AFL Spring Meetings 1952

The AFL owners were certainly a lot busier this February than they were last, as there were a lot of topics to be discussed and get through before the season would begin in September.

COLUMBUS TO BE SOLD BY 1953
The dire Columbus scenario was looking a lot better entering the spring meetings, as they had an increase of tickets sold and turned a profit for the first time in a few years. That wasn’t enough for Buckeyes owner Randolf Durant, as he announced his intentions to sell the team by the 1953 season at the earliest. The Buckeyes have not had a single winning record while under Durant’s tenure as owner, and knows that the team’s future in the city is fairly bleak, as UOhio has consistently outperformed and outsold the team every year since 1946. He opened the team up to buyers, both those who want to stay in Columbus and those who want to move the team elsewhere. While no deal is set in stone yet, if the team was to relocate 1952 might be the last year in the Buckeye state, as the two most promising deals come from relocation bids. The first bid is from Washington, D.C., with real estate developer Bernard McCullough from the proposed AFL DC bid as owner, wanting to both fill the gap in the nation’s capital and challenge the upstart Baltimore Barons of the NYPL for regional supremacy. The other prominent bid was from Minneapolis-St. Paul, as lumber magnate Reuben Braun was willing to outperform the two MWFC teams that had been stuck in the basement of the league and thought that an AFL team would perform better. There was a front-running bid from Kansas City, as the owner of the Kansas City baseball team Silas DeWitt was given another shot at a team, but the MWFC’s invasion of the city this year made the bid a lot riskier to relocate them to the Kansas City area. If things go smoothly with finding a new owner, the Buckeyes could relocate as early as next season, as every market presented has some sort of stadium for the team to play in, either temporarily or permanently.

AFL TO FULLY INTEGRATE WITH DRAFT
In a historic first for professional football leagues, the AFL has announced that it will require teams to integrate beginning with the 1952 season. This decision dates back to the feud that commissioner Donovan Hasenkamp has had with MWFC president Virgil Bradshaw, who notoriously refused to integrate the MWFC’s teams, and until 1946, made unsigned agreements with other owners to not sign any black players. That agreement was broken when Hasenkamp signed two black players after they came back from military service in World War II, with RB Johnnie Hendrix and DB Vincent Kelly becoming the first players to break the color barrier in any professional sport, seven months before the color barrier was famously broken in baseball. While a majority of teams did sign black players, Bradshaw notoriously refused, infamously stating “If we want to be the best team in [Chicago], then we will look like we’re the best team in town.” With all 6 current and 2 incoming teams already integrated in some capacity, the league decided it was the right time to introduce the ruling, which will come with the stipulation that all future teams and owners be required to do the same.

INAUGURAL DRAFT FORMAT SET
With the draft also approaching and having no clear format set, the owners also decided what to do with the introduction of two new teams. They had originally planned to do the draft in a reverse order, with Detroit getting the first overall pick and Chicago getting the last, but Buffalo and Pittsburgh joining made things slightly more difficult. To keep things simple for this year, the Shamrocks and Hammers will be placed in the 5th and 6th draft positions, respectively, based on their finish from last year in the NYPL. The year after will revert to the draft that was originally planned, being based on the previous year’s standings. At least for this year, the draft will be 5 rounds, but it might be expanded in the future if more teams and players show interest.

NEW SCHEDULE, INTRODUCTION OF PLAYOFFS
With the introduction of 2 new teams into the league, the Owners Council wanted to try something new compared to the other major professional football leagues. To make scheduling a bit easier, the league will be broken up into an East Division and a West Division. How the divisions were to be divided was the biggest debate of the entire owners meetings. 4 teams were the easiest, as Chicago and Tri-Cities were placed into the West Division, and Buffalo and Pittsburgh were slotted into the East. The other 4 teams were a larger problem. The league wanted to balance divisions, not putting the better teams in one division, and keeping rivalries between teams relatively intact. Detroit owner August Riddle wanted to join Chicago in the West due to their rivalry in the past, but the other owners argued that, as of late, Cincinnati has had a larger rivalry with Chicago and Tri-Cities than Detroit. Geographically it also made more sense for Detroit to join the East, as it is a lot closer to the other cities than with its historical rivalries. And so Detroit and Cleveland were placed into the East, while Cincinnati and Columbus slotted into the West. The schedule will remain at 10 games and teams will be once again given a bye, the way the teams play will change. Teams will play a home-and-home against every team in its division, and play 1 game against every team in the other division. Instead of the rolling bye weeks of the past 2 seasons, the league instead will take a mid-season bye, where weeks 6 and 7 will have half the teams on a bye and the other half playing as normal. Rather than just the top 2 teams in each division make the championship, instead the top 2 teams from each division will play in a playoff game, where the winner of those 2 games will play in the championship. With the introduction of the division finals, the league will play its championship game in December, with the division final games taking the old Thanksgiving slot that the championship had before.

AFL SIGNS FIRST MAJOR TV DEAL WITH DUMONT
In a first for any professional league, the AFL announced that they have secured a deal with the DuMont Network to broadcast the semi-final and championship games this year, along with a select few games nationally across the network. The teams in the AFL already had deals with local radio stations to broadcast their team’s games, and Chicago and Detroit already had deals with local TV stations to broadcast select games. In addition, DuMont has requested that the AFL introduce an all-star game to boost popularity, that would take place sometime after the championship game. No other professional football league, not even any professional sports league, has ever signed a deal with a national TV network. This unprecedented deal may catapult the AFL into nation-wide popularity, and might finally take football out of the northeast and Midwest.

C&C Appreciated! If you have any final prospects make sure to submit them now, as I will be finalizing the draft class soon.

1952 Design Changes

BUFFALO HAMMERS
The first and older of the two teams joining is Buffalo, who was one of the charter members of the New York Professional Football League in 1923, which eventually became the New York-Pennsylvania League a few years later. The Hammers are actually one of the older teams in the U.S., founded in 1905 as a company team for the newly-relocated Lackawanna Steel Company. They became an amateur team in 1913, and went pro when they joined the NYPL in 1923. The team almost didn’t make it to going pro, as Lackawanna was in the process of being bought out by Bethlehem Steel and was going to end its company team after the purchase was complete. Willis Ware, who was an executive in Lackawanna, rushed in at the 11th hour and used what he had left of his savings to buy the Hammers and joined the NYPL, where they stormed through the whole league and won its first-ever title. The Hammers have always been successful during their time as a pro team, finishing in the top half of the NYPL in all but 2 of the nearly 20 years they were part of the league, winning 4 titles across that span and finishing runner-up 5 times. They haven’t been as good since the NYPL came back from suspension due to World War II, only playing in a single championship game, which was their most recent title in 1948. With the NYPL declining by solely focusing on its teams around New York City after 1946, Ware had grown frustrated with the league, and the formation of the AFL and its ambition to become a truly national league was all that Ware and the Hammers needed to jump ship for greener pastures. They have played in Roesch Stadium since its opening in 1937, and currently holds a capacity of 36,500 fans

Buffalo has been known for its offensive innovations in the past, as Willis Ware has been the coach of the team and figuring out new innovations to compete with the larger markets, including becoming one of the first professional teams to embrace the forward pass. The Hammers are currently led by veteran QB Don Melton, and have plenty of offensive weapons to keep up with the AFL’s best. RB Calvin Townsend has become the heart of the team since his addition 3 years ago, and may be the focal point of the offense once the 32 year old Melton decides to hang up his cleats. Melton has some great options to throw to, as WR’s Bernard Clarke and Ben Ferrell are both under 28 and have fought to be the number 1 on the team, but TE Dan Finley has been taking away targets when he’s not making room for Townsend to run. Their defense has some key players, but its lack of talent all-around puts them solidly in the middle of the AFL. They do have a lot of key players, with DL’s Ray Payne and Lester Cunningham, along with LB Eugene Shafer headlining their front seven. DB Joe Merritt and S Wilbert Ritchie are the prominent players in the secondary, but the lack of starpower within the defense might be their biggest hurdle from coming into the league and winning the title. With being placed into the weaker East Division, they have a relatively high chance of making it to the title game, barring any major setbacks the football season puts forth.

The Hammers have worn blue since their inception, but the shade has darkened from a royal blue to more of a navy color over the years. They’ve added the silver color in recent years, in order to differentiate from one of the more popular teams in the same state in the Brooklyn Kings, to represent the steel industry the team was born out of. They’ve kept the same uniforms for nearly the past 20 years, with one of the few teams to have stripes on their socks. Their logo has been introduced more recently, with a pair of crossed hammers in a circle with a B and a four-pointed star, which Buffalo introduced into the logo when they won their fourth NYPL championship.



Players shown: QB Don Melton (5), DB Joe Merritt (10)

PITTSBURGH SHAMROCKS
Pittsburgh has had a rough history when it comes to professional football. Their first ever professional team, the Alleghenys, only lasted a little over two years in the AA before returning to an amateur team. The city’s second attempt with the Triplets lasted just about as long, only playing three seasons of football before folding outright in 1915. The city’s brief and short history prevented any other team from propping up, but that did not stop local businessman James O’Leary when the NYPL approached him on potentially owning a team in 1929. O’Leary immediately said yes, and the Pittsburgh Shamrocks were born. Instead of naming the team after the iron industry, he named the team in honor of the Irish heritage of Pittsburgh, as O’Leary’s grandparents immigrated to Pittsburgh to escape the ongoing famine in Ireland. The team got off to a rough start to begin, but it was thankfully not as rough as the other two teams that failed in the city. The Shamrocks didn’t have their first truly good season until they signed RB Lonnie Douglas in 1935, where he nearly single-handedly carried Pittsburgh to a championship in his rookie season, but they finished runner-up in back-to-back years in 1936 and 1937. They remained a contender throughout his time in Pittsburgh, but they made one last miraculous push in Douglas’ final year in 1947. They almost won their first ever championship, but they faced a dominant Brooklyn Kings team that stopped them short. They have remained a fan-favorite team in the NYPL due to their consistent underdog status, but they could forge their own identity by joining the AFL.

RB Marion Waters has been the understudy of Lonnie Douglas, and proved that he could live up to Douglas’ potential, as he has become the focus of the offense that doesn’t really have any other pieces to use. QB Leslie Snow has proven that he cannot effectively lead an offense, and the team has a ton of young WR’s that have not been able to prove themselves. Arguably their defense is what the Shamrocks have been more known for than their underdog status. DL’s Archie Webber and Roy Forbes terrorized teams last year from the front, with LB’s Jackie Gustafson and Hugh Bray providing support in the middle. DB Harold Wilkins and S Alexander Kirby are the leaders in the secondary, but they might give way to the youth movement that makes up most of their backups in the secondary, such as S Raymond Waters, who showed massive potential in his rookie season last year. The Shamrocks might just be able to win the East, as they only have Buffalo as the other competitive team in that division, and may be able to shock the AFL and win their first title if they can play their cards correctly.

The Shamrocks have been a green team since the start, and have relatively had the same uniform set since their inception in 1929. The only exception to that is their helmet, when they added the shamrock as part of the 1947 season, becoming the first professional team to put anything on their helmet. Lonnie Douglas painted the Shamrock on his helmet as a good luck charm when the team was not doing great, and it changed the fortune of the team, as the rest of the players painted on their own shamrocks to keep up the good luck. The team didn’t win it all in the end, but the design stuck and the Shamrocks still rely on their own good luck charms today.



Players shown: DL Archie Webber (96), RB Marion Winters (2)

CHICAGO TWEAKS STRIPING
Chicago made some changes to all their striping besides the ones already on the jerseys. They added a white stripe to surround their red stripe on their helmet, mirroring the one on their home set. They also changed the single brown stripe on the pants to a striped based on one that Chicago Christian University made popular, with two thin red stripes flanking a thicker brown stripe in the middle. They went wild with their socks, changing it from a single stripe to three stripes that are featured nowhere else on their uniforms.

Players shown: TE Glenn Chambers (48), DL Eric Forbes (95)

C&C Appreciated! I'll be taking any last prospects for next year's draft through tonight, so get them in if you can!

Last edited by DireBear (1/26/2023 9:34 pm)

Like the new teams. I think the green from Pittsburgh will stand out among the rest of the teams in the league. Both teams have simple and solid looks, but I especially like the Hammers' logo.

1952 AFL Draft Preview

AACA Top 25:
1) Louisiana - 11-0
2) Wisconsin State - 9-0
3) Chicago Christian - 8-2-1
4) Oklahoma - 8-0-2
5) U. Los Angeles - 10-1
6) Washington State - 9-1
7) Brooklyn College - 9-1
8) Georgia - 8-1-2
9) Alabama A&M - 10-2
10) Michigan - 7-2-1
11) Texas - 8-2
12) St. Joseph’s - 7-2-1
13) Philadelphia State - 6-2-1
14) New Jersey - 8-2
15) Ohio - 6-3
16) Pittsburgh State - 7-3
17) Nebraska State - 8-1-1
18) North Carolina - 8-2
19) U. Kansas City - 6-3
20) Rogers Clark - 5-3-2

AACA Bowls:
Tournament of Roses Bowl (Los Angeles, CA) - (5) ULA 7-0 (7) Brooklyn College
Palm Bowl (Miami, FL) - (9) Alabama A&M 17-6 (16) Pittsburgh State
Magnolia Bowl (Houston, TX) - (1) Louisiana 24-7 (14) New Jersey
Columbian Bowl (Chicago, IL) - (3) Chicago Christian 16-0 (13) Philly State
Gold Bowl (San Francisco, CA) - (6) Washington State 12-14 (12) St. Joseph’s
Cigar Bowl (Tampa, FL) - (8) Georgia 7-26 (20) Rogers Clark
Syrup Bowl (New Orleans, LA) - (15) Ohio 34-19 (18) North Carolina

AFL Top 20 Prospects:
1) WR Paul Kent - Washington State - Sidney Boggs - DireBear
2) RB Eugene "Rip" Rooney - Jimmy Jones - Dan O’Mac
3) OL Phillip Lee - Pittsburgh State - Isaac “Deuce” Martin - idm
4) QB Adrian Alfonso - Philadelphia State - Leroy Hannigan - Darknes
5) RB Spike Roosevelt - Michigan - Leroy Hannigan - Darknes
6) OL Charles Harvester - North Carolina - Isaac “Deuce” Martin - idm
7) OL Greg Campbell - Pittsburgh State - Bernard King - Kingsfan11
8) OL Kelly Molesworth - Michigan - Waldorf Florus - Wallflower
9) LB Barry Moore - Wisconsin State - Isaac “Deuce” Martin - idm
10) OL Bart Pangle - Indiana Tech - Waldorf Florus - Wallflower
11) S Carl Allyn - Chicago Christian - Waldorf Florus - Wallflower
12) DL Larry Corn - Rogers Clark - Jimmy Jones - Dan O’Mac
13) LB Barry Reynolds - Illinois - Waldorf Florus - Wallflower
14) DL Gordon Spijker - Macatawa State - Waldorf Florus - Wallflower
15) DB Bobby Richmond - University of Cleveland - Sidney Boggs - DireBear
16) WR Max Ausloos - University of the Tri-Cities - Jimmy Jones - Dan O’Mac
17) TE Bill Danowski - Iowa A&M - Waldorf Florus - Wallflower
18) QB Addison Golden - Nebraska State - Bernard King - Kingsfan11
19) LB Howard Treadaway - University of Cleveland - Alonzo Smalley - ZO82
20) RB Maxwell Starks - Ohio - Alonzo Smalley - ZO82

Three college teams each held a claim of the national title this year, with Louisiana, Wisconsin State, and Oklahoma all sharing a piece of the national championship pie. However, only Louisiana got to play in a bowl game this year, as Oklahoma and the rest of the Red River Conference barred themselves from postseason games, and Wisconsin State was ineligible from participating due their membership terms upon joining the Central Athletic Conference in 1950. Wisconsin State stormed to the top of the CAC, becoming conference champions in just their 3rd year with an amazing defensive unit, including duo LB Barry Moore and LB Stefan Stauer, S Tom Meltzger, and DL Dave Patricia leading the defense to new records in points against and turnovers in CAC. Because of only 1 of the undefeated teams made a bowl game, most saw Louisiana as having the most legitimate claim to a national title with a convincing win over #14 New Jersey in the Magnolia Bowl in Houston. History was made at the Tournament of Roses Bowl, as ULA’s narrow victory against Brooklyn College became the first college bowl game, and first college game in general, to be broadcast on national television, with NBC cutting a deal with the AACA to broadcast a select few games over the next 2 years. Neither of those 2 games had players that declared for the AFL, but the Columbian Bowl was the first game to have prime players with professional prospects. CCU had the most players in this contest, including Bernheim Trophy winner RB Eugene “Rip” Rooney, along with offensive weapons of QB O.J. DeMille, WR Jim Ferris, and RB Darnell Hodge. Philly State was effectively carried by QB Adrian Alfonso, who finished third in Bernheim Trophy voting and helped the Maroons in a turnaround season. The Crusaders had other plans though, and shut out Philly State en route to a 16-0 victory. The player that finished second in voting though, came as a surprise when he committed to the AFL. Washington State WR Paul Kent came out of nowhere to help the Seawolves claim co-champions of the Pacific Coast Conference with the University of Los Angeles. Kent decided to pave the way for more western players to make it to the AFL, who some may say is already better than Rooney at a professional level. However, the #6 ranked Seawolves were beat in the Gold Bowl on a last second touchdown against #12 St. Joseph’s.  In other major bowl games this year, #9 Alabama A&M shut down the upstart #16 Pittsburgh State in the Palm Bowl in Miami, #20 Rogers Clark upset and convincingly beat #8 Georgia in the Cigar Bowl in Tampa, and #15 Ohio took down #18 North Carolina in the Syrup Bowl in New Orleans.

Outside of the top teams in the nation, the remaining top players are a mixed bag. OL Bart Pangle from Indiana Tech ranks as the #5 offensive lineman, who some are saying is the best pass blocking lineman out of this class as he did not allow a single sack this year against him. The University of Cleveland produced two weapons for the AFL on defense, with DB Bobby Richmond as the best DB in the class with great speed and chase ability, and LB Howard Treadaway having similar speed in both coming off the edge and chasing down players. University of the Tri-Cities WR Max Ausloos was a workhorse for the Black Hawks, but has some work ethic issues that may cause him to slide down the draft. DL Gordon Spijker comes from the smallest school in the draft class, as he made some noise with the Macatawa State Orange, helping them win their first conference championship in school history.

Besides the top 3 QB’s of Adrian Alfonso, Addison Golden, and O.J. DeMille, there are still two other QB’s that are still viable options in this class. QB Steve Doerr put up some quiet numbers while at Kentucky Commonwealth, being able to sling it far down field and able to run out of the  pocket to evade pressure, but has some accuracy issues that puts him outside the top 3. QB Maurice Hawkins from Buffalo is at the bottom of the QB totem pole this year because of where he played, as Buffalo is a smaller independent in the AACA but is solid all-around but does not have a shining ability that puts him above the rest.

Draft Picks/Needs:

1 - Detroit Knights:
Picks: 1, 4, 9, 17, 20, 25, 33
Needs: RB, OL, WR, DL, LB, DB

2 - Columbus Buckeyes:
Picks: 2, 10, 18, 26, 34
Needs: OL DL LB S

3 - Cleveland Crows:
Picks: 3, 11, 19, 27, 35
Needs: QB RB WR DL DB

4 - Tri-Cities Hawks:
Picks: 12, 28, 36
Needs: RB OL WR LB

5 - Pittsburgh Shamrocks:
Picks: 5, 21, 29, 37
Needs: QB RB DL LB DB

6 - Buffalo Hammers:
Picks: 6, 14, 22, 30, 38
Needs: QB RB OL DL LB DB S

7 - Cincinnati Rivermen:
Picks: 7, 13, 15, 23, 31, 39
Needs: WR DL DB

8 - Chicago Hogs:
Picks: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40
Needs: RB OL DL LB DB
 

I totally forgot about all the guys that I had given to you haha. Excited to see where these guys will go and what kind of an impact they can make.