Congrats Riders!

Last edited by Sevsdast (1/03/2021 11:04 pm)

Since there weren't any major news stories for players or aesthetics in the offseason, I'll jump right to the 1948 season!

1948 NERC Season

Similar to the year before commissioner Elmer Wilkins announced prior to the season that for the playoffs, the league had decided against a round-robin format for the long-term. Instead, they had decided on a single-elimination format, with the 1st-place team playing the 3rd-place team and the 2nd-place team playing the 4th-place team in the semifinals, and the winners playing in a championship game. When asked why the league was doing 1 vs 3 and 2 vs 4 instead of 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3, Wilkins simply said “We’re trying every possible format.”

On May 8, 1948, the NERC’s 3rd season began with each team playing games at 3:00, just like the first 2 seasons. Those games included an impressive 28-18 Buffalo win at home over the Clippers, a statement 30-16 win for the Riders against the Bronx, and a close 28-24 victory for Staten Island over New York.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Week 1: New York 24-28 Staten Island
Week 2: New York 19-21 Boston
Week 3: Buffalo 23-21 Boston
Week 4: Boston 24-27 Hempstead
Week 5: Buffalo 29-16 New York
Week 6: Boston 21-20 the Bronx
Week 7: Buffalo 25-19 the Bronx
Week 8: Boston 19-20 Buffalo
Week 9: the Bronx 24-20 New York
Week 10: the Bronx 20-30 Hempstead

1. BOSTON RIDERS
Leading Goalscorer: Alban Good (11)

Despite finishing with the same record as in 1947, the Boston Riders moved up a spot to finish atop the NERC standings for the first time in their history. There were dominant, scoring 30 more points than the next-closest team, and only allowing 3 more points than the best defense in the league. Leading the way offensively was newcomer Alban Good, one of the NYRL’s best players in 1946. Defensively, the Addison Brothers were brick walls, and the main reason they gave up so few points. Boston finished at 7-3.

2. BUFFALO PANTHERS
Leading Goalscorer: Artie Booth (12)

Finishing second and improving their record for the second straight year were the Buffalo Panthers. Artie Booth made a case for being the best player in the league with his season, finishing with the most goals in the league, and scoring over a quarter of the Panthers’ total points. Another surprise for them was their backend, which had been one of the worst in the league in 1946 and 1947. Bursting onto the scene was fullback Christian Charpentier, who made life miserable for opposing forwards. Buffalo finished at 7-3, behind Boston on point differential.

3. HEMPSTEAD CLIPPERS
Leading Goalscorer: Allen Formock (9)

The Clippers suffered a huge setback halfway through the year when star RO Sam Albrek suffered a serious shoulder injury, effectively ending his playing career. Without him the Clippers defense struggled mightily, but the offense was still good enough to clinch the third spot. Eddy James regressed up front, but Allen Formock progressed, taking over as the club’s leading goalscorer. Abram Bergling and Porter Norton also played very well for the Clippers, as they finished 6-4. 

4. THE BRONX BEARS
Leading Goalscorer: Chester Uptan (9)

Coming in fourth were the Bears, who rebounded after a surprisingly disappointing 1947 season. The offense vastly improved, scoring almost 4 more points per game than the previous season. Chester Uptan was the team’s leader up front, while Ray Paulo and Larry Whitipan also had noteworthy seasons in midfield and on the backend, respectively. Despite the bounceback, analysts weren’t sold on their play for the future, as they only won 1 game all year against a team with a better record than them.

5. NEW YORK KNIGHTS
Leading Goalscorer: Ray Morris (8)

Doing a reverse Buffalo, The Knights regressed for a second consecutive year, finishing 5th. However, their record made their play seem worse than it actually was. All 3 of their wins were by more than 10 points, including a 23-12 victory in Buffalo. They also lost most of their games by close margins, including one controversial game which cost them 2 points. Ray Morris led the team up front, while Joe Hunnith had an off year. New York finished at 3-7.

6. STATEN ISLAND ISLANDERS
Leading Goalscorer: John Corland (4)

Coming in last for the third straight season were the Staten Island Islanders. It was a fairly similar year for them to 1947, though they won one less game. As well, Andy Kennard, who was one of the league’s best forwards in 1947, completely fell off the map, scoring just 3 goals. Despite the hardships for Kennard, the team’s overall play and skill level improved, which was pretty much the only positive for them.



Miscellaneous Stats:

      -   Leading Goalscorer Trophy (Retroactively Awarded): Artie Booth (BUF)
      -   Largest Home Victory: Staten Island 14-33 Boston (Week 10)
      -   Largest Away Victory: Buffalo 29-16 New York (Week 5)
      -   Most Combined Points: 56 (Hempstead 21-35 Boston, Week 9)

Notable Events:
      -   The week 1 game between Staten Island and New York featured a controversial, as the Islanders claimed that the Knights’ game-tying goal crossed the line after the final whistle. This appeal overturned the score, giving Staten Island the 28-24 victory. This led to further controversy as to why the ref was blowing the final whistle as the Knights had a golden opportunity.
      -   Boston set a professional runty record by kicking 7 unanswered points in a single game.
      -   Buffalo captain Ray Paul was given a lifetime ban for tackling a referee out of anger. He appealed, but to no avail.
      -   With the aid of a strong tailwind, Boston’s Alban Good kicked a goal from over 100 yards out in their week 8 game against Buffalo.
      -   The Manhattan Runty Club demolished through the 1948 New York Runty League season, prompting them to apply to join the NERC for 1949. The NERC immediately and rudely refused, drawing the ire of the club.

There’s the post for the 1948 season! Let me know what you think!

1947 NERC Playoffs (Semi-Finals)

For this season, the league tested out a 1v3 and 2v4 semi-final format. However, it came with a twist. If one of the semifinal games finished as a tie, there would be no replay, and the winner of the other semi-final would be crowned as the season champions. Teams were unhappy at this, but the league held firm, only allowing a replay if both semi-finals finished as ties.

I also forgot to put a playoff preview in the season post, so I’ll have them before each individual game summary.

Lastly, I forgot to do this for last season, the official name for the championship game will be the “Champions Cup Final”.

Semi-Final #1

(1) Boston Riders vs (3) Hempstead Clippers [scoreworms]

Regular Season Meetings: Boston 24-27 Hempstead (Week 4); Hempstead 21-35 Boston (Week 8)
Previous Playoff Meeting: Hempstead 28-29 Boston (1947 Championship)
Playoff Record: Boston 1-0 Hempstead

East Boston Park was filled to the brim, as a rematch of 1947’s Championship would determine one of the spots in the 1948 championship game. Boston had defeated Hempstead in that game by a tight 29-28 score. The two teams split their regular season series, though Boston’s win was much more convincing.

Hempstead started the game off on the right foot, getting the first few shots off, including the game’s first point. The game reached a slow point after that, though there were still a few chances for the Clippers. Eventually, past the halfway mark of the quarter, Alfred Hazare kicked the game’s first goal, deflecting in a corner. Boston would get a few chances after, and came away with a point. Unfortunately for them, that would be all they could muster in the first quarter. Hazare kicked his second of the game for Hempstead, and the Clippers added another point to take a 10-1 lead after 1. After a disappointing first quarter, Riders Coach Walter Duncan brought his team together and spoke words of positivity, which did wonders for their play in the second. They won the opening jump-ball, and virtually all play was in Hempstead’s end for the entire quarter. Despite this, Hempstead’s last line of defense stopped all their good looks. Eventually, the dam broke in the final minutes, as Alban Good sneaked one past Joshua Vandoy. In the next 58 seconds, Boston added two more goals, taking a 13-10 lead much to the delight of the home crowd. This score would hold to the end of the first half.

Boston started the third quarter exactly like they had played in the second, hemming the Clippers into their own zone. Good scored a point under 2 minutes in, increasing the lead to 4. Play would be more even after that, and the Clippers got a few chances as well, none of which went in. At the halfway mark of the quarter, Boston’s Felix Nixon drew a penalty shot, which he buried to make it 18-10. The Riders added two more points before Kenneth Havirno kicked one for the Clippers, their first score in over 40 minutes of play. This energized the Clippers, and they showed signs of life by the end of the quarter. After 3, Boston led 20-11. The fourth quarter started off slow, as Duncan had enforced Boston to tighten up defensively. Hempstead got some good rushes, but the Riders were quick to snuff them out when they started to look dangerous. At the 9-minute mark, Hempstead’s Michael Onow came out of nowhere and kicked a long bomb past Robert Lucas, putting the Clippers within 5. On the next rush, Vandoy ran 70m before kicking a point. East Boston park grew quiet, with the faithful there hoping Boston would not blow their lead. Hempstead got some more chances, but none of them could go. Charlie Norris booted the ball into Hempstead’s end with 5 seconds to go, and the Riders supporters grew loud once again, as Boston had clinched a spot in the Champions Cup for the second consecutive year, winning 20-16.

Semi-Final #2

(2) Buffalo Panthers vs (4) the Bronx Bears [scoreworms]

Regular Season Meetings: the Bronx 20-29 Buffalo, Buffalo 25-19 the Bronx
Previous Playoff Meeting: N/A
Playoff Record: Buffalo 0-0 the Bronx

Buffalo Park was primed and ready for the NERC’s second semifinal, as the host Buffalo Panthers and visiting Bronx Bears ran onto the field, ready to play for the second spot in the Champions Cup. Buffalo had won both regular season meetings between the two teams, both by multiple-goal margins.

Buffalo started the game off strong, but also very sloppy. In the first 6 minutes, they had multiple great chances, including two wide-open nets, but they only managed 4 points out of 7 high-danger chances. The Bears would get some looks, but didn’t really test the Buffalo backline. Eventually, past the halfway mark of the quarter, the most unlikely player got the Panthers on the board. LFB Edward Bartlett, who had never scored in the NERC until that point, attempted to roll a cross to Artie Booth, but the ball took a weird bounce, catching Bronx RU Albert Drest off guard. The Panthers kicked yet another point, and to close out the quarter, the Bronx got two points of their own. After 1, Buffalo led 9-2. To start the second, the kicking inaccuracy was still there. Both teams had more great chances, but through 14 minutes of play, the only scores were one point apiece from each team. Later on, Artie Booth had a major blooper. In on a breakaway, he lost his footing before getting a chance to kick the ball. The only goal of the quarter came with 12 seconds to play in the half, a bomb from the Bronx’s Benoit Peak. At the half, Buffalo led 10-7, with the two teams combining for 9 minor scores.

The third quarter was much slower in terms of pace, but the kicking was more accurate. 90 seconds in, Walter Manning put Buffalo up 7 with a deflection goal. Chester Uptan would respond with a great chance for the Bronx, but Christian Charpentier would disrupt him at the last second, preventing any goals. The rest of the quarter was fairly quiet, with the occasional chance, but no major plays or saves. The only other score was a long-range point from the Panthers, and they led 15-7 after 2. To the relief of everyone watching, the fourth quarter saw lots of scoring as well as accurate kicking. 6 minutes in, Charpentier scored Buffalo’s second fullback goal of the night. On the very next rush, Eric Gallagher kicked another Buffalo goal, giving them a 16-point lead. The Bears, knowing it was now do or die, came back strong, and Peak scored his second of the game. They got more chances, but Charpentier and Bartlett did a fantastic job holding the Bears back. The Panthers kicked another point, and the Bears kicked a goal to get within 9, but it was too late for them at that point. As time ran out, the stadium erupted, as the Panthers clinched a spot in the Champions Cup, for the first time in their history. They won 24-15.



Champions Cup Final Preview:
The NERC announced prior to the season that the 1948 Champions Cup Final was to be played at East Boston Park, home of the Riders.

Regular Season Matchups: Buffalo 23-21 Boston, Boston 19-20 Buffalo
Previous Playoff Meeting: N/A
Playoff Record: Buffalo 0-0 the Bronx

Both games between Boston and Buffalo were close, and Boston easily could have won both. Boston’s #1 offense will be going up against against Buffalo’s #1 defense, so if one can get the upper hand, their opposition will not stand a chance. Boston also has the home-field advantage helping them out, their fans are not gonna make it easy for the Panthers.

Analyst Prediction: Boston prevails at home, winning 24-18.

Let's go Riders! I can't think of anything that needs to change yet, admittingly.

Welcome to my world, where i go months between posts then all of a sudden start posting rapid-fire. I'm consistently inconsistent.

1949 NERC Season

Once again, the NERC announced a new playoff format for the 1949 season. This time, they had decided on the simplest format yet: the 2nd and 3rd place teams would face off for the right to play the first-placed team in the Champions Cup. Fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief when commissioner Elmer Wilkins announced that this format would likely stay put for the foreseeable future. The NERC also announced an extra 3 weeks of games at the end of the season, in which each team would play twice.

The NERC’s 4th season began on April 30, 1949, at the traditional 3:00 timeslot. Those games included a surprising 36-19 blowout of Boston by Hempstead, a dull 17-17 tie between the Bronx and Buffalo, and a strong 31-21 victory at home for New York over Staten Island.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Week 1: Staten Island 21-31 New York
Week 2: Hempstead 15-28 Buffalo
Week 3: Boston 15-44 Buffalo
Week 4: Hempstead 30-21 New York
Week 5: New York 20-31 Buffalo
Week 6: Boston 21-19 Hempstead
Week 7: Buffalo 24-19 New York
Week 8: Hempstead 24-21 Staten Island
Week 9: Boston 15-16 the Bronx
Week 10: Hempstead 20-17 the Bronx
Week 11: New York 14-26 Buffalo
Week 12: Boston 25-20 New York
Week 13: Buffalo 44-28 Boston

1. BUFFALO PANTHERS
Leading Goalscorer: Allen Formock (15)

Finishing first were the Buffalo Panthers, and they could not be stopped. Offseason signings pushed them over the edge, as they acquired high-octane F Allen Formock and shutdown D Larry Whitipan. These two players added to an already promising group pushed them over the edge. Formock led the league in goals, Artie Booth had a career year, and the defense was insane, allowing over 20 points only once all year. Their only blemish from a perfect season was a 17-17 opening week tie against the Bears. Buffalo finished 11-0-1, the heavy favourites to win it all.

2. HEMPSTEAD CLIPPERS
Leading Goalscorer: Joe Pitts (13)

Improving from 1948 and finishing second were the Hempstead Clippers. Despite the loss of Formock up front, rookie Joe Pitts replaced him and did very well, finishing in a tie for second in goalscoring. As well, Abram Bergling and Porter Norton also continued their upward progression. Their team play looked better and better as the year progressed, and they won 4 of their last 5 games to clinch the #2 seed and home-field advantage in the first round. The Clippers finished at 8-4, and were the only other team besides the Panthers to finish with a positive point differential.

3.THE BRONX BEARS 
Leading Goalscorer: Cedric Ekling (8)

Slightly improving from 1948 and finishing in 3rd were the Bronx Bears. No major changes were made to their roster over the offseason, and their offense and defense played at similar levels to the previous year. One bright spot for them was the emergence of Cedric Ekling, who led the Bears lackluster offense. On the other hand, Chester Uptan had a down year, only scoring 6 goals. However, despite their inferiority offensively, their defense kept them in playoff contention to the end, and gave them the bragging rights of being the only team to keep Buffalo from a victory. That draw, and two late wins, gave them the edge and the final playoff spot. The Bears finished at 6-5-1.

4. BOSTON RIDERS
Leading Goalscorer: Alban Good (9)

Disappointingly finishing fourth and missing the playoffs after back-to-back title wins were the Boston Riders. The main culprit for this was core regression. Their offensive output, while still finishing in the top half of the league points-wise, went down noticeably. To make matters worse, their defense went from allowing 19 points per game in 1948 to a league-worst 23.9 in 1949. Despite this, they managed to hang on to a playoff spot until the final week of the season, where a 44-28 loss to Buffalo and a Bronx win knocked them out. The Riders finished at 6-6.

5. NEW YORK KNIGHTS
Leading Goalscorer: Joe Hunnith (9)

Finishing 5th for the second straight year were the New York Knights. Despite many sportswriters predicting a bounce back year from them, they regressed from a 3-7 record in 1948. Similar to Boston, their offensive output went down and their defensive struggles went up. Their only real bright spot was a bounceback season from Joe Hunnith, who went back to his team-leading goalscoring form. Not much else went right for them, and they finished at 2-10.

6. STATEN ISLAND ISLANDERS
Leading Goalscorer: Cyril Dinker (13)

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, finishing last once again were the Staten Island Islanders. However, there was some good news for them. They’d increased their points scored per game to 15.5, their highest in NERC history. Unfortunately for them, that was still far and away the worst offensive output in the league. Despite this, rookie Cyril Dinker put up thirteen goals, good for joint second in the league. So while there was some hope for the Islanders, it was yet another painful season for them, as they finished 2-10, last overall on point differential.



Miscellaneous Stats:

      -   Leading Goalscorer Trophy (Retroactively Awarded): Allen Formock (BUF)
      -   Largest Home Victory: Boston 15-44 Buffalo (Week 3)
      -   Largest Away Victory: Hempstead 36-19 Boston (Week 1)
      -   Most Combined Points: 72 (Buffalo 44-28 Boston, Week 13)

Notable Events:
      -   The extra three weeks of games consisted of a mini round-robin format, where the 1st, 3rd, and 5th place teams after week 10 would play in one group, and the 2nd, 4th, and 6th place teams would play in the other. These were not considered playoff games, but rather an extension of the regular season.
      -   With a loss in week 5, The Islanders became the first NERC team to lose 30 games. That loss was only their 37th game in the NERC.
      -   Boston forward Alban Good somehow managed to legally play under the alias of “Al Goodens” while he was under a 3 game suspension.
      -   In the week 4 game between Staten Island and Buffalo, players wore numbers on the front of their jerseys as well as the back, as a small experiment.
      -   In the week 13 game between the Bronx and Hempstead, Clippers F John Wood missed a wide-open net at the last second, which would have won Hempstead the game. If the Clippers had won, the Bears would have been eliminated from the postseason, and the Riders would have taken their place as the #3 seed.

There’s the post for the 1949 season! Let me know what you think!