It's a new year for the Stegos, and hopefully we'll be looking up after falling a game short of a bowl game. It's even better this year since the Super West got back together with old and new faces, but we have to get through some non-conference games to get to conference play. We open the year on the road against Wichita A&M, who got bounced in the first round of the playoffs last year. We're sporting a mostly new team, and we'll be featuring one of our stars in the backfield in RB Darius Taylor, who might just be kicking off his final year before he heads to the AltFL. We'll be in the standard road uniforms of purple/white/purple to kick of 2025. #BringTheBoom

It was a narrow match against Sydney, but we were unable to capitalize in the final minutes and fell in our first game of the year. We'll hit the road for a short stay in Europe to take on Atletico, who similarly lost a close match to open what should be a turnaround year. It should be quite the match, and M Mohammed Kudus was our primary attacker last match, netting two assists and two shots on goal. 

It was an incredibly rough year for the Golden Lions after winning the GEO Cup and nearly making the championship a year prior. It's a new year however, so we're ready to get back to where we once were with a fairly all-new squad as we host Sydney for the first match of the new season. We do have a few returning faces, including striker Ollie Watkins, who led the team in scoring contributions last year with 16 goals and 8 assists.

1957-58 Offseason

Retirements

OL Bill Armstrong - Evansville, IN
College: Rogers Clark (IN)
Teams: Chicago Hogs (1948-1957)
AFL Championships: 3 (1951, 1952, 1954)
All-AFL: 4 (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954)
All-Star: 4 (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954)

Armstrong will be looked back upon as part of how offensive linemen changed from the beginnings of the sport to how it is today. A standout player for the Rogers Clark Badgers, he was much larger than many of the players that would have played at the position in the past. His burly stature pretty much stopped any defender in his tracks, and the Hogs thought they could use him to stop defenders from their cross-town rival. The Stars defensive line could seemingly get through any blocker, and the Hogs were willing to throw anything at the wall to see what stuck. Armstrong was fitting to his name, almost single-handedly stopping the lankier Stars defensive linemen, and the rest of the league took notice of how to make an offensive line. Armstrong was a cornerstone of the Hogs’ offensive line, nicknamed the Pigpen by local newspapers, and anchored the run game to 3 AFL titles, and 4 All-Star and All-AFL nods apiece. He was quickly losing the skill that he was renowned for, and called it quits after 10 very successful seasons as a professional. He wouldn’t go far from the football field, as the Hogs would hire him to help coach the young offensive linemen for the ASPFL’s Worcester Valentines. 



WR John McLean - Rochester, MN
College: Minnesota State
Teams: Tri-Cities Hawks (1949-1957)
AFL Championships: 1 (1950)
All-AFL: 4 (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954)
All-Star: 3 (1952, 1953, 1954)

The Hawks were pivoting towards suiting QB Gilbert Clay’s playstyle, and wanted a speedy end to compliment his arm strength. They would end up with John McLean out of Minnesota State, who they believed was the fast

It seems as if our former home in the AL is our kryptonite, as Detroit got the upper hand in a barn burner and handed us our second loss on the year. We'll have a chance to rebound in a battle of the birds in Los Angeles, as the Condors are a game out of the playoffs at the moment and are looking to earn their way back in a very tight race. Featured for this week is RP Anthony Bender, who slotted in incredibly in our very thin bullpen, earning a save and 3 holds in 5 IP and 5 K's without allowing a single run. #Thunderstruck