Congrats to Hempstead on the upset wins to become the first professional Runty Champions

Nice write up. Tough loss for the Bears but I think we can make it back. Congrats to the Clippers.

Hey everyone, thanks for the love for the playoff post! There aren’t gonna be offseason posts just yet, since I’m still trying to find ways to keep track of individual players and their movement throughout the league. There was a major news story in the offseason, but I’ll put that with the season summary of the affected team. 

For anyone who saw this post earlier, the formatting was all messed up, so I had to go back and fix everything, that's why you'll see this post was edited. I promise I didn't receive any demands to change the results lol.

1947 NERC Season 

Before the start of the season, commissioner Elmer Wilkins announced that for the playoffs, the league would be employing a new format, in their greater test to determine the best playoff format for the league. In this new format, every team would make the playoffs. The 1st, 3rd, and 5th overall teams would play a round-robin in one group, while the 2nd, 4th, and 6th overall teams would do the same in a different group. The winners of the two round-robins would then play each other in a championship game. 

The NERC’s 2nd season began on May 10, 1947, with each team playing games at 3:00. Those games included a tight 26-25 by the Bronx in Boston, the reigning champion Hempstead defeating Buffalo by two goals 24-16, and the New York Knights clobbering Staten Island 37-14. 

GAMES OF THE WEEK 
Week 1: the Bronx 26-25 Boston
Week 2: Boston 27-14 Staten Island
Week 3: Boston 15-23 Hempstead
Week 4: Staten Island 15-16 the Bronx
Week 5: Buffalo 26-24 the Bronx
Week 6: Staten Island 14-12 New York
Week 7: Hempstead 28-24 the Bronx
Week 8: Hempstead 19-23 Boston
Week 9: Buffalo 16-28 Boston
Week 10: Hempstead 22-14 Staten Island 

1. HEMPSTEAD CLIPPERS
Leading Goalscorer: Eddy Tracy (15) 
Finishing first in the NERC’s second season were the inaugural champions, the Hempstead Clippers, who were dominant. Only one of their 7 wins was within a goal, and their point differential shattered the organized runty record. Led up front by leading goalkicker Eddy Tracy, their high-octane offense rarely failed to connect, and if they were struggling, the defense, led by Sam Albrek, would get the job done. Columnists were shocked that they didn’t finish unbeaten. Instead, the Clippers finished at 7-2-1, the best regular season record seen in the league’s short history. 

2. BOSTON RIDERS
Leading Goalscorer: Charlie Norris (8) 
Finishing second were the Boston Riders, who finished just 6 points outside the playoff picture in 1946. Despite having the fewest goals from a leading goalscorer, they received contributions from every position to give them the second-best offense and best defense in the league. As well, they played exceptional away from home, winning 4 out of 5 games not played in Boston. Key players for the Riders included CF Charlie Norris, and the Addison brothers, who kept the backline strong. The Riders finished at 7-3. 

3. NEW YORK KNIGHTS
Leading Goalscorer: Joe Hunnith (10) 
Coming in the third spot were the reigning regular season champions, the New York Knights. The Knights finished where they were predicted; worse than in 1946, but still in the top half of the league. While their offense took a step back, their defense improved, allowing under 200 points. 1946 scoring champion Joe Hunnith continued leading the team up front, while Oliver Chern headlined the much-improved defensive core. In the end, the Knights finished 5-4-1. 

4. BUFFALO PANTHERS
Leading Goalscorer: Artie Booth (12) 
Coming in fourth were the Buffalo Panthers, who slightly improved from their disappointing 1946 season. Their most notable player was once again the young Artie Booth, whose offseason growth helped him finish third in the league in goal-scoring. Booth’s growth seemed to help Buffalo’s whole offensive core, as they averaged 3.6 more points per game than in 1946. Despite this growth, the key issue for the Panthers remained their defense, who gave up the most points in the NERC. The Panthers finished at 4-6, 1 point better than in 1946. 

5. THE BRONX BEARS
Leading Goalscorer: Chester Uptan (9) 
Tragedy struck the Bears in the offseason, as star forward Denny McTominay, after an awkward tackle during a friendly match resulted in a ruptured appendix, which he later passed away from. This was a huge loss for the Bronx, and it showed, as they fell hard in 1947. Their offense averaged 5 less points per game, putting more pressure on the defense, which they could hold more often than not. The Bears are lucky that all teams make the playoffs with the league’s new format, otherwise it would’ve been a total loss of a season. The Bronx finished at 3-7. 

6. STATEN ISLAND ISLANDERS
Leading Goalscorer:
Andy Kennard (13) 
Coming in last place once again were the Islanders, though they were showing slight signs of improvement. First, forward Andy Kennard broke out offensively, finishing second in the league in goals. However, the rest of the offense was abysmal, as they averaged under 14 points per game. Defensively, a new strategy employed by coach Biff Rickshaw resulted in them only allowing the third-most points in the league, compared to being far and away the worst defensive team in the league in 1946. While the Islanders still have a lot of work to do to become competitive, they’re starting to get some hope. Staten Island finished at 3-7, below the Bronx on point differential.



Miscellaneous Stats:
      -   Leading Goalscorer Trophy (Retroactively Awarded): Eddy Tracy (HEM)
      -   Largest Home Victory: New York 13-34 Hempstead (Week 3), the Bronx 14-35 Buffalo (Week 10)
      -   Largest Away Victory: New York 37-14 Staten Island (Week 1)
      -   Most Combined Points: 52 (Hempstead 28-24 the Bronx, Week 7) 

Notable Events: 
      -   Hempstead’s Sam Albrek scored an amazing end-to-end goal in week 5 against Staten Island, beating 10 separate defenders before scoring.
      -   The week 3 game between Buffalo and Staten Island became the first NERC game to have a morning start.
      -   A team composed of the NERC’s best players played a two-game series against a team composed of players from Philadelphia’s league. The series was split between the two.
      -   In the week 7 games between Buffalo and New York, the ball became damaged due to awful field conditions. However, it was the only ball available, so the two teams had to play on.
      -   Hempstead set a runty record with a PD of 63 during the season.
      -   In a friendly game against Staten Island, Hempstead scored a runty record of 72 points, as well as a record of a 71-point victory.
      -   In that same game, Hempstead’s Bobby Doherty scored 8 goals, a Runty record.
      -   For the first time in Runty history, a pair of brothers played against another pair of brothers. Boston’s James and Charles Addison played against Buffalo’s Jack and Andrew Walker.

There’s the post for the 1947 season! Let me know what you think! 

Last edited by NoE38 (11/25/2020 8:57 pm)

Just a note before: Because there are more games with this format, I’ll make the group game summaries a little shorter so that you don’t have to read through a whole wall of text. (I’ll keep the longer length for when I post the championship game) Let me know what you think about that.

As well, inspired by the AFL website’s game summaries, I made score graphs for each of the games! One of them shows the lead throughout the game, and the other shows the teams’ scores throughout the game. Let me know what you think of these! (You can see them by clicking the link in the game title)

1947 NERC Playoffs

For the 1947 playoffs, the NERC tested out the second potential playoff format, a round-robin tournament featuring all 6 teams. The 1st, 3rd, and 5th-place teams from the regular season would face each other in one group, and the 2nd, 4th, and 6th-place teams would face off in the other group. After each team has played the other team in their group, the winners of the two groups would face off to determine the 1947 champion.

Group A

(1) Hempstead Clippers vs (3) New York Knights

Despite the Clippers winning the 1946 title, Hempstead’s Core Meadows was filled to the brim for the first home playoff game in their history, a rematch of the (unofficial) 1946 championship game. The first regular season meeting between the two was a 16-16 draw, while Hempstead handily won the second meeting 34-13.

New York started strong, getting a goal from James Lee 3 minutes in. New York got some more chances after, but couldn’t get anything going. The pace would die down for a bit, then near the midpoint of the quarter, the teams exchanged points. The Clippers would kick a late point, and they trailed 5-2 after 1 quarter of play. The second quarter would have some more action, as Joe Hunnith and Ray Morris both scored early on, giving New York a surprising 13-2 road lead. Hempstead would wake up in the second half of the quarter, getting a goal from Allen Formock, as well as two points, to cut the deficit to 5 at the half. The third quarter would be slower, with the only goal coming from Eddy Tracy. The Knights scored two points, and were still holding on to a 3-point lead heading into the final quarter. While the first 10 minutes were tight, the Knights couldn’t hold on, and opened the floodgates to Porter Norton, who gave Hempstead the lead with a goal and point. The Clippers added two late goals to seal the deal, much to the delight of the home crowd. Hempstead would take this one, 25-15.

(3) New York Knights vs (5) Bronx Bears

New York Runty Park was buzzing as the Knights looked to bounce back from their game 1 loss to the Clippers. In their way were the 5th seed Bronx Bears. The Knights won both regular season meetings, by 14 and 6 points respectively.

The game started off with two quick goals, from the Bears’ Chester Uptan and the Knights’ Ed Rose, respectively. While the pace was back-and-forth, the only other scoring of the quarter would be the two teams exchanging points. While the game was shaping up to be very exciting, the pace died down to start the second quarter. Finally, the Bears would break through, getting two quick goals to lead 13-5. The Knights would respond with a goal of their own from Hunnith, making it a one-score game heading to the break. The Bears started the second half quickly, getting rare fullback goal from Larry Whitipan. The Knights could only manage a point in response, and with the Bronx getting two more points of their own, the game, and a championship chance, was getting farther and farther out of the Knights’ reach. In the fourth quarter, New York tried anything and everything to generate offense, but nothing worked. Hunnith eventually broke through late with a goal, but that was basically all they could muster. Two points exchanged between the teams would finish the game, and the Knights became eliminated from top seed contention, while the Bears had a home game against the Clippers for the right to a spot in the championship game. The final score read Bronx 20, New York 15.

(1) Hempstead Clippers vs (5) Bronx Bears

After both Hempstead and the Bronx defeated New York, the two teams met at Bronx’s Riverside Field to determine the group winner. Hempstead won both regular season meetings. The first 31-13, and the second a close 28-24 victory. Columnists were hoping for a thrilling, close game, but this game became anything but.

The game started quickly, with the two teams exchanging points. Ray Paulo kicked the games first goal for the Bronx, then the Clippers awoke. In the span of 3 minutes and 20 seconds, Hempstead attacked the Bears defense in full flight, scoring 2 goals and 3 points, taking a 12-5 lead and silencing the Bronx crowd. They weren’t done for the first quarter either, as they kicked another point and got another major from Porter Norton. Hempstead had a commanding 17-5 lead after 1. The Hempstead machine continued rolling in the second, as goals from Daniel Patesto and Kenneth Havirno brought the score to 25-7. In the final minutes of the half, the teams traded goals, and Hempstead’s lead had increased to 29-11 heading into halftime. The Bears started the second half quickly, getting two goals from their midfielders, decreasing the deficit to 10. Unfortunately for them, Hempstead’s machine woke back up, and they score 14 unanswered points to close out the quarter, including 2 Eddy Tracy goals. Hempstead’s lead continued to go up, as they led 43-19 after 3. In the fourth, both teams had several missed chances, resulting in a lot of points. The only goal of the quarter came from Hempstead’s Peter Cross. As the game ended, with Riverside Field already half-empty, Hempstead celebrated, as they had clinched a berth in the first official NERC championship game with a dominant 51-22 win away from home.



Group B

(2) Boston Riders vs (4) Buffalo Panthers

The first playoff game for both Boston and Buffalo took place at a packed East Boston Park, where the Riders had defeated the Panthers 28-16 a couple weeks prior. Boston had also won the first meeting between the two teams 31-20.

Boston dominated the start of the first first quarter, outshooting Buffalo 12-1 halfway through. John Vester and Frank Fitzgerald both scored for the Riders, and Boston added 3 points to lead 11-0 just 13 minutes in. Buffalo’s defense tightened up, but they couldn’t get anything going, and that score held up through 1. Buffalo kicked two quick points to start the second, but Boston responded with two quick goals from John Kampfot to make it 19-2. Boston continued to outchance Buffalo, but the Panthers were more accurate for the remainder of the half. The Riders scored 4 points (including a missed penalty), but Ray Paul potted two goals for Buffalo, who cut the deficit to 12 by halftime. The third quarter was slow, though Boston managed to kick two more goals and a point to take a 21-point lead. Artie Booth responded with a goal for the Panthers, and Buffalo kicked another late goal to cut the deficit to 14 by the end of the quarter. To start the final frame, the teams exchanged points, then the Riders put the game out of reach with two more quick goals, including one from Charlie Norris. With the game all but wrapped up, Boston played more loose, which allowed the Panthers to make up some ground before time expired. Booth kicked the game’s last goal, and much to the delight of the home crowd, Boston had won their first ever playoff game 43-31.

(4) Buffalo Panthers vs (6) Staten Island Islanders

After their tough loss to the Riders, Buffalo looked to get back on track against the lowly Staten Island Islanders, who were playing their first playoff game. The away team won both regular season meetings; Buffalo winning 32-11 in week 3, and Staten Island clinching a 15-13 win in week 8. High-powered offense was not to be expected in this game.

Ironically, the first quarter saw fast-paced offense for both sides, though the finishing was a little lacking. Buffalo got off to a 6-0 lead, including a goal from Walt Manning, before Michael Dall got one back for the Islanders. Buffalo added a point, then the pace died down. In the dying minutes of the quarter, George Smith put Buffalo up by 7, and Staten Island kicked a late point to make it 11-5 after 1. Fans were hoping the second would see the fast pace continue, but the exact opposite happened. Staten Island’s Andy Kennard had the only grade-A chance, but it didn’t go. For just the second time in league history, a quarter ended scoreless, and the same 11-5 score was on the board at halftime. In the third quarter, Staten Island got the first score in 25:56, a point from Kennard. Kennard and Oz Smart would both chip in later on to eventually tie the game. Ray Paul kicked a point to retake the lead, and the Panthers led 12-11 heading into the final quarter. The fourth quarter was slow like the second, but the Panthers managed to get a goal from Andrew Reid and another point to seal the deal. Unfortunately for the Panthers, their 6-point win was not enough to keep them in contention for the top spot (They needed at least a 14-point win).

(2) Boston Riders vs (6) Staten Island Islanders

After Boston’s win in game 1 and Staten Island’s loss in game 2, all the Riders needed to do was win against the last-placed Islanders to clinch a spot in the championship game. If Staten Island managed to pull off an upset, they needed to win by at least 9 to steal that spot from Boston. Little did the fans at Corner Park know they were about to witness the most boring game of professional markball in the history of professional markball, maybe ever.

Right from the get-go, the game’s atmosphere was slow and congested. The first shot on goal came at the 5:46 mark, though it was a score, a point from Daniel Lebrija. 6 minutes later, Andy Kennard kicked the only goal of the quarter. Boston’s offense just couldn’t get anything going, and they found themselves down 5-0 after 1. However, just 13 seconds into the second quarter, Riders RU Frank Jesse kicked a point, putting Boston on the board. Unfortunately for them and those watching, that would be the only score of the entire quarter. The best opportunity in the remainder of the quarter was a great chance in front for Kennard, but his shot hit the crossbar and bounced out, resulting in nothing. At the half, the Islanders were up 5-1. If they were to win this game, they needed to win by at least 9 to shock the league and win their group. In the third quarter, John Kampfot scored Boston’s first goal, tying the game. After yet another lull in play, the Riders kicked another point to take their first lead. Heading into the final quarter, Boston was up 6-5. In the final quarter, play continued to be incredibly boring. At the halfway mark of the quarter, Barry Jacoerin kicked a sweet goal, giving the Islanders the lead, much to the delight of the home crowd. Unfortunately, both team’s defenses tightened up to end the game, and the final score remained 9-6 for the Islanders, not enough for them to take the #1 spot. Boston won the group on point differential, and they booked a ticket to play the Clippers to determine the 1947 NERC Champions.



NERC Final Preview:

The NERC decided to play the 1947 final at Staten Island’s Corner Park. This was seen as a weird move, as it was one of the league’s smallest stadiums. Nevertheless, the teams couldn’t do anything about that, so they were going to have to deal with it.

Regular Season Matchups:
Week 3: Boston 15-23 Hempstead
Week 8: Hempstead 19-23 Boston

Both regular season games between Hempstead and Boston were close. In the first week 3 meeting, Boston led by a goal at halftime, but 20 second-half points from the Clippers gave them the 8-point win at home. In the week 8 game, Boston almost blew a 21-6 lead, but held on for a 4-point victory. This matchup could honestly go either way, and the first official NERC Final is sure to be a thriller.

Analyst Prediction: The Clippers prevail in a tight 18-17 classic, and repeating as NERC Champions.

There's the (first) playoff post! Let me know if there any broken links or formatting errors, so I can fix them.

Happy new year everyone, hopefully it's gone well for you so far! Here's the 1947 Championship Game summary!

1947 NERC Championship
Date: August 16, 1947
Location: Corner Park, Staten Island
Weather: 78℉ (25℃), Mostly Cloudy
Wind: Gentle Breeze
Attendance: 12,000

It was a beautiful day in Staten Island, and Corner Park was the place to be on this warm August day, with the Manhattan skyline setting the backdrop to the NERC’s first official championship game. Taking the field to battle it out were the #1 Hempstead Clippers, who went 7-2-1 in addition to going unbeaten in the round-robin, and were the favourites going in to this one. On the other end were the #2 Boston Riders, who went 7-3-0 in the regular season, and 1-1 in the round-robin. Hempstead won the first meeting between these two teams at home 23-15, while Boston won the second meeting in Boston, 23-19. Around half of the crowd consisted of Hempstead supporters, while the remaining half was equally split between neutrals and Boston supporters.

Boston won the opening jump-ball and controlled the ball for the first bit of the game. 2:21 in, they would get the game’s first point, off a scramble in front that eventually rolled wide right. Boston continued pressing, and before long, LWC Joe Manush kicked the game’s first goal, a high shot that Hempstead’s Sam Albrek could do nothing about. However, just 4 minutes later, Albrek came all the way back up the field and scored a goal of his own, getting the Clippers on the board. The pace would slow down a bit, then a flurry of action saw the two teams exchange points, and Hempstead would then take the lead on a goal from Allen Formock. Charlie Norris had a great chance to get the lead right back, but his close-range shot missed for his second point of the game. Before the end of the quarter, Hempstead got a rare fullback goal, from James Addison. It had been an entertaining first 24 minutes, and the Clippers were looking like the better team heading into the second.

AFTER 1: Boston 7-13 Hempstead

The second quarter was much slower than the first. Formock had a beautiful chance, but Boston’s Paul Barson got a hand on it and prevented any score. From that point, most of the play involved multiple turnovers in the midfield. Norris would hit a post a while later, but the ball stayed in play for no score. Eventually, at the halfway mark of the quarter Norris got a shot to go, kicking the ball with perfect placement past Robert Lucas to put the lead to 2. However, right off the bounce, Albrek would carry the ball himself and kick a point to make it 14-11 for the Clippers. Unfortunately for those watching, that would pretty much be all the excitement the quarter would hold. The remaining 11 minutes featured what was seen at the beginning, clumsy play, and the ball being stuck in midfield. The quarter and half would come to a close, and the same 14-11 scoreline held up. The game was still far from over.

AT THE HALF: Boston 11-14 Hempstead

To the delight of those watching and listening, the third quarter was much more entertaining than the second. First, Clippers LF Abram Bergling would convert a penalty shot. 1 minute later, Boston’s Charles Addison would get on the scoresheet to cut the lead right back to 3. After a bit of a lull, Boston would get back on offense, scoring another point and getting another goal from Norris to take their first lead since the first quarter. However, after the Norris goal, Hempstead would counter with a period of possession of their goal, though they only managed two points out of it. Alberk drew a penalty shot, but he amazingly missed the net completely, wasting a golden opportunity to take the lead. After that, the quarter ended with quite possibly the greatest last 3 minutes in NERC history. A wild scramble in front led to multiple shots and saves, though Charles Addison finally kicked a loose ball home to give Boston the lead back. Off the ensuing bounce, Boston drove the ball back down field, and Norris finished, kicking his third of the game. The scoring still wasn’t over, as Hempstead would do the exact same play the Riders had just done, with Alfred Hazare being the finisher. With the pace quickly increasing, the final quarter was sure to be electric.

AFTER 3: Boston 28-24 Hempstead

The start of the fourth quarter saw the quick and frantic pace continue, with Boston kicking a point less than a minute in, putting them up by more than a goal. Hempstead came right back, and got several chances blocked before Albrek kicked his second of the game, putting the Clippers within one. After the goal, Boston coach Walter Duncan elected to utilize a defensive press, making the remaining 21 minutes of the game relatively boring, since as soon as Boston would recover the ball, they would just kick it back upfield. The Clippers still managed to get possession in deep, but couldn’t get any real good chances. With 7 minutes to play, Albrek kicked a dangerous cross, but nobody was there to connect to it. As Hempstead grew more and more desperate, their play became more and more sloppy. In the final minute, James was given a beautiful chip to go in alone, but he couldn’t contact a rolling ball hard enough, and Robert Lucas made the easy save. The final whistle blew soon after, and the Boston Riders celebrated, as they had just won their first NERC title, winning the first official NERC Championship game.

FINAL SCORE: Boston 29-28 Hempstead
(Scoreworm Graphs in link)



1947 Championship Flag:


There’s the 1947 Final post, Let me know what you think! Feel free to suggest any improvements that could be made to the post.