Former Washington Redskins guard Russ Grimm is in Hog Heaven.
Grimm became the 18th member of the Redskins, and the fifth during the Joe Gibbs era, to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio Saturday.
Grimm played 11 seasons for the Redskins, winning three Super Bowls and appearing in four. He made four consecutive Pro Bowls, was named a three-time All-Pro, and was selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1980s.
During his speech, Grimm thanked his fellow offensive linemen, the “Hogs.” He said, “I want to mention a few guys that made it possible for me to be here today. A group of guys that grew together, worked together, played together, raised families together, celebrated together, guys that I consider family, a group known as the Hogs.
"Joe Jacoby, Jeff Bostic, Mark May, Fred Dean, Donnie Warren, George Starke, and Doc Walker, your names are going to be embroidered on the inside of this jacket. So I’ll always remember the things we went through, the tough times we had, and the good times we celebrated.”
Grimm also mentioned Mark Schlereth, Raleigh McKenzie, and Jim Lachey, who he played with during the second half of his career.
Quarterbacks and running backs changed during the Redskins’ run of four Super Bowls in nine seasons, but Grimm was one of the constants, along with left tackle Jacoby, Hall of Fame receiver Art Monk, coach Joe Gibbs, and defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon.
Grimm was presented by Joe Bugel, the Redskins offensive line coach for his first nine seasons. Bugel nicknamed the line the “Hogs” after he saw Grimm lying on the ground.
Bugel said, “He is without a doubt the smartest football player I’ve ever been around…He was our coach on the football field…He led by example.” Bugel talked about the 1983 NFC championship game when the Redskins beat Dallas, 31-17, and the Redskins ran behind Grimm about ten times in a row late in the game, right at Randy White.
Bugel also mentioned the most famous play in Redskins history, the 4th and 1 play during the 1983 Super Bowl against Miami when Riggins ran for a 43-yard touchdown run behind Grimm and Jacoby that sealed the 27-17 victory.
During Grimm’s 11 seasons, the Redskins had six different running backs lead the team in rushing, and three of them, Hall of Famer Riggins, George Rogers, and Earnest Byner, had 1,000-yard seasons.
While it’s fashionable for so-called NFL experts to state that the Redskins were solely a rushing team under Joe Gibbs, that’s not accurate. In fact, the Redskins were a great rushing and passing team, compiling yardage through the air equally as effectively as they did on the ground. Grimm and the Hogs were excellent run blockers and pass blockers. Washington finished in the top five in the NFL in passing five times during Grimm’s 11 seasons, and in 1991 the relatively immobile Mark Rypien was only sacked nine times all season.
Grimm anchored one of the greatest offensive lines in NFL history, alongside players such as Jacoby, Jeff Bostic, George Starke, Mark May, Raleigh McKenzie, and Jim Lachey.
The Hogs helped put offensive linemen on the map, popularizing one of the least glamorous football positions. Grimm and Jacoby were famous for smashmouth football, as well as the misdirection “counter-trey” play in which they pulled from the left to the right side of the field.
Grimm was athletic for a big player, having played quarterback and linebacker in high school. The Redskins drafted Grimm in the third round of the 1981 draft out of the University of Pittsburgh. The Redskins thought so highly of Grimm that they gave up a 1982 first round pick in exchange for the rights to him.
Grimm anchored the line as the Redskins won Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks (Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, and Rypien) and three different primary running backs (Riggins, Rogers, and Byner). That doesn’t even include the anonymous Timmy Smith, who rushed for a Super Bowl record 204 yards in 1988 behind Grimm and the Hogs as Washington beat Denver, 42-10.
Grimm joins Riggins, Monk, cornerback Darrell Green, and Gibbs as Redskins Hall of Famers from the Gibbs era. Monk and Green were inducted two years ago. Before then, the Redskins had no players in the Hall of Fame from one of the greatest teams of all time, the 1991 Redskins. That team went 17-2 and outscored opponents by an average of 17 points per game.
After Grimm retired, he coached the Redskins’ offensive line for nine seasons, followed by seven seasons coaching the Steelers’ offensive line and the last three coaching the Cardinals' line. Grimm added a fourth Super Bowl ring after the 2005 season with the Steelers and nearly got a fifth with the Cardinals after the 2008 season.
Grimm has twice narrowly missed out on becoming a head coach, in 2004 with the Bears and 2007 with the Steelers. He has said he would consider becoming a head coach if the right opportunity comes along.
While Monk made the Hall in his eighth year of eligibility after a grass roots effort by many Redskins fans to correct the most flagrant oversight in Pro Football Hall of Fame history, Grimm was quietly voted in last February, in his 14th year of eligibility, the first of the Hogs to make it to the Hall of Fame. Jacoby may be next.
Grimm thanked Redskins fans during his induction speech: “You provided a lot of memories for me and my teammates. You made playing for the Redskins special. You created an atmosphere on game day that was second to none. The support you showed, the enthusiasm you had, the love you displayed for those teams will always be remembered.”
The 2010 Hall of Fame class has been called one of the best ever. Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Rickey Jackson, Dick LeBeau, Floyd Little and John Randle were also inducted Saturday.
Redskins fans will remember Saturday for one of the best players ever, Russ Grimm, from one of the best teams ever, the Redskins of the 1980s and early 1990s, finally making it to Canton, Ohio, where he belongs.
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