Frank Herzog, who called Washington football games in one of the greatest radio broadcast booths in NFL history with Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff, said he will not be attending Jurgensen's jersey retirement Sunday because the Washington Commanders didn't invite him.
Speaking with The Team 980's "The Kevin Sheehan Show" Friday, Herzog, who was the play-by-play voice for broadcasts for the then-Washington Redskins franchise from 1979 to 2004, said not only will he not be the one introducing Jurgensen he will be watching the game from home.
"No, I won't be," Herzog told Kevin Sheehan when asked if he would be at FedEx Field. "I'm going to sit here at home, turn on Sunday Ticket, and watch it in the comfort of my living room."
"Did they ask you to come?" Sheehan asked.
"No," Herzog answered.
"That's ridiculous," Sheehan responded. "Absolutely ridiculous."
The trio of "Frank, Sonny and Sam" first worked together in 1981 and Herzog said if he had been asked to participate.
"Sonny and I spent 22 years together sitting side-by-side doing football, even more than that, doing college basketball," Herzog said.
Sheehan was disappointed to learn this and hinted at this being a pattern for the franchise.
"First of all that upsets me a lot, and I know will upset a lot of fans as well," he said. "They don't seem to get any of these things right, you're not the first one that they didn't get right."
The full interview with Herzog is filled with Herzog's delightful recollections of Jurgensen and the radio booth. Listen here:
Update 1:34 p.m.: Hours after the interview aired, Sheehan tweeted he was informed by the team that Herzog "wasn’t invited to Sonny’s jersey-retirement ceremony is because the Jurgensens requested a small 'mostly family' event with the exception of just a few of Sonny’s close teammates including Billy Kilmer."
Update 1:40 p.m.: The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Michael Phillips tweeted he was told by the team that Herzog will be in the radio booth Sunday to share memories of Jurgensen. Sheehan added that Herzog will "be in the booth both pre-game and during the game according to the team."
Herzog was happy Jurgensen was being honored, but said it was long overdue.
"It's 40 years too late, Jack Kent Cooke shoulda done this way back then, but that's alright," Herzog said. "It's absolutely the right thing to do, I remember when he retired one of the sportswriters suggested they rename the George Washington Parkway the Sonny Jurgensen Parkway. That's how popular he was in the town. Sonny was Washington, he is Washington, he was the Washington Redskins, that's the way people look at him, that's the way people always will.
Herzog was let go from the broadcast in Feb. 2004.
"I'm really disappointed. It's not the way you expect it to end. You'd like to walk off into the sunset and let it be your decision," Herzog told the Washington Post in 2004. "But I've got a lot to be thankful for. I've called three Super Bowl championships, 498 consecutive games over 25 years and it was a great run. I'm still a good broadcaster. If I want to find another play-by-play job, I'd like to think someone might want to hire me."
Jurgensen would stay on the broadcast until he retired ahead of the 2019 season. Huff left the booth at the end of the 2012 season. He died last year at the age of 87.
Herzog was replaced on the radio broadcast by Larry Michael, who would hold the position until he retired in 2020 during investigations into the franchise revealed accusations Michael made objectifying comments about female employees.
Follow @BenKrimmel and @Team980 for more.
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