Remembering a Washington legend
Or perhaps you might remember him better if I were to refer to him as "Chief Zee?" Yes, that Chief Zee! For those unfamiliar with this part of Redskins history, Williams passed away on July 19, 2016, nine years ago today.
Williams, better known as "Chief Zee," is reported to have begun attending Washington Redskins games during the 1978 season. By the way, that season was one of the most disappointing for me while growing up in northern Virginia. You see, the Redskins started that season 6-0, only to finish the season with a record of 8-8. One of the primary reasons that occurred was that Joe Theismann was injured and attempted to play through it, but his performance was severely hindered.
Back to Chief Zee. He would appear at home games wearing a full feathered headdress and a Native American costume, complete with a toy tomahawk. Local news media in print and television broadcast stories on him, and pretty soon, the entire DMV fan base loved Chief Zee. Some may even recall how he became friends with his Dallas Cowboys counterpoint, Wilford 'Crazy Ray' Jones. The two teams would visit each other's stadiums and get together to put on a show for the fans of both teams. Crazy Ray in his Cowboys attire and Chief Zee wearing his Redskins attire.
Chief Zee would become such friends with Jones that Chief Zee determined to skip a Redskins home game in 2007. Redskins fans learned after the fact that Chief Zee felt it would be a higher priority for him to attend the funeral of 'Crazy Ray' and honor his friend. It was only the second game he had missed since the 1981 season, when his own father had died.
When watching one of those NFL Films productions of the Washington Redskins 1982 season, you will see Chief Zee all the way out in Pasadena to cheer on his favorite team at Super Bowl XVII in a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins, and in his own Redskins uniform, of course.
Some may recall Chief Zee riding around FedEx Field on his moped in his later years. At that point, Chief Zee had suffered one of his big toes being amputated. But still wanting to attend the games, cheer on the team, and interact with fans, the Redskins helped and purchased the moped for him. When things got tough for Williams and he was only living off his Social Security, some fans united together via a GoFundMe campaign, paying both back rent and some future rent as well.
NBCWashington.com reported on July 20, 2016, that Williams had died the previous night in his sleep and that he had been suffering from bad health for his last months.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Venus Williams' return ends with second-round loss in Citi DC Open
Venus Williams made her return to the tennis court this week after a 16-month absence. The 45-year-old earned a victory in straight sets against 23-year-old opponent, Peyton Stearns, at the Citi DC Open on Tuesday night in Washington D.C. The seven-time Grand Slam champion became the oldest player to win a tour-level singles match since 47-year-old Martina Navratilova defeated Catalina Castano at Wimbledon in 2004. Williams could not overcome 27-year-old Magdalena Frech, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round of the tournament on Thursday, July 24. Williams has not won back-to-back matches since 2019. Did Venus Williams compete in DC Open doubles? Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste won their first-round match in doubles play on Monday, but the duo fell short of reaching the third round. Williams and Baptiste lost to second-seeded Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai, 6-4, 3-6, 10-6, in a champion's tiebreaker on Wednesday, July 23. MORE: Venus Williams' comeback can continue, 45-year-old granted Cincinnati Open wild-card entry Why did Venus Williams take time away from tennis? Williams had taken time away from tennis as she recovered from surgery for uterine fibroids. Williams also confirmed after her win on Tuesday that she's engaged to actor Andrea Preti. 'My fiancé is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing,' Williams told Rennae Stubbs after the match. It was the first time Preti had seen her play. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Venus Williams' Mubadala Citi DC Open ends in second round
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Venus Williams gets standing ovation despite loss
When Venus Williams' bid for her first winning streak since 2019 ended with a forehand that landed long, spectators at the Washington Open gave her a standing ovation. Williams responded with a smile and the sort of pirouette and wave she usually reserves for celebrating wins. Williams hadn't competed anywhere in more than a year. So even if this tournament was over for her with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to 24th-ranked Magdalena Frech in the second round, just being out there was big for the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and her many fans. It's not goodbye, but see you later 🫶@Venuseswilliams | #MubadalaCitiDCOpen — wta (@WTA) July 25, 2025 "Oh, I had so much fun," the 45-year-old Williams said. "Definitely not the result I wanted, but still a learning experience. "The part about sport (and) life is that you never stop learning. "I got to play a lot of matches here and that definitely was a plus ... I couldn't have been happier with my first week back." Her victory in the first round against 35th-ranked Peyton Stearns made Williams the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova was 47 in 2004. That was Williams' first win in singles since 2023, with the Washington event her first since March last year and then missing time because of surgery for uterine fibroids. Williams also won a doubles match in Washington but said she "ran out of gas". The last time Williams won at least two matches in a row was in August 2019 at the Cincinnati Open. In other action, top-seeded Jessica Pegula lost to 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 1-6, 7-5. And Emma Raducanu dominated her first career match-up against Naomi Osaka, winning 6-4 6-2 in the showdown between past US Open champions. "I knew I was going to have to play well and manage my own service games, which I'm really proud of how I did," Raducanu said. "I was making some inroads in her service game after I got used to it a little bit. I'm really pleased with how I handled the ball speed and conditions."
CNN
6 hours ago
- CNN
Venus Williams' bid for her first winning streak since 2019 ends in a loss to Magdalena Frech in DC
Venus Williams' bid for her first winning streak since 2019 ended with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to 24th-ranked Magdalena Frech at the D.C. Open on Thursday night. Williams is 45, and her victory in the first round Tuesday night against 35th-ranked Peyton Stearns made the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova was 47 in 2004. That was Williams' first win in singles since 2023, and she joked afterward that she was motivated to succeed because she wanted to be able to get back on the WTA's health insurance plan after being off the tour for more than a year. She won a doubles match in Washington, too. This hard-court tournament was the first event for Williams since March 2024; she missed time because of surgery for uterine fibroids. The last time Williams won at least two matches in a row was in August 2019, at the Cincinnati Open, where she put together three consecutive victories before losing to Madison Keys in the quarterfinals. Williams began well against Frech, going up 2-1. But from there, Frech claimed seven straight games to own the first set and lead 2-0 in the second. Frech is a 27-year-old from Poland whose best Grand Slam showing was a run to the fourth round at the 2024 Australian Open before losing to Coco Gauff. The show under the lights on this evening was all about Williams, whose greeting was much louder when she walked out on court toting a green exercise band. Every time Williams unfurled one of her booming groundstrokes — and make no mistake, she still can hit the ball hard — the crowd in the main stadium let out a roar. The problem for Williams: She frequently was unable to properly calibrate those shots, including when she sailed a forehand way out after rushing forward to get to a short ball off Frech's racket. That gave Frech a 3-2 lead. Williams would drop her head or slump her shoulders after some misses, and she had 14 unforced errors in the opening set, more than twice as many as Frech. Fans often responded with an 'Awwww' right away, before trying to give Williams a boost by yelling support. After Williams fell behind 1-0 in the second set, a chorus rose of 'Here we go, Venus! Here we go!' She generated loud applause after getting a game a few minutes later, and there were clap-accompanied chants of 'Venus!' when she broke to get within 4-2 in that set. But Williams didn't get another game. When it ended after 1 hour, 12 minutes with one last Williams forehand that landed long, spectators gave her a standing ovation, and she responded with a smile and the sort of pirouette and wave she usually reserves for celebrating wins. 'We're never going to say goodbye to Venus Williams, are we?' the stadium announcer said. In other action Thursday, top-seeded Jessica Pegula lost to 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, and Emma Raducanu dominated her first career matchup against Naomi Osaka, winning the showdown between past U.S. Open champions 6-4, 6-2. 'I did feel it had a bit of extra,' Raducanu said. 'It's a match that I feel a lot of people were talking about beforehand.' Raducanu, the first qualifier to claim a Grand Slam title when she did that in New York in 2021 by defeating Fernandez in the final, saved the only two break points she faced Thursday and broke the big-serving Osaka three times. Seeded men advancing included No. 4 Ben Shelton, No. 6 Frances Tiafoe, No. 7 Alex de Minaur, No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, No. 12 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and No. 14 Brandon Nakashima.
