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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Brian "B-Mitch" Mitchell
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Home Phone: 703-200-6838 Brian’s Profile is rather extensive, so a table of contents is provided for your viewing efficiency: (Please scroll down for the articles written about his career). Table of Contents: * * * * * * * * * * UL ENews November 2, 2009 Brian Mitchell joined a prestigious rank of Washington Redskins players last week. The former Ragin’ Cajuns quarterback was inducted into the Redskins Ring of Fame during the team’s Monday night game against Philadelphia. Mitchell holds many NFL records including combined kick returns (1,070) and combined kick return yards (19,013) and was the first player in NCAA history to pass for more than 5,000 yards and run for more than 3,000 yards. He played 14 years in the NFL. * * * * * * * * * * Brian on Sept. 17, 2009 Currently , I do a radio show daily from 2 to 4 p.m. with John Thompson (former Georgetown Basketball Coach), and Al Koken. I also do a TV show from 7 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings called “Out of Bounds” on CN8, a Comcast cable station based in Philadelphia. During the NFL season, I host The Redskins Post Game Show on Comcast Sportsnet and Sports Plus on Channel 9(CBS station here in DC). I live in Virginia. I serve on several boards, including the American Heart Association, Super Leaders, and CSAAC. I do a lot of charity work and I am an avid golfer. I host the American Heart Association’s golf tournament which raises money for research and awareness for the AHA. I’ve been doing that for at least 12 years. Over the last two years, we have netted over $240,000 each year. We have raised well over $1,000,000 in the 12 years I’ve been involved. I am also a celebrity host for Light the Night, a fundraiser for The Leukemia Lymphoma Society that raises in excess of $800,000 annually. * * * * * * * * * * * Brian, after the 2003 season with the Eagles. I am a free agent now, but I plan to try and play for one maybe two more years. I will always love U.S.L.(I can’t get use to UL), and I hope to continue to bring notoriety and pride to our great university. I will update everyone on where I end up this year. Also, Don Wallace(former Cajun) and myself will be hosting a Celebrity Golf tournament on July 12, so we hope everyone will support. Proceeds will go to UL and some local charities. Professional Career: – – – – – – – – – – Athletic Hall of Fame: Mitchell leads UL class Mitchell leads UL class It took 18 years, but Brian Mitchell is finally a member of the University of Louisiana Athletic Hall of Fame. “I was already excited just to receive this honor,” Mitchell said. “But, when I walked out to the field and started hearing all those fans cheer it was the best feeling. It felt like my last game I played here.” Mitchell had all the athletic credentials; he just needed his degree before he could be inducted. “It is a great honor,” Walter Landry said. “Of all the athletes who have played in all the different sports, only a small percentage of us make it into the hall of fame. That really makes you feel honored.” Harris agreed. “It was really a mix of emotions,” she said. “I was happy and excited. I’m on the board, so to get voted it by my peers really meant a lot to me.” Harris set the UL record for most RBIs in a game with 11, including two grand slams in one inning. Landry earned All-American honors in 1996 and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championship. Alvis ranks fourth on UL’s home run list with 33 and RBIs with 167. He holds the single-season record for home runs with 19. The inductees were notified of their achievement late in the summer, giving them time to think about what they had accomplished. “The number one thing I learned at UL is that talent is not enough,” Landry said. “It takes hard work and perseverance to accomplish your goals. I also found that it was much more rewarding to accomplish a goal as a team, rather than an individual achievement. To be successful you have to have drive and a good work ethic.” Harris said she felt the lessons learned in her time with the Cajuns helped mold her into the person she became. “The discipline it takes to be an athlete at UL is something I’ll always remember,” Harris said. “I think a lot of people don’t realize how difficult it is to be a student-athlete; the time put in on the field and in the classroom. It’s something I’ve taken into the rest of my life and the work world. It really prepares you for that.” For Mitchell, the whole event reminded him of all the great memories he made at UL. “It just goes to show that some of the best times you’ll ever have are in college,” Mitchell remarked. Landry said he is “still putting his UL engineering degree to use”, but that it’s always good to come to a place he called home for four years. “It feels really good to be back,” Landry said. “I’ve been away for nine years and you forget how great the people and how friendly the people are down here. Everyone has just been great.” Daily Advertiser, October 21, 2007 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Former Athletes To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame LAFAYETTE – Four former Ragin� Cajun athletes will be inducted into the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming 2007. Christine Payton October 11, 2007 * * * * * * * * * * * UL’s Perrot, Mitchell among honorees in Cox TV special (airing continues today) June 22, 2007 From staff and wire reports NATCHITOCHES – The recent Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be featured in a one-hour program airing at 6 p.m. today on Cox Sports Television. The show also will be televised at 6 p.m. July 22; 6 p.m. July 24; noon July 29; 4:30 p.m. Aug. 2; 4:30 p.m. Aug. 9; and 4:30 p.m. Aug. 18. The program spotlights the inductions of the 2007 class of baseball Hall of Famer Willard Brown, UL and WNBA star the late Kim Perrot, ULM and Super Bowl quarterback Stan Humphries, Saints star Pat Swilling and UL standout and NFL return specialist Brian Mitchell among others. Besides Hall of Fame night, there will be features from the opening reception, the annual Hall of Fame Clinic and the golf tournament held at Oak Wing in Alexandria. The show also includes a look into the future at some of the design work being done now for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame building scheduled to be built in the near future in Natchitoches. * * * * * * * * * * * Achievements, character focus of 2007 Induction Ceremonies Dan McDonald June 24, 2007 NATCHITOCHES – Eight of the top athletes and sports figures in Louisiana history were honored here Saturday night, and became a part of a special family as members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. “I only had two goals in my whole life,” said former UL and NFL standout Brian Mitchell. “The first was to make my mother happy, and the second was to make my dad proud of me.” Mitchell accomplished both, and along the way accomplished more than enough to be a part of the 2007 induction class for the Hall of Fame that was honored Saturday at the Natchitoches Events Center. Mitchell’s parents weren’t the only family members on hand as part of the record 650 in attendance Saturday, and they weren’t the only ones getting the credit for the success of their sons and daughters. “My mother and father gave me everything I ever needed,” said Humphries, who quarterbacked Northeast Louisiana to a Division I-AA national title before an NFL career. “My dad hung a tire between some trees in the back yard for me to throw footballs, he built a pitchers’ mound in the back and put up a basketball hoop in the front. I had every chance.” “I’m here today because of my family,” said Swilling, one of the leaders of the New Orleans Saints’ famed “Dome Patrol” linebacker corps. “I’m here because I always believed I could do anything that Pat Swilling wanted to do, and I never had anybody tell me I couldn’t, especially my family.” The proudest family in attendance, though, might have been the Perrot clan. Their sister and daughter Kim, the leading scorer in UL women’s basketball history and a two-time WNBA champion with the Houston Comets, was honored posthumously with her 1999 death after a fight with cancer. “There’s a lot I can say about Kim because she’s my sister,” said older sister Loretta Perrot. “But there’s a lot more I can say about who she was and for what kind of person she was. “It took the calling of basketball for people to realize who she was, and to see her courage and spirit, and that’s something that’s still with us.” “You don’t go into a Hall of Fame just because you’re a great player,” said then-Comets coach Van Chancellor. “You go in because you’re a great person. … Most of us have the opportunity to influence one or two people in our lives. She influenced thousands.” “Kim was a good friend of mine,” said Mitchell, whose career paralleled Perrot’s at then-USL. “Her family should be proud of her Saturday’s Hall of Fame ceremony showed that greatness knows no era. Two of the honorees, Perkins and Brown, completed their athletic careers over a half-century ago. Perkins was a participant in the NBA’s first-ever game after a stellar career at Tulane, while Brown was a Negro League standout for nearly two decades. Some of those eras came before the amenities that is now an integral part of the Hall of Fame, whose planned facility will be a beacon of cutting-edge technology. “They called and asked for color pictures when I was inducted,” Perkins said, “and I told them they didn’t make color in those days. They asked for film of me, and I told them I was in some silent movies.” Hawkins’ record-setting coaching career straddled those eras, and it was a career he planned out early after being the 12th of 12 children. “When I was nine years old a teacher asked me what I wanted to be, and the other kids were saying they wanted to be firemen, doctors or policemen,” Hawkins said. “I said I wanted to be a basketball coach. She asked me how I knew that at age nine, and I said it was because I knew it at age six.” It was hard for Hawkins to condense 43 years of coaching into three minutes, the time allotted for each presenter and inductee. The challenge, just as it had been for the 245 previous inductees, was tough for all of Saturday’s class. “It’s appropriate,” said Mitchell’s presenter, long-time friend Gill Walker. “I remember what Brian could do in such a short period of time, how many games he won in less time than that. I’m proud of him as a native son of Louisiana.” “These people here tonight played and coached because they loved it,” Mitchell said, “and our state is better because of them. “I’ve got this Super Bowl ring on, but this (his Louisiana plaque) means more to be because it’s from the people here.” Melenda Martinez/(Alexandria) Town Talk Loretta Perrot, sister of the late Houston Comets basketball player Kim Perrot, attends the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration on Saturday in Natchitoches. * * * * * * * * * * * Brian Mitchell and Donnie Wallace: Stars never forgot roots Dan McDonald June 20, 2007 Brian Mitchell, left, and Donnie Wallace, right, talk during a previous visit to Lafayette for a kickoff party for the Giving Back Charity Golf Classic spearheaded by the two former UL Ragin’ Cajun quarterbacks. This year’s event is scheduled for June 24-25. Noteworthy items at memorabilia auction The June 24 gathering includes a memorabilia auction with items including an autographed 2007 Masters flag, a Tiger Woods British Open autographed caddie bib and autographed badges from Woods’ four Masters wins, a Muhammad Ali autographed boxing glove, autographed tennis balls with photos from Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, autographed photos of Peyton Manning, Michael Jordan, Tony Dungy, Byron Nelson and Elton John, and photos with hoofprints from Secretariat and Barbaro. It started as just a gathering of friends, mostly football friends, for a few days of golf and socializing. The two former Ragin’ Cajun quarterbacks will welcome many of their friends in the athletic world for their sixth such gathering, this one scheduled for June 24-25. The tournament itself is June 25 beginning at 10:30 a.m. at Le Triomphe, with a Sunday night kickoff party scheduled for 7 p.m. at the new Baja Beach Grill across from UL’s Cajun Field. It has evolved into a full-scale fund-raiser for Stuller Place, a center for children at risk and in crisis, along with other charities, including Acadiana Outreach and the UL Quarterback Club. The event draws some of the area’s premier athletic figures, with past participants or expected guests including Jake Delhomme, Eric Martin, Booger McFarland, Dalton Hilliard, Corey Raymond, Wade Richey, Kevin Faulk, Joe Ward, Trev Faulk, Tyrone Hughes, Lyle Mouton, Vencie Glenn, Greg Lloyd, Cornelius Bennett, Bobby Humphrey and Siran Stacey. “The whole thing started when Brian and I decided to have a tournament and invite our friends,” said Wallace, director of operations for the PGA Tour’s Shotlink system. “All of a sudden, we had people in the community getting behind us and supporting us – a lot of the same people that supported us and the program when we were in school.” The tournament itself pairs local players with a celebrity captain in a modified-scramble format. Cost of a foursome is $1,000, and the field filled to capacity for last year’s event. Entry information is available from Dugas at Stuller Place at 269-1557 or from Wallace at 288-7766. The Sunday night affair – which includes a memorabilia auction – requires a $20 donation but is open at no charge to golf tournament participants, and Wallace said the Sunday gathering is more special this year since it will be a celebration of Mitchell’s induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Mitchell, UL’s all-time total offense leader and the NFL’s career leader in combined kick return yardage, will be inducted into the state’s sports shrine one night earlier on June 23 in Natchitoches. “That (the Hall induction) put us in a time crunch for the tournament,” Wallace said. “But we needed to have it when he and some other people were here in the area. “We’re hoping that Sunday night can be special because Brian has given us so much here and in the pros and we want to honor him there.” – – – – – – – – – – – – – – La. Sports Hall of Fame: Mr. Electricity Dan McDonald June 17, 2007 Several times in the years between 1986 and 1989, arguments would flare up when USL football coaches held their meetings. “I always told them you’ve got to be crazy,” said Nelson Stokley, head coach of the Cajuns at the time. “Who were we going to put at quarterback if he got hurt?” Stokley made the right call, since Mitchell became one of the greatest two-way threat quarterbacks in NCAA history. Former USL quarterback Brian Mitchell was barely 5-foot-10 and came from small, rural roots in Plaquemine, but during his football career, Mitchell put the term ‘special’ in special teams by setting more than a half-dozen records during 14 seasons in the NFL. Brian Mitchell file Combined kick return yards (19,013). Combined kick return TDs (13). Kickoff return yards (14,014). Punt return yards (4,999). Finished with 8,782 total offensive yards – 5,447 passing and 3,335 rushing – to go with what at the time was an NCAA-record 47 rushing touchdowns from the QB position. At the time of his retirement, he also was the NFL’s all-time leader in all-purpose yardage (23,330) before Jerry Rice passed that mark. Member of the USL Hall of Fame. Selected as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins in 2002. June 17, 2007 Daily Advertiser * * * * * * * * * * Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame: Mitchell, Perrot among elite Hall induction class Dan McDonald June 14, 2007 Many would agree, and some would argue, that Brian Mitchell and Kim Perrot are the greatest male and female athletes to ever hit the UL campus. Joining Mitchell and Perrot, who will be inducted posthumously, as this year’s Hall inductees are football stars Pat Swilling and Stan Humphries, recently-enshrined Baseball Hall of Fame member Willard Brown, Southern Lab basketball coach Joel Hawkins, LSU track and field star and Olympic gold medalist Esther Jones and Tulane basketball All-American and NBA first-round draft pick Warren Perkins. Mitchell, who rewrote UL’s football record book before a stellar 14-year NFL playing career, and Perrot, the Cajuns’ all-time leading women’s basketball scorer and an inspirational story in a too-short WNBA career, were chosen for the state’s top sports honor by a 30-member LSWA panel that considered 126 candidates in 22 different sports categories. Their selections were announced last December. The highlight of the weekend is the Saturday induction banquet scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Natchitoches Events Center. Tickets are available for $25 and tables of eight may be reserved in advance. Activities also include a kickoff reception on Thursday, a pro-am golf scramble on Friday and a youth sports clinic on Saturday. Information on banquet tickets, golf entries and other activities is available from the Hall of Fame office in Natchitoches at (318) 357-6467. The eight new inductees increases membership in the state sports shrine to 253 men and women since it was established 49 years ago. The Hall of Fame is also in the process of beginning construction on a $7.1-million state-of-the-art building to be located in Natchitoches’ historic district. Mitchell, a standout quarterback at Plaquemine High and USL, set nine NFL records as a dynamic kick returner. He had 13 pro touchdowns on kick runbacks, earning a Pro Bowl berth in 1995. For the Ragin’ Cajuns, he became the first quarterback in NCAA Division I-A history to pass for 5,000 yards and rush for 3,000 while leading UL to four straight winning seasons. Perrot was a lightning-quick guard for Acadiana High before a record-shattering career from 1986-90 at UL, where she led the NCAA in scoring with a 30.0 average as a senior. A standout for Team USA in international competition, Perrot joined the WNBA Houston Comets when the league came into existence and helped lead that squad to the first two WNBA titles before being stricken with terminal cancer. Her No. 10 Comets jersey is retired and the WNBA Sportsmanship Award is named in her honor. AN Note: Don Landry, Profile in AN, longtime collegiate athletic administrator will be the ceipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. * * * * * * * * * * * Mitchell and Perrot Among 2007 Inductees into Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame June 7, 2007 Doug Ireland, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame – Ragin’ Cajun sports greats Brian Mitchell and the late Kim Perrot will be Don Landry, 1960 UL graduate and student coach in football, basketball, and baseball, will receive the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. The 2007 Induction Celebration in Natchitoches is June 21-23. The Pro-Am For a full event schedule and more information, visit www.lasportshall.com or call the Hall of Fame at 318-357-6467. * * * * * * * * * * * Former Cajuns named to Hall NATCHITOCHES – Two of the top performers in UL’s athletic history have earned spots among the state’s sports legends, with Brian Mitchell and Kim Perrot among eight athletic greats chosen for the 2007 induction class of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Joining Mitchell and Perrot, who will be inducted posthumously, as this year’s inductees are football stars Pat Swilling and Stan Humphries, recently-enshrined Baseball Hall of Fame member Willard Brown, Southern Lab basketball coach Joel Hawkins, LSU track and field star and Olympic gold medalist Esther Jones, and Tulane basketball All-American and first-round NBA draft pick Warren Perkins. The eight new inductees will be honored June 21-23 during the 2007 Hall of Fame Induction Celebration in Natchitoches, home of the Hall of Fame since 1972. Also honored will be the 2007 recipients of the LSWA’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, the equivalent of Hall of Fame membership for sports media in the state, and the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. Those honorees will be announced next spring. Mitchell, a standout quarterback at Plaquemine High School and UL, set nine NFL records as a dynamic kick returner. He had 13 pro touchdowns on kick runbacks, earning a Pro Bowl berth in 1995. For the Ragin’ Cajuns, he became the first quarterback in NCAA Division I-A history to pass for 5,000 yards and rush for 3,000 while leading UL to four straight winning records. Perrot was a lightning-quick point guard for Acadiana High before a record-shattering career from 1986-90 at UL, where she led the NCAA in scoring with a 30.0 average as a senior. A standout for Team USA in international competition during the 1990s, she helped the Houston Comets to the first two WNBA championships before being stricken by terminal cancer. Her No. 10 Comets jersey is retired and the WNBA Sportsmanship Award is named in her honor. Some of the greatest figures in U.S. and world sports history are included in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, which is nearing its 50th anniversary. There are 11 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame members enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Canton, Ohio; 29 in the College Football Hall of Fame at South Bend, Ind.; seven in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.; six (including Willard Brown) in the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y.; five in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.; and two in the newly created College Baseball Hall of Fame. Five Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame members were selected among the Top 50 Players in NBA History, with two more likely future inductees also among that group chosen in 2000. A full schedule of events associated with the Hall of Fame Induction Celebration will be announced in April, with tickets available for all events at that time. The Hall of Fame is headquartered in historic Natchitoches, with the state’s museum system soon to begin construction of an ultra-modern facility which will showcase the state’s remarkable sports history and the Hall of Fame. Information on the Hall of Fame is available by calling 318-357-6467. Hall of Fame inductees Willard Brown, baseball Joel Hawkins, high school basketball coach Stan Humphries, football Esther Jones, track and field Brian Mitchell, football Warren Perkins, basketball Kim Perrot, basketball Pat Swilling, football * * * * * * * * * * * Former Football: Mitchell Officially Retires With Washington February 17, 2005 – ASHBURN, Va. (AP) – In 14 NFL seasons, Brian Mitchell specialized in returns. So it was fitting that he returned to Washington to retire as a Redskin, five years after a bitter exit. The NFL’s leading career return man signed a one-day contract with Washington, enabling him to retire in the city where he achieved most of his success. “I had animosity, but I always knew this is what I would do,” Mitchell said Wednesday. “The love I received from fans in this area let me know that I couldn’t do it any other way. I’d been gone five years, but you would think I still dress in the uniform because they understood what I gave them. I gave so much.” Mitchell, who last played in 2003 with the New York Giants, is second behind only Jerry Rice in combined yardage with 22,330. Rice has 23,546 yards. Mitchell, who played for Philadelphia from 2000-02, holds 13 NFL records, including kickoff returns (607) and yards (14,014) and punt returns (463) and yards (4,999). He and Jim Brown are the only players who have led the NFL in combined yards four times. “This is one of the toughest guys I’ve been around,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. “He played tough, he was extremely emotional and he meant a lot to our team.” Mitchell was a fifth-round pick in 1990 out of Southwestern Louisiana, where he had been a wishbone quarterback. He became a running back with the Redskins but spent much of his time as a return man. He started perfectly, returning his first NFL kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown in a preseason game. A year later, when he took on punt return duties, he returned a punt in the season opener 69 yards for a score. The Redskins cut Mitchell after the 1999 season, leading to bitter comments. But, around the start of this past season, he let owner Dan Snyder know through others that he wanted to retire as a Redskin. Snyder agreed. Mitchell said Gibbs’ return last season helped this happen. Mitchell will stay involved in football, working as an assistant general manager for the D.C. Divas of the National Women’s Football Association. Originally published February 17, 2005 * * * * * * * * * * * Football: Brian Should Enter Hall Brian Mitchell is going to retire from the NFL this week. That means in five years he’ll be eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Memo to voters: Let him in. Mitchell, the former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun who led UL to four straight winning seasons from 1986-89, deserves to make history as the first NFL player to ever be enshrined in Canton by virtue of his special teams play. We’re not talking about kickers here. We’re talking about players who get hit on every play, and on special teams that means often getting slammed at high speeds. Mitchell did that for 14 years in the NFL and never sustained a serious injury. He did it for four different teams, earning a Super Bowl ring in the second of his 10 years with the Washington Redskins before moving on to tours of duty with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. The Plaquemine product spent last season waiting for a phone call from a team that needed a special teams spark, and when that call never came Mitchell decided he’d done enough. Make that much more than enough. In his 14 years, Mitchell set career records for kick return yards (19,013), combined kick returns (1,070), combined kick return touchdowns (13), kickoff return yards (14,014) and returns (607), punt return yards (4,999) and returns (463) and fair catches (231). Throw in rushing and receiving and Mitchell piled up 23,330 all-purpose yards as a smallish, durable, elusive and tough performer. He even found time to play some emergency quarterback and to try a halfback option or two. Ragin’ Cajun fans have fond memories of Mitchell, whose arrival coincided with that of Nelson Stokley as UL’s head coach in 1986. Together, they posted records of 6-5, 6-5, 6-5 and 7-4, with that senior year including a memorable 20-17 victory at Southern Mississippi over future Hall of Fame member Brett Favre. It’s been well-chronicled that Mitchell was the first player in NCAA history to rush for over 3,000 career yards (3,335) and pass for over 5,000 (5,447), and he remains the only player in UL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season (1,311 in 1989). He scored 47 touchdowns. There are to many memories of Mitchell. Like that victory at Southern Miss. Like the 42-39 loss at Tulane in 1986 in which Mitchell optioned his way to 181 yards and Dwayne Williams had 221 and the Cajuns gained 513 yards on the ground. Like his 271 yards rushing against Colorado State in 1987, still the school record. Like his peelback block on a Cajun reverse on which he obliterated an unsuspecting defensive lineman lumbering after the ball carrier _ still one of the most spectacular hits in program history. And of course, his career finale against Arkansas State in 1989, witnessed by a shamefully low 12,000 fans at Cajun Field. That was one last game in which Mitchell rallied the Cajuns to victory, hitting high school teammate Cory Williams with a touchdown and a two-point conversion, then absorbing an ineligible receiver penalty call and hitting Williams for the PAT again for a 29-28 win. Old-timers say Keener Cagle was the best player in Cajun history, and in his era he had few peers, but Mitchell was the best of his generation. He then went on to be the best kick returner in NFL history. His place in history is secure. The same should be said of his spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Bruce Brown * * * * * * * * * * * * * Former Football: Mitchell hanging up cleats February 12, 2005 – From staff,wire reports Brian Mitchell was arguably the best player in the football history of Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns. He moved on to the National Football League and became the most prolific kick returner in pro football history in stops with the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. Next Wednesday, Mitchell will sign a one-day contract with the Redskins and retire after 14 seasons in the league. Mitchell was last active with the Giants in 2003, was then released and was inactive last season. In retirement, Mitchell will reunite with coach Joe Gibbs for the ceremony at Redskins Park. Mitchell was on the team Gibbs coached to the Super Bowl title after the 1991 season. The 37-year-old Mitchell was a fifth-round pick in 1990 and spent 10 seasons with the Redskins. He was released in 2000, then played for three seasons with Philadelphia and one with the Giants. He was cut by the Giants a year ago and did not play in 2004. Mitchell said he has put behind him the animosity he’s had toward Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who cut Mitchell five years ago to make room for an aging Deion Sanders. “I started here. I played 10 years here. My home is here. I never wanted to leave Washington. I wanted to retire as a Redskin way back,” Mitchell told WTEM-AM radio. “Things changed. I left upset and with an attitude, but you get over things, and I made a phone call to Dan Snyder and expressed what I wanted to do, and he agreed with it.” Mitchell holds NFL records for combined kick return yards (19,013), combined kick returns (1,070), combined kick returns for a touchdown (13), kickoff return yards (14,014), kickoff returns (607), punt return yards (4,999), punt returns (463) and fair catches (231). He was also the leader in all-purpose yards (23,330) until Jerry Rice (23,546) passed him in December. Mitchell’s re-signing and retirement is similar to the recent retirement announcement of NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith, who played with Dallas from 1990-2002 before being cut loose for salary cap reasons and spending the last two seaons with the Arizona Cardinals. Smith signed a one-day deal with Dallas to retire with the team that drafted him. At UL, Mitchell became the first player in NCAA history to have over 3,000 yards rushing (3,335) and 5,000 (5,447) and his 8,782 yards of total offense was the school record until Jake Delhomme passed him. Mitchell led the Cajuns in rushing four straight years, setting the school single-season record of 1,311 in 1989, and piloted four straight winning seasons. He has returned to present the Ragin’ Cajun special teams award at the program’s season-ending banquet the last two years. Originally published February 12, 2005
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