Jack Kent Cooke was a Canadian-American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and newspapers in Canada. After failing at starting a major league baseball team in Toronto and being turned down to own a television station in Toronto, Cooke moved to the United States and built a business empire in broadcasting and professional sports franchises. Cooke was the owner of the Washington Redskins (NFL), the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), the Los Angeles Wolves and Toronto Maple Leafs (IL). He also developed The Forum in Inglewood, California, and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, now Commanders Field, in Landover, Maryland.
Cooke c. 1955
Cooke (right) in 1975 at the introductory press conference for the signing of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Commanders Field in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia. The team has played more than 1,300 games and is one of only seven in the NFL with more than 600 total wins. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song, "Hail to the Commanders", played by their marching band after every touchdown scored by the team at home. The Commanders are owned by a group managed by Josh Harris, who acquired the team from Daniel Snyder in 2023 for $6.05 billion.
George Preston Marshall founded the team in 1932 and was the last NFL owner to integrate black players.
U.S. President Richard Nixon meeting with the team in November 1971
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, the team's home field from 1961 through 1996, was cited as having a strong home field advantage.
Joe Theismann at Redskins training camp in 1983