Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 1/07/2021 6:33 pm |
1958 PFA OFFSEASON
6. Pittsburgh Miners: Keith West, WR, Oklahoma
7. Houston Stars: Nathan Marshall, S, Georgia
8. New York Knights: Fred Hightower, OT, Penn State
9. Los Angeles Palms: Sebastian Andrews, LB, Rice
10. Philadelphia Blue Coats: Francis Collier, G, Mississippi State
11. Chicago Cougars: Clay Hoffman, DE, Oregon State
12. Hartford Oaks: Craig Hicks, CB, LSU
13. Fort Wayne Chiefs: Phillip Jennings, WR, Arizona State
14. Washington Americans: Toby Whittaker, RB, USC
OTHER NOTABLE SELECTIONS
2-7: Houston Stars: Duke Envia, C, North Carolina
2-10: Philadelphia Blue Coats: Leland Graves, DE, Ohio State
3-4: San Francisco Condors: Archie May, QB, Texas A&M
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PLAYER SIGNINGS
Los Angeles Palms quarterback Jeffrey Howard resigned with the club on a 5-year deal.
Cleveland Lakers defensive tackle Calvin Guzman, coming off a season ending knee injury, resigned with the club on a 1-year deal with a low salary.
Philadelphia Blue Coats receiver Mitchell Tucker left to sign with the Houston Stars on a 3-year deal after his rights were given up. The team didn’t want to pay him as much as he was asking for.
Pittsburgh Miners cornerback Courtney Rodgers, widely regarded as a top 3 corner in the PFA, resigned with the club on a monster 7-year deal. He is now signed through his age 33 season.
San Francisco was able to retain breakout running back Dewey Abbott on a 4-year deal.
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COACHING CHANGE
[color=#000000]New York fired Coach Andrew Moore after 14 seasons with the club. They then went out and hired up-and-coming college coach Ian Gill from West Virginia. Gill looks to invoke some new lif
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 1/06/2021 12:49 am |
GRIDIRON BOWL I
It was a cool and crisp, yet sunny day at Yankee Stadium as the first ever Gridiron Bowl, between the Fort Wayne Chiefs and Washington Americans, kicked off. The coin toss was done by Commissioner Elias Morrison, who gave a speech beforehand thanking and congratulating the fans, players, coaches and owners for a great first season of PFA football. The Chiefs would win the toss and defer to the second half, giving Drew Cain and the prolific Washington offense the ball first. Cain would start out strong, completing 3 passes in a row before the Americans were eventually forced to punt. Fort Wayne would then put together a very good drive that ended with a 23-yard Nathan Sanders touchdown run, giving them the first lead of the game, 7-0. Washington followed it up with another drive that ended in a punt, giving Fort Wayne a chance to take a two possession lead with their next drive. 7 plays in they sat at the Americans’ 22, and it seemed like they would. However, QB Lonnie Williams would throw a pick into the end zone. Cain led Washington to midfield as the quarter expired, and then got them into the end zone on a rare 8-yard scramble that tied the game at 7-7. Neither team would score for the remainder of the first half, leaving the score tied at 7-7. Fort Wayne received the second half kickoff and quickly went three and out. Washington then fumbled it back to the Chiefs, who then punted once again. Washington finally ended the scoring drought on their next drive as Cain connected with his receiver for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 4 minutes remaining in the quarter. The Chiefs punted for the fifth time of the game as the fourth quarter began, giving Washington a chance to throw the knockout punch and up two scores late in the game. Instead of continuing to rely on Cain’s arm, they chose to run the ball and try to waste some clock, but couldn’t move it enough and had to punt it back to Fort Wayne.
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 12/31/2020 4:56 pm |
Thanks for the compliments on the presentation.
1957 PFA PLAYOFFS
[color=#000000]American Division Championship: The first playoff game in PFA history kicked off at 5:00pm in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C, on December 22, 1957. The game was broadcast by CBS (who signed a lucrative deal with the PFA to broadcast all 3 playoff games) and was viewed by fans nationwide. The 2nd place Chicago Cougars brought to town one of the best defenses in the league to face the Washington Americans, who possessed one of the best offenses. The Americans won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, seemingly to show Chicago that their defense wouldn’t be able to slow them down. Quarterback Drew Cain led the Americans straight down the field, connecting with receiver Lee Edwards on a 7 yard out route to take a 7-0 lead. Chicago’s first drive seemed promising with two first downs in the first three plays, but it stalled and they were forced to punt. There would be no more scoring for the rest of the quarter - the Americans would fumble on their next drive, the Cougars would punt, and then the Americans would punt. The next score would come 7 minutes into the second quarter when Cougars quarterback Donnie Hanson ran in from 17 yards to tie the game at 7. Chicago was able to get the ball back with just 58 seconds remaining and quickly drove within Washington’s 30, but missed a field goal as the half ended. Things looked good for Chicago at the half as they had been able to limit Cain and the prolific Americans offense. They looked even better just a minute into the second half when the Cougars already sat at the Americans 15 after two big plays. Washington would hold, though, and Chicago had to settle for a field goal, making the score 10-7. Next, Washington would put together a great drive, reaching the Chicago 24 before Drew Cain was picked off by Ralph Turner. Unable to ca
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 12/30/2020 12:03 am |
DIVISION RECAPS
American: The Washington Americans followed the arm of Drew Cain to an 11-3 record and American Division Regular Season Championship. Cain led the PFA in passing yards with 2,176 and was second in passing touchdowns with 21. They started the season strong, opening with a 4 game win streak before dropping their first in an overtime game at the Houston Stars, 22-20. They would go another win streak, this time for 6 games, before dropping two more. They ended the year with a win at home against the Baltimore Lords, 31-12. Coming in second were the Chicago Cougars, who were led by their defense, which was second in the league in most categories to the Hartford Oaks. Quarterback Donnie Hanson was much improved from last season in the passing game, finishing top 5 in the league in both yards and completion percentage. He also continued his contributions in the rushing game, rushing for 11 touchdowns, first among QBs. Cornerback Ralph Turner was dominant, recording 11 interceptions and shutting down opposing receivers week after week. The LA Palms are on the outside looking in this season, which was surprising to most people. They struggled with injuries throughout the year, starting 3 different quarterbacks over the first 8 games in which they went 3-5. Starter Jeffrey Howard returned for the final 5 games and went 4-1 - almost bringing them to the playoffs. The Houston Stars finished fourth this season. Quarterback Vincent Clark led their offense, which was average in both passing and rushing for the league. A bright spot for them was their defense, which emerged as top 5 in the PFA. In fifth were the Pittsburgh Miners, led by their stout defense. They started the year hot, jumping out to a 3-0 record before ending the year 3-8 through the final 11 games. The San Francisco Condors had a much better season than expected. They finished 5-9 after many people
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 12/28/2020 11:36 pm |
Rugrat wrote:
Should be a good first year for this league! Also, why are the Stars called the Barons now?
They're not! I was originally going to call them the Barons, and wrote this preview before I changed their name to the Stars.
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 12/28/2020 11:27 pm |
Stickman wrote:
Houston Stars: Simple and to the point, I like this one a lot! The orange will help them immediately stand out in a league with a ton of blue teams, (not to mention a Stars vs. any blue team should make for a nice looking matchup). Very nice!
San Francisco Condors: On of the one hand, this is basically a blue Philadelphia Eagles team. On the other hand, that's pretty much all it usually takes for me to root for them, lol! For the most part though, this team looks very classy that home uniform is excellent. I do have to take points off the away jersey for the random gray pants that they wear, seeing as they don't wear gray literally anywhere else on either the jersey, not is it on the logo, (which btw, is an instant classic for me). Other than the away jerseys, this is another fine jersey.
Well, after having to think for a few minutes, (a rarity as I usually have one team that immediately becomes my favorite), I think I will be rooting for the San Francisco Condors, but there really are a bunch of nice looking teams here! Really nice work Docta C!
Question though, related to the league's structure. The National Division has a bunch of east coast teams, while the American Division has teams all over. Now I know it's because of the merger between 2 rival leagues, but when it comes to the league's layout as time goes on, are we going to see these divisions as a NFC/AFC type situation or are we looking more at a East/West breakdown, where the West division just happens to have a few teams that really belong more in the East?
Sorry Stick, I've had this written up for a while and when I saw you chose to root for San Francisco... I'm just sorry. They are one of the younger teams in the league, so hopefully they can rebuild quickly.
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 12/28/2020 11:21 pm |
1957 PFA SEASON PREVIEW
Power Rankings
American Division
1. Los Angeles Palms
2. Washington Americans
3. Chicago Cougars
4. Houston Stars
5. Pittsburgh Miners
6. Cincinnati Monarchs
7. San Francisco Condors
National Division
1. Hartford Oaks
2. Philadelphia Blue Coats
3. Fort Wayne Chiefs
4. New York Knights
5. Boston Shamrocks
6. Cleveland Lakers
7. Baltimore Lords
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[color=#000000]Individual Team Previews
American Division
Los Angeles Palms: LA is the favorite to win the American division heading into 1957. The Palms aren’t led by one specific player - and that’s what has made them so successful. On both sides of the ball they’re a complete unit with few weaknesses. Their strength on defense is the secondary, headlined by veteran safety Benny Clarke. On offense Jeffrey Howard is their leader. He doesn’t put up huge stats, but he doesn’t make mistakes either. He led the FLA in TD-INT ratio in 1956 with 10 touchdowns with just 1 interception.
Washington Americans: The Palms’ main competition is the Washington Americans. The Americans have the best offense in the PFA, led by star QB Drew Cain. Cain, a late-round pick out of Dayton in the 1953 draft, is the best passer in the league - he led the FLA in both passing (2,291) and touchdowns (21) last season. His main target is 27-year old receiver Peter Lee, who holds what is believed to be the world-record for touchdown catches in one game with 5. He achieved the feat in Week 3 of the 1955 season against the Cincinnati Monarchs. If it weren’t for their sub-par defense, they’d be favored to win the PFA Championship this year.
Chicago Cougars: The Cougars are polar opposites of the Americans - elite defense with little offense. They’re led by who many believe to be the best defensive player in the PFA, cornerb
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 12/27/2020 6:31 pm |
Rugrat wrote:
Houston: Very traditional, nice looking logo. The unis thought look pretty plain.
San Fran: The logo does kinda look Baseball-ish but the uniforms look sweet. Reminds me of Wallflowers Buffalo Blue Wings in his league. Just a clean, good looking team.
This is going to be tough figuring out who to root for, but I’ll use a sig once I decide. Not to be rude or anything but You forgot to make a sig for Philly, DoctaC. Otherwise, great work!
I added their's, thanks for the catch.
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 12/27/2020 6:12 pm |
It's finally time to wrap up team introductions - here are the final two teams of the American Division:
[color=#000000]TEAM: Houston Stars
FOUNDED: 1953
STADIUM: Houston Memorial Stadium (56,678)
FLA CHAMPIONSHIPS: None
COACH: Archie Howard
OWNER: Phillip Bush
The Stars were one of two expansion teams of the FLA that were founded in 1953. They’ve been the most successful of the two expansion franchises making the playoff in 1954. They lost a close game in the semifinals to the Washington Americans - who went on to win the FLA Championship - by a score of 21-20. They regressed last season as their regular season record fell from 7-3 to 5-5, but it was primarily due to injuries to many of their starters. While they probably won’t win the division this season, they will likely compete for a spot in the 2-4 range.
Houston uses a classic orange and black color scheme. They have a unique jersey design in which they use piping around the sleeves instead of a stripe. Overall, their look is simple and a classic.
TEAM: San Francisco Condors
FOUNDED: 1953
STADIUM: Marin County Park (49,999)
FLA CHAMPIONSHIPS: None
COACH: Jim Holt
OWNER: Steven Neal
The Condors were the second expansion club to join the FLA in 1953. They’ve enjoyed much less success than Houston, however, going just 9-21 with no playoff appearances through 3 seasons. They’re the “little brother” of the Los Angeles Palms who lead the rivalry series 6-0. They do have some promise though, as they finished a franchise-best 4-6 in 1956 with a very young squad.
San Fran’s look uses UCLA stripes on the shoulders with Condor wings on their helmets. Their blue and white color scheme is popular in the Bay Area, as is their logo - a roundel with the silhouette of the Bay Bridge and a Condor i
Football » The PFA: 1958 Offseason » 12/26/2020 5:26 pm |
Here are teams four and five of the American Division:
TEAM: Pittsburgh Miners
FOUNDED: 1946
STADIUM: Pitt Stadium (56,500)
FLA CHAMPIONSHIPS: None
COACH: Devin Lawrence
OWNER: Jamie Buchanan
The Miners were founded as an original member of the FLA in 1946 and haven’t experienced much success throughout their history. They’ve only had one winning season (7-3) and playoff experience (Semifinal Loss) which occurred in 1952. Despite their lack of success, they do have a good fan base that is very loyal to their team - similar to the Cleveland Browns.
Pittsburgh uses a black and silver color scheme. Their logo is of intercrossing pickaxes with a football over top, and their uniforms are very simple.
TEAM: Washington Americans
FOUNDED: 1946
STADIUM: Capital Field (62,418)
FLA CHAMPIONSHIPS: ‘54, ‘55
COACH: Clint Grant
OWNER: Steven Rowe
The Americans were the worst team in the FLA for the first three years of the league going a combined 4-26. They made a big jump in 1949 when they went 5-5, and then an even bigger one in 1950 when they finished 8-2 and lost in the championship. They finally won their first title in 1954 and then repeated in ‘55. They’ll be one of the favorites to win the American division this season.
Washington’s logo is the most American American of all-time, President George Washington. They have two unique aspects of their identity. First, they are the only team in the PFA that wears white at home. You will rarely see them wearing blue. Second is the khaki-colored pants they wear.
Thanks for viewing. C+C is encouraged and appreciated.