11. Allegedly He Designed A Move That Washington Redskins Head Coach George Allen Used During The 1971 NFL Play-Offs... But "Nixon's Play" Apparently "Failed Tremendously"
As well as being a bowling enthusiast, Nixon was also a huge American football fan - and welcomed Washington Redskins head coach George Allen to the White House on a number of occasions due to their close personal friendship. It is alleged that the President even designed one of the Redskins' moves that was used during the 1971 play-offs against the San Francisco 49ers on December 26. "Nixon's Play", as it came to be known, saw the 49ers defense immediately read the Redskins' reverse pass to the wide-receiver from the eight-yard line - and Allen's daughter Jennifer explained that "it failed tremendously". Amusingly, Washington reporters even blamed Nixon for the Redskins' loss - and columnist Art Buchwald wrote: "If George Allen doesn't accept any more plays from Richard Nixon, he may go down in history as one of pro-football's greatest coaches." Ouch...
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
