QCS wrote:

Rugrat wrote:

Other cities that could land the A's
Charlotte, NC (May be a longshot but would still expand the league south. QCS correct me if i'm wrong, but Charlotte is close enough to Louisville for it to work)
 

While I like the nod to Charlotte, the city's really not that big as of right now and plus there's a football league that currently has control of the South for the most part. I think Charlotte is an option in the future, but it feels like right now the league isn't in the best spot to try and "invade" the South.

Just brainstorming. Didn't know about that South league. 

1961 Week 11 

Worcester Athletics - 12, Ottawa Royals - 13 - Richardson Stadium - August 31, 1961 - 7 PM ET - TNF - Weather: Heavy Rain
1st Q
3-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
3-3 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
3-10 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
3rd Q
6-10 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
4th Q
12-10 WOR - RTD RB Bernard Alston
12-13 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette 

A heavy storm rolled into Boston on Thursday night, which affected both teams heavily. 
Worcester was shockingly up late on the Royals, but they would not stop the Royals' late drive that would lead to the game-winning field goal. 
DL Olaf Viktorsson would grab a pair of fumbles, but they would end up going back the other way to LB Scotty Williams and DL Vinny Brown.
The ugly game still ended with the Royals keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.  

Montreal Rouge - 23, Boston Independents - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 1, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> TE Eli Grant
2nd Q
7-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
14-3 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
14-6 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3rd Q
14-12 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Fredrick St.Pierre
17-12 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
4th Q
17-15 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
23-15 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White 

The Rouge got revenge on the Independents with a strong win at home.
Scott Mallard-White led the way with a pair of touchdowns and 132 rushing yards.
The Independents suffered several injuries in the game which hurt them in the game and prevented them from being able to slow down the Rouge. 
DB Quentin Xavier had a strong performance with an interception and 2 deflected passes for the Rouge, while LB Brent Harper had a fumble for the Independents.  

Long Island Raiders - 19, London Tigers - 22 - Long Island Stadium - September 2, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
10-0 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
2nd Q
13-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
13-7 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
3rd Q
16-7 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
16-14 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
4th Q
19-14 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
19-20 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
19-22 LDN - 2PT QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer

The Raiders and Tigers went down to the wire in Long Island, but it was the division leaders that snuck out their 10th win of the season. 
The Raiders dropped their 3rd straight continuing their streaky season and continuing to open the door for both the Blue Wings and Royals.
The Raiders did have the lead for the whole game up until the Kiernan found Jack Duncan for the win.  

Buffalo Blue Wings - 32, Providence Gold Stars - 37 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 4, 1961 - 2 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
2nd Q
7-3 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
7-10 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
14-10 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
3rd Q
14-17 PRO - DTD INT DB Neville Falkner
20-17 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> TE Johann Traeger
20-24 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
23-24 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
4th Q
23-31 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> TE Micheal Bowman III
29-31 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
32-31 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
32-37 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson 

The Blue Wings and Gold Stars duked it out with both teams trying to climb back into contention whether it be the playoffs or for the division.
The veteran in O’Rourke and the youngster in Lemieux put up a combined 6 passing touchdowns. 
WR Cedric Peterson and WR Daniel Irons both were the stars with 2 touchdowns each and both getting over 100 yards. 
DB Neville Falkner had a big part in his pick-6 and then a pair of pass deflections as well.  

Indiana Victors - 13, Louisville Thunder - 17 - Victory Stadium - September 4, 1961 - 5 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 IND - PTD QB Lee Rogers -> WR Silas Peyton
2nd Q
7-3 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
7-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Ben Roland
3rd Q
10-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
13-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
13-17 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key 

Leonidas Dumont would toss a pair of TDs in an important win over their main rivals.
It was an uglier game than expected with the Thunder having to rely on the defence more than usual in this one.
DB Jayden Mills had a pick and DL Tyrone Affalo and LB Silas O’Brien had forced fumbles.
QB Lee Rogers made his first start of the season for the Victors as they gave him a small audition for next year’s starting role. 

Ottawa Royals - 20, Worcester Athletics - 14 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 4, 1961 - 8 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
10-0 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
10-7 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
3rd Q
13-7 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
4th Q
20-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
20-14 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke 

The Royals were able to grab wins in both of their games against the Athletics which keeps their extremely slim playoff hopes alive. 
DB Mingan Oliver and DB Uzzia Hayes had interceptions for the Royals while LB Scotty Williams and DB Joe Robinson had interceptions for the Athletics.

Injury Report
LB Marco Price BOS - 2 Weeks
WR Paul Franklin BOS - Day-to-Day
DL Vic Harper BOS - Day-to-Day
WR Alexei Dubois IND - Day-to-Day
LB Deon Wiggins LI - Day-to-Day
RB Rodney Clark LOU - Day-to-Day 

Players of the Week 

OFF: RB Scott Mallard-White MTL - 2 Rushing Touchdowns, 132 Rushing Yards 

DEF: DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT - 2 Forced Fumbles, 5 Tackles, 1 Sack (Game 1 VS WOR) 

Standings
WEST
London 10-1 -x
Louisville 9-2 -x
Long Island 4-7
Buffalo 4-7
Indiana 1-10 

EAST
Boston 8-3 -x
Montreal 8-3 -x
Providence 7-4 -x
Ottawa 4-7
Worcester 0-11 

Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Providence +1
4 - Montreal +1
5 - Boston -2
6 - Buffalo -
7 - Long Island -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -  

Week 12 Games
IND (1-10) @ WOR (0-11) - SEP 9 - 3 PM ET @ Richardson Stadium
*TANK BOWL - Losing team will claim the 1st overall pick in the 1962 NAAF Draft
LI (4-7) @ BUF (4-7) - SEP 9 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
*LI clinches playoff spot with Win or Tie + OTT Loss
*BUF clinches playoff spot with Win
LDN (10-1) @ LOU (9-2) - SEP 10 - 1 PM ET
*LDN clinches West Division with Win or Loss by 8 points or less
*LOU clinches West Division with Win by more than 8 points
OTT (4-7) @ BOS (8-3) - SEP 10 - 4 PM ET
*OTT clinches playoff with Win + LI-BUF Tie
*BOS clinches East Division with Win
MTL (8-3) @ PRO (7-4) - SEP 10 - 7 PM ET - Regular Season Finale
*MTL clinches East Division with Win + BOS Loss
*PRO clinches East Division with Win by more than 1 + BOS Loss 

Last edited by Wallflower (3/09/2021 9:52 pm)

For the sake of our future I'm gonna be hoping that my Wings actually lose this game. I don't think that we're nearly good enough to compete for the title so I'd rather get the higher draft pick

Hey everyone, likely going to have to delay the final week of the season to tomorrow or Friday, mid-term week has taken up a lot of my time so there will be a little delay, however, I have some intriguing developments in the Worcester situation. It's a bit of a read, but I hope it adds a bit to the story and the overall information. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BREAKING NEWS 

WORCESTER ATHLETICS OWNER ARRESTED; ARSON AND INSURANCE FRAUD CHARGES
September 6, 1961 - Early this morning, Chester Paul, the owner of the Worcester Athletics, was arrested by Worcester Police. The investigation into the downtown fire from mid-August would reveal that the fire was started by the owner himself. The stadium conveniently had no one on staff that night, when there is typically staff working overnight, and some evidence was found in Chester Paul’s office at the stadium. Along with the arson charge, he will also be charged with insurance fraud as he was aiming to get money for compensation for the burnt stadium. Following the arrest, the NAAF will officially remove Chester Paul as the owner and will take full ownership of the franchise. The search for the team's new owner will fall into the league’s hands.  

MORE INFORMATION REVEALED
It had been a rocky road since Chester Paul took control of the team’s operations after his father, Richard Paul, passed away in 1955. The one good year under Chester Paul was 1956 when the Athletics had made the McCallister Cup. Since then, the team has been dismantled piece-by-piece, going from championship contender to basement dweller. Chester’s low-cost, high-profit mentality is the main cause for the downfall. He has shown to have little care and knowledge about football but took the role because of the business side and potential for money. He would take any chance to cut payroll, even if that made his team worse. On top of that, he lacked much care for players, and that was reflected in his GM Jack McKinnon who would comply with Chester Paul and would make the moves happen without much of a care with what the players had to say. The issues continued to stack up every season with the decisions becoming more puzzling. Even after there was some promise of an improving team in 1960, the loss of young QB Gene Bishop would be the last straw. 

After being asked to sell the team, Chester Paul tried to fight it but was unsuccessful. As the season was about to begin, Chester was looking for a new owner to buy the team from him. However, he ran into some issues. Firstly, he priced the team much higher than many perceived the franchise to be worth. The high price would certainly turn off many potential buyers, especially ones out of smaller markets and even Worcester itself. Secondly, the team’s lack of success throughout the season only made it tougher as the Athletics looked more and more like a major project. Many of the potential buyers outside of Worcester were more interested in pushing for future expansion teams than dealing with the aftermath of Chester’s time in Worcester. The team was almost bought in week 4 by people from the ACFL in an attempt to take a franchise away from the NAAF, but the NAAF was able to prevent the move which left Chester back where he started. To make matters worse, his own business which he built before taking over the Athletics, was in a lot of trouble and was getting closer to bankruptcy. 

As the season went on, Chester got truly desperate. He came up with a plan that he thought might be able to get him out of the situation. What Chester didn’t think of, was how terrible a plan it was. He decided that trying to get insurance money from a burnt stadium would be the best way to handle things and then sell the team for a little less to get overall more money. The rest is history at this point with Chester's plan crashing and burning; getting caught and in a much worse position than before.  

BACKLASH
While Chester Paul will head to the courts and deal with his issues separate from the NAAF, the league is getting some critical heat about the situation. New York City Football Club owner, Steven Van Fossen, was once again vocal in criticizing the league for its supposed lack of business understanding. He specifically revealed that the ACFL had a deal done to buy the team and that the league was too involved.  

NAAF Commissioner Ryan Jameson would comment on what Van Fossen and other critics had to say by stating “The NAAF is a league that supports each other, from the ownership group to the players on the field. People make mistakes and we will give second chances, but if someone is out of line and hurting the rest of the “family” then we will make the decision to move on. Our choice to remove Chester Paul was exactly that, but our further involvement was for the future and to maintain the strong bond and “family” we have built within the NAAF.” 

The statement was well received from the partners in the NAAF, but some were still not satisfied, specifically Mr. Van Fossen. 

Well Holy Fudgin sh-t! 

I bet $5000 Van Fossen was somewhat involved in the arson so that the ACFL can buy the A's dirt cheap(even if there is no evidence).  The ACFL is going to be a problem for the NAAF going forward now that the ACFL(by extension of Van Fosson) wants to get rid of NAAF and move iinto their territory.

Last edited by ZO82 (3/10/2021 11:58 pm)