ol’ Ricky can honestly say of all the gin joints in all the training camps he has covered, the Gingerbread Man in Carlisle was his favorite. It’s where Dan Snyder bought him a drink, Rich Tandler offered lunch in exchange for advice and even a family reunion before a wedding a few years ago.

The “G-Man” was more of a fan favorite than players over the 1963-94 tenure of Redskins camps. Oh, players did come by and fans could get autographs while drinking, too. It was a much more relaxed atmosphere than nowadays where everything is controlled.

The oldest bar in town, the Gingerbread Man looked like an ice cream parlor on the outside. Inside, it was two levels of wooden tables and chairs with a large bar to the right. They served food and booze, usually both to most diners. I ate many a dinner there at 9 p.m. after practice.

In 2000, Snyder and his cronies came to the bar. The fan in him probably wanted to see it. Snyder was a little more cordial with the media in his first season. I even had his cell phone number. He bought a round for a handful of us. Looking back, we should have tried the top shelf liquor instead of draft beer. But then, Jack Kent Cooke never bought me a beer. “By God man, a beer?”

A fan named Rich Tandler wanted my advice on how to self-publish a Redskins book like I had done with “Hail to RFK.” Even bought me lunch at G-Man. Rich’s book of every Redskins game ever was a hit. I hired him to write for Warpath magazine and from there he busted his tail and became a TV/website writer for Comcast SportsNet. Did a great job. I think Rich may have been the most popular Redskins beat guy in town when dying in 2018. His loss is still felt.

I wish I could talk of fights and drinking stories at the Gingerbread Man, but it wasn’t that kind of place. It was a neighborhood bar taken over during the quieter summer months by the Redskins and fans. It was only a few blocks from the players’ dorms so they could pop by for an hour before curfew.

The G-Man is still there. I took my family to it when attending a nearby wedding so they could see where I spent my summers. I wish they’d open one in Ashburn.

Ol’ Ricky has the weekend off. Stay safe everyone.

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.