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There s only one thing worse in these parts than a Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl ring. That s a Washington Redskins Super Bowl ring.

And one will soon be arriving at The Star.

Lionel Vital was at The Star recently in his capacity as director of college scouting when Todd Williams, the Cowboys director of football operations, wandered over and asked if he d heard about the Super Bowl rings the Washington Redskins were going to give their 1987 replacement players.

You did play in the strike games, didn t you? Williams asked. When Vital responded in the affirmative, Williams said, Then you re getting a ring.

Play in the strike games would https://www.cowboysdaclub.com/kadeem-ed … -c-70.html  be a bit of an understatement in Vital s case. He was a driving force in the 3 0 record posted by the Washington replacement team, which in turn provided the impetus for an 11 4 season , an NFC East championship and the franchise s second Lombardi Trophy.

Washington was 1 1 and coming off a loss to Atlanta when NFL players left on strike and the replacements were bused in. The Redskins were the only NFL team that did not have a player cross the picket line that season.
Vital rushed for 82 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown in a 28 21 home victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, then rushed for 128 yards on 27 carries and another touchdown in a 38 12 road victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

But the third and final game was when the bubble was supposed to burst a trip to Texas Stadium to play a Dallas team reinforced by the return of veteran Pro Bowlers Tony Dorsett, Randy White, Ed Too Tall Jones and Danny White from the picket line. Except that Vital rushed 26 times for 136 yards, helping the Redskins control the clock for 36 minutes and claim a 13 7 victory over the Cowboys.

That was my fondest memory, Vital said. It was the first time I d ever been to Texas Stadium. Tony Dorsett, Randy White, Ed Too Tall Jones ... and I was a big Tony Dorsett fan as a youngster. Tony D. To see him on the other side of the field was pretty cool. To come here and pull that win off was major.

Vital never suited up for an NFL game before the strike, nor did he ever suit up for another NFL game after the strike. He did spend a year in Canada with Saskatchewan in 1989, helping the Roughriders win their first Grey Cup in 23 years.

Then Vital went to work as a scout in the World League of American Football in 1990 and went on to work in personnel for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons before joining the Cowboys in 2016. His stints with the Roughriders playing and Patriots scouting earned him four championship rings. That fifth ring from the Redskins will give Vital one for his thumb.
Vital said he has no regrets about crossing the picket line to pursue his dream of playing professional football. He was a seventh round draft pick by the Redskins out of Nicholls State in 1985 but tore a hamstring in his first training camp. He was eventually cut by both the Redskins and Giants, so he returned to his hometown of Loreauville, La. Connor Hamlett Jersey, where he purchased his neighborhood grocery store. He was stocking shelves when the Redskins called in 1987.

You re talking about a guy from a little small town, a little small university who all of his life dreamed about becoming a football player or some type of professional athlete, Vital said. It s everybody s dream. So you re sitting home bagging groceries and you get a phone call from an assistant general manager [Charley Casserly] of a club. What am I going to say? No, I like staying here at home stocking grocery shelves?
It was sort of a no brainer for most of the guys who did it. Had I been on a roster and played for that team for two https://www.cowboysdaclub.com/richard-a … -c-68.html, three years, no https://www.cowboysdaclub.com/tyron-smi … -c-69.html, I wouldn t have done that. There would have been no need to. But being an outsider, it was a no brainer.

Vital spent time on the practice squads of the Redskins and Buffalo Bills after the strike before heading to Canada. He went to camp with the Bills in 1988 Thurman Thomas rookie year and was cut. He was cut for a final time, it turns out, by the Roughriders in 1990. But for three games in 1987, his game glittered under a very bright NFL spotlight.

I felt given an opportunity, I could play, Vital said. It just hadn t worked out for me. The timing never seemed right for me in my career. But the timing was right during the strike, and I took advantage of it. I showed what I could do. I wish I would have played a few years on a regular basis. But some guys never get an opportunity. Some guys never get to play at all in the league. So I m grateful.

The Redskins announced last month that they had worked with some of their corporate sponsors to make the Super Bowl rings a reality for their replacement players. The rings should be ready at some point this spring.

I hope to hear from them, Vital said of the Redskins. I d like to have one of those rings. When you discover that something is going to be given to you for the work that you put in, I don t care if it s 25, 30 years down the road. You appreciate that.

Just don t expect Vital to wear it.

I work here and have respect for the Cowboys, Vital said. I love the team. I don t have to walk around with a Redskins ring. I d like to wear a Cowboys ring one day.