Washington acquired running back Harold Hart from New England… #2
Washington acquired running back Harold Hart from New England on August 22, 1977 in a conditional-pick transaction. Hart was waived eight days later without playing a regular-season game for Washington; the resulting Patriots-to-Washington conditional pick became No. 300 in 1979, used on Tony Hall, who also failed to make the regular-season roster.
New England Patriots Received
- pick conditional 1979 seventh-round pick (#177-Judson Flint)
Washington Commanders Received
- player Harold Hart
- pick conditional 1979 eleventh-round pick (#300-Tony Hall)
Trade Analysis
Correcting the Date and Terms
The legacy row is misdated to 1968 and reverses the structure of the transaction. New England's own all-time trade ledger records Harold Hart going to Washington on August 22, 1977 for a conditional draft choice. ProSportsTransactions traces the conditions into two 1979 selections: No. 177 went from Washington to New England and became Judson Flint, while No. 300 went from New England to Washington after Hart failed to stick and became Tony Hall.
Washington Return
Hart did not make the Washington roster. Transaction records show the club waived him on August 30, eight days after the trade, and his 1977 regular-season action came in one game for the New York Giants. Washington did receive the compensating No. 300 selection in 1979 and used it on wide receiver Tony Hall, but Hall was released during August camp and never appeared in an NFL regular-season game.
New England Return
The Patriots used Washington's No. 177 pick on defensive back Judson Flint. Flint spent the entire 1979 season on injured reserve following knee surgery and was released by New England on September 1, 1980 without playing a Patriots regular-season game. His 39-game NFL career came later with Cleveland and Buffalo, so that production does not count as Patriots value.
Hindsight Comparison
Neither franchise received regular-season playing value from the assets that remained with it. Washington got no games from Hart or Hall; New England got no games from Flint. The exchange is therefore a low-value wash rather than the Patriots win described by the malformed legacy row.
Final Verdict
Even Trade, C- for both teams. The corrected 1977 transaction and its two conditional 1979 selections produced zero regular-season games for either franchise.