The team was founded in Kansas City in 1894 as a Western League team and would move to Washington, D.C. in 1901 as one of the eight original teams of the American League, named the Washington Senators or Washington Nationals.

The cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 consecutive winning seasons (19661985), in which they missed only the playoffs twice (1974 and 1984), year NFL record that remains unbroken and unchallenged.

Young embarked upon a North American solo tour to promote his then upcoming album, Le Noise, playing a mix of older songs and new material. Although billed as a solo acoustic tour, Young also played some songs on electric guitars, including Old Black.

The Nationals name derives from the two former Washington baseball teams which had the same name (used interchangeably with Senators). Their nickname is "the Nats" a shortened version that was also used by the old D.C. teams.