Alternate History Sports » History of the National Football Association - 1974-75 Season

MyTeamIsDr.Pepper · 10/22/2020 9:50 pm

NFA Offseason Pt. 2

Expansion Teams Reveal Identities:

Cincinnati:
The first team to reveal the name of their team would be the group led experiment that is Cincinnati. After having thousands of people sign up to become a partial owner, it was clear this experiment was starting off strong. After agreeing on stadium deals for the foreseeable future with Cincinnati University's former professional stadium, the group focused on finding a great identity for the franchise. Unlike the other two expansion franchises, Cincinnati did not take to the public for this decision, instead making it a benefit of becoming a partial owner, that you might be able to name the team. After weeks of deciding, a private event was held with many of the owners that revealed the identity. Submitted by Anders Lindburg, a Blue Ox fan from St. Paul and a brother of a team owner, the name would be the Cincinnati Sabres. The name Sabres being derived from the city flag, which features a sabre, and also partially being derived from the city’s nickname Athens of the West. It wouldn’t be till later that those involved learned that greek soldiers never used Sabres as a weapon.
The color scheme and uniforms wouldn’t be revealed until later in the summer. When they were though it was a controversial design. The logo and colors were enjoyed by the fans in attendance of the reveal, but the uniforms featured a unique yet complicated design that saw mixed results in the initial reaction. The logo was of the letter C interlocked with a sabre, colored a dark royal blue and outlined in red. The uniforms had a blue jersey with white pants on the road and a white jersey over blue pants at home, both with a blue helmet, which is the first in the NFA. The controversy comes in the striping though, that sees a mix of red, blue and white stripes that becomes a bit complicated from a distance.
Pittsburgh:
The next team that revealed their identity was Pittsburgh. Despite keeping quiet through most of the process, owner Jack Sims did announce a name for the team contest that saw 100’s of submissions. However it wasn’t surprising when the team publicly announced at the end of the 1966-67 season, that the Ironmen name would be returning, to the fans delight. As we encroached the beginning of the season, the new logo and uniforms would also be unveiled. Surprising to most, is that the iconic interlocking P and I logo would be gone and instead replaced by a modern anvil logo, that featured the outline of a hammer carved in the middle of it. The uniforms would be updated as well, no longer having the unique keystone inspired striping and instead having a more traditional striping pattern. The silver lids and pants and black jersey would be returning however.
St. Louis:
After successfully getting the bid to become the league’s 14th team, Edwin Maxwell immediately started working with fans and St. Louis residents on 2 major things: finding a temporary home for the team until Gateway Stadium is built, and coming up with a great brand identity for the team. Both things ended up being harder than expected. Firstly, St. Louis Olympians owner turned down the opportunity to have another team play at his baseball team’s stadium. After that, Maxwell tried to work out a deal with the NFA to play at the St. Louis Blues, the second baseball team in the city, who currently play at a stadium that’s under the minimum seating capacity. This would prove to also be pointless because despite the NFA ruling that they were allowed to play at a stadium underneath the minimum capacity, the Blues were severely in debt and looking to relocate, not trying to hold another at their run down stadium. Eventually though a home would be found. Nearly 2 hours out of town in Columbia, the University of Missouri came to an agreement to allow the team to play there at their football facility until Gateway Stadium would be completed in 1969.Next up on the list for Maxwell was finding a team identity for his team. While the stadium drama was going on though, they’d already got started. After weeks of interviewing fans and accepting submissions for names, they came down to a list of 10 names, which would proudly be found on “every news paper in the midwest”, Maxwell said. The poll wouldn’t be close though, out of the 10 names, with unique submissions such as Catfish, Rivermen, and Fleurs in the mix, only 3 would really stand a chance. The final 3 were announced to be Flyers, Kings, and Pilots a couple weeks after the last poll was released. Finally, at a ticketed event towards the end of the summer, Maxwell revealed the full identity.
A regal royal blue and gold would be the color scheme. A noble golden helmet and spectacular blue jersey, paired with equally golden pants, all graced with traditional 3 line striping, would be the uniforms. Finally, a logo of a white crown placed inside a blue oval would be the primary logo. Kings would be the name that won the heart of Maxwell, and as proved by the crowd at the event, the hearts of the fans as well. The winning submission was William Karcz, a Barbarians fan from Eastern Wisconsin.

Expansion Draft Highlights:

In the 1967 NFA Expansion Draft, Cincinnati got us started off first with a big pickup at QB, selecting backup QB Darryl Simpson from Chicago. Simpson has backed up Hogg for 6 years but the Zephyrs are looking to pick up a QB with one of their top picks this year, so Simpson got the boot. He’s definitely a great pickup, he’s starter capable and might look better than some of the starters teams are putting out there. The next notable pick was the Hornet’s second year WR Willie King, also by Cincinnati. King is a bit of a project pick, which contradicts the Simpson pick they had earlier, which felt like they were going to try to win out of the gate. King does have some potential however and maybe they think he can make a jump to become a big time target. Right after King, Whales LB Aaron Rose was selected by Pittsburgh. Rose has been a really good player but has struggled with injuries, missing almost half of the games in his 6 year career. If he manages to stay on the field, he could be a real wrecking ball for Pittsburgh. A couple picks after Rose was long time Boston Gael and one of the best in his position at the height of his career, DB Stan Hunter. After age started to really show for the veteran, the Gaels dropped him for Cincinnati to pick up. If he manages to turn back the clock a bit, this could be the best pick of the draft. Otherwise, Hunter might play just a season or two before finding himself in the retirement home. The next notable pick was LB Randall Edwards, who was picked by Pittsburgh and last played for Seattle. Edwards is a younger player much like King but fell behind in his progression after a solid rookie year. Hopefully he should do some good for the Ironmen alongside Rose. The last notable pickup was RB Lou Langston, a second year player who didn’t see any light while playing for the Bulldogs. Langston had a really impressive college career and should be someone to keep and eye on out of the rest of the Kings roster. The rest of the teams roster are summarized as followed;

Cincinnati: After picking up some high risk, high potential players in the first rounds, the Sabres went after win now talent that could put them in contention to win the unpredictable South Division.
St. Louis: The Kings definitely looked long term with this draft. They picked up some really good pieces that could quietly develop into some top tier talent in the future.
Pittsburgh: The Ironmen took the opposite approach of the Sabres. The picked up some win now talent and vets in the first couple rounds, but then focused in on some more younger players who can hopefully learn some stuff from the vets and build a championship winner.

MyTeamIsDr.Pepper · 10/22/2020 9:52 pm

15th Annual NFA Draft:
1st - QB Sam Powers - Bell University - Pittsburgh Ironmen
2nd - RB Johnny Graves - Southern University - St. Louis Kings
3rd - QB Roy Frazier - South Carolina State University - Cincinnati Sabres
4th - LB Don Fields - Detroit State University - Minneapolis Blue Ox (From SEA)
5th - QB Lloyd Brown - Vermont University - Chicago Zephyrs*

Other Notable Picks:
6th - LB Jack Church - Tennessee State University - Milwaukee Barbarians (From WAS)
10th - RB Robert Curry - University of Ohio - Seattle Lumberjacks (From MIN)
25th - CB George Dietrich - Kentucky State University - Philadelphia Hornets
27th - DT Terry Bonds - Bell University - Pittsburgh Ironmen
30th - WR Julius McMullen - Illinois Tech University - Cincinnati Sabres (From SEA)
34th - WR Stuart Howell - Southern Florida University - St. Louis Kings

*Brown is the first black QB to be selected in the first round in football history. Brown was a standout who was under reported at the small Vermont University, predictions for him range anywhere from an all-time great to a forgettable player on the field. Either way though, this moment will be remembered in NFA history.

Roster Changes:
-The Pirates make a big move to upgrade the defense, they acquire big time CB David Potts from Minneapolis, who get younger S John Jackson and a couple picks in return. Overall it was a good trade on both sides, the Ox are on the downfall and give up a big piece on defense for some potential in the couple picks they got, and a veteran to lead those future players in Jackson.
-Washington also picks up WR Thomas Levine and Milwaukee’s second round pick for the number 5 overall pick, which ended up being prospect LB Jack Church. This is another good move by the Pirates who are really lining up to jump back into Champions Bowl contention.
-Zephyrs send RB Bob Briscoe to Los Angeles in exchange for next years 3rd rounder. Briscoe will be a good backup for Peck to lighten the load as Peck recovers from a brutal injury he had last postseason.
-In a surprising move, the Lumberjacks release star DT Glen Saywer. Sawyer apparently became upset with the Jacks front office and demanded to be traded. Rumors say the trade deals were going on about all season but to no avail. He ends up signing with Cleveland to further bolster their defense.
-Whales drop QB Richie Spikes, he signs with Pittsburgh. Spikes is already onto his 4th team in his relatively young career. This gives QB John Leonard full reigns of the San Fran offense for the first time in his career.
-Finally, the last the move the Pirates made this offseason was the committing to QB Ron Murray full time and dropping QB Doug Edmonds. This was a little risky considering Murray only has 2 seasons under his belt, but he has shown some real promise and Emmonds has regressed from his MVP years, so it could prove to be the right move this time next year. Emmonds signs with Minneapolis, who transition from one former MVP to another. This move is puzzling to say the least, with Addams gone and Coach Petty fired, many thought the Ox would attempt a rebuild, especially after moving star CB David Potts earlier in the offseason. Either way Emmonds could be a bust, he dealt with injuries for a big part of last year and clearly isn't as good as he once was. It’ll be interesting to see what happens up in Minneapolis this season.

Coaching Changes:
-Jim Crain steps down as head coach of the Bulldogs, they hire Patrick Felts in his place.
-The Pirates and OC Patrick Lemon go separate ways.
-Milwaukee cleans out the front office, they hire recently released OC Patrick Lemon in his place.
-Minneapolis lets go of head coach Emmett Petty after years of postseason failures, Ray Grant, the former OC, is promoted to head coach.
-The Kings, Sabres, and Ironmen hire the following head coaches: Joseph Pierce, John Manfield, and Andrew Penn.
-The Riders and Cougars hire the following head coaches; Thomas Dawson, Micah Hilton, and the Rays and Explorers assign their former head coaches back to office, Lennie Morales and Alexis Johnson.

League News:
-Outside of the merger and expansion, there were two news stories that unfortunately slipped behind the rest. Both were pretty important however. First, not only did Bulldogs owner Jim Crain step down from his head coach position after 5 years, opening that opportunity for someone else for the first time in franchise history. He publicly complained about the state of Chesapeake Bay Stadium. Calling it a dump among other things. Bay Stadium, as it's called, is both the home of the Bulldogs and Skipjacks, and has been around since the 40s. Calling it a dumb isn't wrong either, the place has been poorly kept and has had several problems over the years. Crain and Jackson McCarthy, the Skipjacks owner, have been in talks of building a new multi-purpose stadium, but have had trouble convincing the city to build it. As of now the talks have stalled there with both the Dogs and Skips still playing at Bay Stadium.
-The other big news to come out, and the bigger of the two, was the announcement of QB Eugene Addams’ retirement. This announcement was a long time coming after the 2 time MVP played an incredible 14 seasons, nearly all of them with the Philadelphia Hornets. In his time as a Hornet, Addams won the 1953 MOR award as he led his team to a Champions Bowl appearance in just his rookie year. They unfortunately would lose that game, but Addams kept that fire going and ended up returning to the next 3 bowls, winning 2 of them. This was maybe the most impressive streak by a young QB in NFA history, rivaled by Scott Hogg and his run with Chicago, who even met the Hornets in a memorable 1955 Champions Bowl. Addams unfortunately wouldn’t have quite the postseason success over the next half decade, missing the postseason his last 5 years with Philly. His career wouldn’t be over though as he found a new light in Minneapolis, where he led them to 3 straight NFA West Championships in his first 3 years there. However as it happens, age would eventually get to him and in his last season in the NFA Addams wouldn’t be as good as many had hoped, clearly showing it was time for the all time great to hang up his cleats. As disappointing as the later half of his career was, Addams was an obvious all time great, and definitely one of the top 3 QB’s of all time. “The Hornet”, as many have called him, has already been announced to have his number 16 retired at Wilkes Stadium, never to be worn by another Hornet ever again.

NFA Top Stars Selections:
Offense:
1.RB Charley Rodgers - Detroit
2.QB Keith Lincoln - Los Angeles
3.QB Oscar Washington - Philadelphia
4.RB Sid Snell - San Francisco
5.QB Kurtis Mueller - Cleveland
6.WR James Audrey - Boston
7.RB Sam Peck - Los Angeles
8.WR Rick Christian - Cleveland
9.RB Edgar Hamm - Baltimore
10.WR Val Goodman - Los Angeles

Defense:
1.DE Monty Jones - Washington
2.DT Tyree Matthews - New York
3.LB Bob Hayes - Baltimore
4.DE Greg Waterson - New York
5.DE Leo Smitts - Cleveland
6.CB Dan Simmons - Boston
7.CB David Potts - Washington
8.OLB George Lindwell - New York
9.CB Jerry Slaughter - Cincinnati
10.OLB Art Gladson - New York

Preseason Power Rankings:
1.Los Angeles Tigers
2.Washington Pirates
3.Philadelphia Hornets
4.Detroit Bombers
5.Cleveland Rangers
6.New York Cannons
7.Boston Gaels
8.San Francisco Whales
9.Miami Stingrays
10.Milwaukee Barbarians
11.Minneapolis Blue Ox
12.Texas Roughriders
13.Baltimore Bulldogs
14.Chicago Zephyrs
15.Cincinnati Sabres
16.Colorado Cougars
17.Houston Explorers
18.St. Louis Kings
19.Seattle Lumberjacks
20.Pittsburgh Ironmen

And theres the rest of the offseason! Big thank you to everyone who was involved in the expansion process! It was really a challenge to decide which way to take each of these identities and I'm really happy with how they came out. Thanks to those who submitted the winning submissions too. Hopefully everyone's happy with the 7 new teams joining this offseason! C&C Appreciated!

Edit: And here are those sigs, I almost forgot! I took a different direction with these, each one includes striping from the uniforms and the primary logo. Champions Bowl winners also have a little Edward Smith Trophy to commemorate each win. Let me know how they look.

Last edited by MyTeamIsDr.Pepper (10/22/2020 10:08 pm)

Sevsdast · 10/22/2020 10:00 pm

Let's go Houston, Let's go!

Rugrat · 10/22/2020 10:43 pm

The expansion teams look amazing! Glad the Ironmen name came back for Pittsburgh, I was a fan of that name from day 1. Hopefully the Bulldogs can get a new stadium and stay in Baltimore or maybe a suburb of that city! This could be a very interesting season, going with the Hornets over the Tigers in the champions bowl this year but hoping Cleveland can make it back-to-back!

ThisIsFine · 10/22/2020 11:02 pm

Wait, what happened to Birmingham again?

Steelman · 10/22/2020 11:02 pm

Glad to see the Ironmen back in Pittsburgh where they belong.

I also really love that Houston identity with the rocket. Nice work.

Rugrat · 10/22/2020 11:03 pm

ThisIsFine wrote:
Wait, what happened to Birmingham again?

They Folded.

Stickman · 10/23/2020 10:48 am

Lots of news this offseason! Loving it!

Merger and new teams: Lots of excitement here with 7 new teams! Definitely feels like the NFL/AFL merger, except the SFL never really seemed to be on equal footing with the NFA like the AFL was with the NFL. With so many new teams in the mix, (20 teams now), I was wondering, if you have the time, would you be willing to post what all the teams in the league currently look like in a single post? It'd be a pretty good time to have a complete picture of the league!

Realignment: Other than Minneapolis getting a tough break with the alignment, this looks pretty good! (Cincinnati being in the south is just a funny happenstance like the Indianapolis Colts being in the AFC South and it harmless). Really loving Pittsburgh and Milwaukee being in the same division over the Ironmen situation, that could prove to be a great rivalry!

Houston Explorers: This is a really nice update! Adding yellow definitely helps this team look more adventurous, (befitting the Explorers name). Those sleeve numbers look good too! Probably the best of the updates!

Texas Roughriders: A very simple approach to this jersey with just red and white. Definitely a fan, although I'll miss the old logo. That really was a stroke of genius in the logo having the Ridin' Cowboy's horse's eye be the spot on the Texas map where the team plays. Still, the new logo is very nice too!

Colorado Cougars: Really nice job with the new identity! That logo is pretty killer, -would love to see that on the helmets eventually- and the purple and gray color scheme will help them stand out amongst all the new red and blue teams! Great job!

Miami Stingrays: Not sure if anyone's asked before, but I was wondering why not use the secondary logo for the helmet instead of the upward facing stingray? It'd look pretty dynamic, I think. Otherwise, not much to note as they are a pretty traditional looking team, which I always appreciate!

Cincinnati Sabres: I think this is my favorite of the expansion teams! Really like the logo a lot, as it's simple, but I think pretty recognizable! The stripes would benefit from being simplified a bit, but it's pretty clear you were intending for them to get that criticism. Another really good design!

Pittsburgh Ironmen: Nice to have these guys back! Hopefully they'll be able to stick around this time! They certainly look cool!

St. Louis Kings: I like the uniforms a lot! The logo is quite good, (the fleur de lis' designs on the crown are a nice detail). The blue oval looks a little odd on the helmet, but it definitely needs to be there so that the white crown doesn't bleed into the yellow helmet. But other than that one detail, this is another winner!

Baltimore Bulldogs: They're actually one of my favorite team designs, so hopefully the stadium situation doesn't cause them to move!

Nice job on the sigs too! I'll have to look over all the teams before I decide on a favorite team for sure! Once I do, I'd happy use one of them!

Dan O'Mac · 10/23/2020 11:40 am

My team has been Milwaukee, but damn it if I haven't fallen in love with the Sabres look. I don't like that when the logo is smaller, the sabre disappears a bit. I do like the overabundance of stripes for the era, and I'm curious to see what they do if a) they keep it going forward, and b) when sleeves start getting smaller.

Also, hooray for my William Karcz entry submitting the name for St. Louis!

Section30 · 10/23/2020 2:19 pm

The changes for the merged teams all look good. I'll miss the Texas outline for the Roughriders, but I understand why it was dropped. Colorado is the big winner from this group though for me, love the logo and the colors.

The expansion teams are also really well done. Glad to see the Ironmen back in Pittsburgh, the new striping looks good (reminds me of the Gretzky era Kings jerseys). Cool to see Sabres win for Cincy, the striping and colors really make their uniforms pop, one of my favorite looks in the league probably. St. Louis also looks great, big fan of the colors and helmet

Index
» Football
» History of the National Football Association - 1974-75 Season

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ThisIsFine wrote:

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Index
» Football
» History of the National Football Association - 1974-75 Season

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