Washington Redskins scabs, including Tony Robinson, to receive 1987 Super Bowl rings

Tony Robinson got choked up Tuesday when he learned that he and the other replacement players for the 1987 Washington Redskins will receive Super Bowl rings later this year. The news came more than 30 years after the replacements fueled Washington to a 3-0 record during the regular season while the team’s regular players were on strike.

Robinson and many other replacement players — so-called scabs — were cut after the strike ended. Those who weren’t kept on the roster after the strike ended didn’t receive rings after Washington beat the Denver Broncos 42-10 in Super Bowl XXII.

Robinson and Anthony Sagnella, another Redskins scab, were at the Virginia General Assembly on Tuesday for the passing of a resolution that honored the Washington replacement players for their contributions during the 1987 season.

Afterward, at a reception in Richmond, Robinson said, Redskins team president Bruce Allen announced that the replacement players would receive Super Bowl rings later this year, perhaps as early as this spring.

"Tears were in my eyes," said Robinson, the former Tennessee Vols quarterback. "Thirty-some years later, but hey, better late than never. It's a good feeling, a real good feeling."

"To be called Super Bowl champion, a lot of people can't say that," Robinson added. "And a lot of people can't say they have a Super Bowl ring. It's a big accomplishment. I was just so happy and blessed to be a part of that. I'll cherish it for the rest of my life. It's a great honor."

More: Tony Robinson, ex-Tennessee QB, featured in ESPN 30 for 30 film about 1987 Redskins

The fact that the replacement players didn’t receive rings was addressed during a 2017 ESPN Films “30 for 30” documentary, “Year of the Scab,” which details the 1987 strike and the scabs.

“When the '30 for 30’ came out, it started the ball rolling, really,” Robinson said.

The NFL players went on strike after the second week of the 1987 season. Week 3 games were canceled, but play resumed the next week with rosters loaded with replacement players.

Robinson was a replacement player throughout the three-week strike. He didn’t play during the first two weeks, but after quarterback Ed Rubbert injured his shoulder during the third game featuring the scabs, Robinson relieved him. He completed 11 of 18 passes for 152 yards with two interceptions, and the Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys 13-7 on “Monday Night Football.”

Some of the Cowboys’ top players, including Tony Dorsett, had crossed the picket line for the game, but the Redskins remained powered by the replacements.

The strike ended after that game, and Robinson was cut. Those three games as a replacement encapsulated the entirety of his NFL career.

“The 3-0 record of the Redskins replacement players was part of the remarkable success of the 1987 Washington Redskins,” Redskins owner Dan Snyder said in a news release Wednesday. “Their contributions are part of Redskins history and represent an integral reason why a Lombardi Trophy from the 1987 campaign resides in our facility today. Thanks in part to the generosity of our partners on this project, we are happy to honor these players for their role in that World Championship.”

Robinson passed for 3,332 yards during his Tennessee career from 1982-85. He threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns in the Vols' 38-20 upset of No. 1 Auburn on Sept. 28, 1985, overshadowing Bo Jackson, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner. Robinson wound up on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

After that senior season, Robinson and UT teammate B.B. Cooper were arrested for selling cocaine to an undercover police officer. Robinson was sentenced to nine months in prison. Robinson’s sentence was divided into two parts to give him work release to play professional football in 1987. He played for the semipro Richmond Ravens before joining the Redskins.

Robinson, a Tallahassee, Fla., native, lives in Knoxville.