The city of Boston, Massachusetts was awarded an NFL franchise in 1932, under the ownership of George Preston Marshall. Initially the team took the same name as their landlords, the Boston Braves, one of the two local baseball teams at the time. When the football team moved to Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox) the next year, Marshall also changed the name of the football Braves to the "Redskins", to further distinguish the team from their ex-landlords.

The move to Fenway Park was unsuccessful and attendance was poor. The 1936 NFL title game, scheduled for Boston, was relocated to the Polo Grounds in New York City (the Redskins lost the game to the Green Bay Packers). Marshall decided to move the team to Washington, D.C. for 1937, retaining the name "Redskins" although it was now out of context. They shared Griffith Stadium with the Washington Senators baseball team. The team proceeded to win the league championship in their first year in D.C. They also signed an innovative rookie quarterback from Texas Christian University: future Pro Football Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh. In an era where the forward pass was relatively rare, the Redskins used it as their primary method of gaining yards. "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh also played numerous other positions, including cornerback and punter.

The Redskins won Eastern Division Championships in 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943 and 1945, and won the NFL Championship in 1937 and 1942, defeating the Chicago Bears each time. They lost the 1940 and 1943 NFL Title Games to the Bears and the 1945 Title Game to the Cleveland Rams. The 1940 title game loss, 73-0, was the worst one-sided loss in NFL history.

The team's early success endeared them to the fans of Washington, D.C. However, after 1945, the Redskins began a slow decline. Marshall continued to refuse to integrate the team, despite pressure from the Washington Post and the Federal Government (a typical comment by Post writer Shirley Povich was "Cleveland Browns runner Jim Brown integrated the Redskins' end zone").

Under threat of civil rights legal action by the Kennedy administration, which would have prevented a segregated team from playing at the new District of Columbia Stadium, as it was owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior and thus federal government property, the Redskins became the final pro football franchise to integrate, in 1962, in their second season in the stadium. First, the team drafted Ernie Davis, the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy. Then, before signing Davis, they traded his rights to the Browns for wide receiver Bobby Mitchell. This was a lucky break, as it turned out that Davis had leukemia, and died without ever playing a down in professional football, while Mitchell was still in the first half of a career that would land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Mitchell would be joined by black stars such as receiver Charley Taylor, running back Larry Brown (who had a hearing aid installed in his helmet due to near-total deafness) and defensive back Brig Owens. They would also pull off two of the best trades of the 1960s, gaining colorful quarterback Sonny Jurgensen from the Philadelphia Eagles and linebacker Sam Huff from the New York Giants. But even with these additions, the Redskins were still not performing up to expectations. While the team became more popular than ever, particularly with the additions of Mitchell, they struggled through the 1960s.

One reason for the team's struggles was disarray in the front office. Team owner and President George Preston Marshall began a mental decline in 1962, and the team's other stockholders found it difficult to make decisions without their boss. Marshall died in 1969, and the remaining stockholders sold the team to Edward Bennett Williams, a Washington resident and one of America's most esteemed attorneys.

Also in 1969, D.C. Stadium was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, and the Redskins hired future hall-of-famer Vince Lombardi — who gained fame coaching with the Green Bay Packers — to be their new head coach. Lombardi led the team to a 7-5-2 record, their best since 1955, but died of cancer on the eve of the 1970 season.

Two years later Williams signed former Los Angeles Rams head coach George Allen as head coach. Partial to seasoned veterans instead of highly-touted young players, Allen's teams became known as the Over-the-Hill Gang. "The future is now" was his slogan, and his players soon proved him right.

Allen helped to foster the team's rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, which has turned into one of the NFL's most renowned and contentious rivalries. The Redskins reached the NFC Conference Championship in the 1972 season, defeating Dallas 26-3, only to lose to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII. In his 7 years as head coach, Allen's teams made the playoffs 5 times.

In 1981, new Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke signed the offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, Joe Gibbs, as their head coach. He coached the team to four Super Bowls, winning three of them.

Quarterback Joe Theismann, running back John Riggins and receiver Art Monk got most of the publicity, but the Redskins were one of the few teams ever to have a famous offensive line. Line coach Joe Bugel, who would later go on to be the head coach of the Phoenix Cardinals, nicknamed them "The Hogs," not because they were big and fat, but because they would "root around in the mud" on the field. Among the regular Hogs were center Jeff Bostic, guards Raleigh McKenzie and Russ Grimm, and tackles Joe Jacoby, Mark May and Jim Lachey. Tight ends Don Warren and Clint Didier, as well as Riggins, were known as "Honorary Hogs."

The Redskins' first Super Bowl win, their first NFL Championship in 40 years, was in Super Bowl XVII, where the Redskins defeated the Miami Dolphins 27-17 on January 30, 1983, in Pasedena, California. Future Hall of Famer John Riggins provided the game's signature play when, on 4th and 1, with the Redskins down 17-13 with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, he broke free for the then-longest run from scrimmage in Super Bowl history (43 yards). One touchdown later, the Redskins won their first NFL title in 40 years by a 27-17 score.

The Redskins' second title was in Super Bowl XXII on January 31, 1988, in San Diego, California. In this game, the Redskins routed the Denver Broncos 42-10 after starting the game with a 0-10 deficit, the largest come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl history. This game is more famous for the stellar performance by quarterback Doug Williams who passed for four touchdowns in the second quarter en route to becoming the first black quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. Rookie running back Timmy Smith had a great performance as well, running for a Super-Bowl record 203 yards.

The Redskins won their latest Super Bowl on January 26, 1992, in Super Bowl XXVI in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Redskins, the most dominant team in the NFL in the 1991 season, defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24. On March 5th, 1993, Joe Gibbs retired after 12 years of coaching with the Redskins. In what would prove to be a temporary retirement, Gibbs pursued an interest in NASCAR by founding Joe Gibbs Racing.

The Redskins are one of only two teams in the NFL with an official marching band. (The other is the Baltimore Ravens.) Also, the Redskins were one of the first teams to have a fight song, "Hail to the Redskins."