Babe Laufenberg: Washington Redskins preseason legend

There is nothing in sports as meaningless as exhibition football games.  The results don’t count, most of the players who perform in the fourth quarter are cut, and the games are quickly forgotten as teams begin focusing on the regular season.  Even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said publicly that he’d like to see the number of preseason games cut down.  Yet in Washington, the name Babe Laufenberg still brings a smile more than 30 years after he became a surprise summertime sensation, playing only exhibition games.  He is without question, the most popular player in Redskins history, never to have taken a regular season snap.

Branden Hugh “Babe” Laufenberg was already something of a never-say-die legend when he arrived in the Nation’s Capital as the defending Super Bowl champion’s sixth-round draft pick out of Indiana in 1983.  When he graduated from a Los Angeles area high school in 1977, Bill Walsh landed Laufenberg at Stanford, telling him he was the best high school quarterback in the state of California.  But after a redshirt year, Laufenberg fell behind a true freshman on the depth chart.  As he told Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News, Laufenberg said to Walsh, “I thought you told me I was the best high school quarterback in California when you recruited me.”

Walsh said, “I did.  But this kid is the best high school quarterback I have ever seen.”  His name was John Elway.

Laufenberg left, making a brief stop at Missouri, before landing at Pierce Junior College in LA.  The odds said that’s where Laufenberg would likely take his place in a long line of high school hotshots who couldn’t cut it at the next level.  That’s not what happened.  He played well enough to draw the attention of coach who’s now known for the line, “Not so fast my friend.”  Lee Corso, who now makes his living putting on the mascot heads of the teams he picks to win the game of the day on ESPN’s very popular “College Football Gameday Show”, signed Laufenberg to play at Indiana.  And he played well enough to wind up in Washington, where they weren’t exactly hurting at quarterback.  Joe Theismann had just led the Redskins to their first Super Bowl championship and would be named NFC offensive player of the year the following season.  But Theismann had reached his mid-30’s by then and the idea of trying to develop a young quarterback behind him with similar moxie seemed like a good idea.

Making the team, though, was no sure thing.  Behind Theismann, the Redskins had Bob Holly, who’d been drafted the year before.  Coach Joe Gibbs usually didn’t keep three quarterbacks.  But in the third preseason game, a Super Bowl rematch against Miami, Laufenberg got some second-half playing time and delivered.  He was 9 of 17 for 86 yards and the Redskins to their only score in a 38-7 loss.  That cemented his spot on the team, though he never saw the field in the regular season or playoffs with Theismann taking almost every snap.

A year later, the Redskins drafted another quarterback, Jay Schroeder from UCLA, and again it looked like Laufenberg might be the odd man out.  But once again in the third exhibition game, he got his time to shine once again, and delivered.  Down two scores when he came in against New England in the 4th quarter, Laufenberg went 10 of 17 for 184 yards, leading the Skins to a thrilling 31-27 victory.  Said Gibbs after the game, “I thought Babe really competed at the end and showed he’s a fighter.”  Once again, Laufenberg survived the final cuts, but once again didn’t take a single regular season snap.

One year later, 1985, Laufenberg again needed a spectacular performance to stick.  And again in the third preseason game, again against New England at home, he delivered.  Down 13 points in the 4th quarter, Laufenberg went 12 of 21 for 200 yards, including two touchdown passes – one for 75 yards to Gary Clark and the 25 yard game-winner to Clint Didier with four seconds left for a 37-36 win.  Said the Babe after the game, “I certainly think I helped my cause.”  Said Gibbs, “It may have made the decision difficult.”

Difficult though the decision may have been, alas Laufenberg was cut.  His Redskin story may have ended there, but in reality it was just starting to get good.  After failing to catch on with another team, he planned a mid-November vacation to Cabo San Lucas and happened to be there when the Redskins played a Monday night game against the New York Giants.  Wanting to watch his old team play and not having a television in his hotel room, he headed to the only bar in town that had one – The Giggling Marlin.

Known for their upside down tequila shots, Laufenberg was enjoying one, when he glanced up at the TV (upside down of course) and saw that Theismann had gone down with a broken leg.  He thought to himself, “Gee I wonder if the Redskins might want to get a hold of me.”

Never mind it was the pre-cellphone era, there was only one telephone in Cabo at the time and it sat in the Post Office.  That’s where he headed the next morning and was told by Redskins General Manager Bobby Beathard on the phone, “Yes.  Get here as quickly as you can.”

Laufenberg finished out the year watching Schroeder take every snap.  Theismann’s career was ended by the injury and with the USFL folding, Doug Williams arrived in 1986 to be Schroeder’s backup.  Still there would be time for one more magical August night for the Babe.  Getting action this time in the second preseason game, the Redskins trailed Pittsburgh 24-10 when Laufenberg stepped into the huddle in the 4th quarter.  And just like the last three Augusts, fireworks followed.  Laufenberg threw for 182 yards to send the game into overtime and led drive that set up Mark Moseley’s 51-yard game winning field goal.

Though it was now four-straight years of heroics, most knew his release was inevitable.  A local television station launched a “Save the Babe” campaign, but it was all for naught.  Babe Laufenberg was cut by the Redskins for the final time.  Over?  Who said anything about over?

Before the 1986 season ended, Laufenberg landed in New Orleans and four seasons after his NFL journey began, he took his first regular snaps for the Saints.  But 1987 again found the Babe on the unemployment line.  When the strike occurred, the Redskins called and asked him to play with their replacement players.  He wanted no part of that and wound up without a team for the entire season.  Over?  Who said anything about over?

Incredibly in 1988, Laufenberg not only made the Chargers final roster, he opened the season as their starting quarterback!  He wound up starting six games before once again landing on the bench.  In 1999 Jimmy Johnson brought him to Dallas to help mentor rookies Troy Aikman and Steve Walsh.  After taking their lumps at 1-15 in ’89, Johnson had enough confidence in Laufenberg as a backup in 1990 to deal Walsh early in the season to New Orleans.

It turned out to be a mistake.  Aikman hurt his shoulder, leaving Laufenberg to start the last game of the year against a 4-11 Falcons team in Atlanta.  A win would put the Cowboys in the playoffs.  It wasn’t close.  Atlanta won 26-7 and Laufenberg never took another snap in the NFL.

Sometimes stories like this make a for a good “Where are they now?” feature, but in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, nobody has to ask.  In a town that produced legendary names like Don Meredith, Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, Babe Laufenberg has one of the highest profiles around.  He does color commentary on the Cowboys radio broadcasts with Brad Sham and is the Sports Director of the local CBS TV affiliate.  Everybody else in the sports department backs HIM up.

That must be nice for a change.