1964 Retirements

LB Aengus Lynch - Charlestown, MA - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: TOR 1952 - 1st Round - 4th Overall - (from OTT)
Teams: Toronto/Ontario/London Tigers (1952-1963)
Captaincy: ON/LDN C - (1957-1963)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1960, 1963)
Awards: Defensive Player of the Year (1956)
All-Stars: 8 (1954-1961)
Lynch will go down as one of the best Tigers of all time. After being taken 4th overall in 1952, Lynch quickly found his footing as the anchor of the defence. By his third year, he was making the argument for being the 2nd best LB in the league behind LB Scotty Williams. He would have 8 straight All-Stars as well and a Defensive Player of the Year award (1956). He would also become the Tigers' first and only captain in 1957. As the captain, he would finally help the team get over the top in 1960 and once again in his final season 1963.


S Frazier Brooks - Bristol, CT - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: BUF 1952 - 1st Round - 6th Overall
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings (1952-1963)
Captaincy: BUF - A - (1957-1960) - BUF C - (1961-1963)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1952,1957)
Awards: Playoff MVP (1957), McCallister Cup MVP (1957)
All-Stars: 4 (1953, 1957-1959)
Another captain will leave the game with S Frazier Brooks calling it a career. Brooks was often overlooked throughout his career, but his leadership and ability to show up when his team needed him most make him one of the best at the safety position. While his accolades don’t jump off the page, he certainly has a lot of respect behind a great 1957 playoff run and 4 all-stars. Brooks is a very intelligent player and is very likely going to find himself coaching moving forward. 


OL Jean Mathieu-Baptiste - Montreal, QC - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: BUF 1953 - 1st Round - 8th Overall
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings (1953-1963)
Captaincy: BUF A - (1960-1963)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1957)
All-Stars: 4 (1957-1960)
Another longtime Buffalo veteran calls it a career. Mathieu-Baptiste has been a consistent member of the Blue Wings’ O-line since being drafted in the first round in 1953. He peaked during the late 50s with 4 All-Stars. He would follow those years up by taking on the A for his final 4 years in the league. A solid career that may also be extended into coaching moving forward.


RB Marcus Devonshire - Boston, MA - Creator: ZO82
Drafted: WOR 1953 - 2nd Round - 10th Overall
Teams: Worcester Athletics (1953-1959), Providence Gold Stars (1960-1963)
Captaincy: WOR A - (1958-1959)
McCallister Cups: None
Awards: Breakout Player of the Year (1956)
All-Stars: 2 (1957,1961)
Devonshire had a pretty solid career. He was a bruising back that would power through tackles. The perfect player for important runs where teams would stack the defence up the middle. He put himself in conversations for awards throughout his career; he would win a breakout player award in 1956. He would also snag a pair of all-stars at the RB position which is typically more difficult since only 2 get picked each year. After 7 seasons with Worcester, he would close out his career in Providence, helping them reach the 1963 McCallister Cup, however, he was still never able to win the title.


S Shawn Jensen - Toledo, OH - Creator: Wallflower
Drafted: WOR 1952 - 3rd Round - 17th Overall
Teams: Worcester Athletics (1952-1960), Providence (1961-1963)
McCallister Cups: None
All-Stars: 3 (1954-1956)
Jensen is often known as one of the best steals in NAAF draft history. A player that was projected to go late-1st round, early 2nd round, slipped all the way to the third. The Athletics were stoked to have the eventual 3-time All-Atar as their mainstay on the back end. Much like Worcester teammate Devonshire, he would move over to the Gold Stars for his last 2 seasons. 


TE Jervonte Howell - Philadelphia, PA - Creator: Wallflower
Drafted: OTT 1952 - 2nd Round - 12th Overall
Teams: Ottawa Royals (1952-1963), London Tigers (1963)
McCallister Cups: 5 (1954,1955,1956,1959,1963)
All-Stars: 7 (1954-1958, 1960-1961)
If he isn’t the only player, Howell is one of few that have been able to bring home the McCallister Cup 5 times in his NAAF career. Easily one of the best TEs of the NAAF, Howell was consistently an All-Star and a special weapon for QB Jean Matieau. He played for the Royals for all but 7 games in his career, as he was traded to the Tigers midway through his final season. 


LB Silas O’Brien - Falmouth, MA - Creator: Dan O’Mac
Drafted: BOS 1952 - 1st Round - 5th Overall
Teams: Boston Independents (1954-1955), Worcester Athletics (1956-1957), Louisville Thunder (1958-1963)
Captaincy: LOU A - (1959-1963)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1962)
Awards: McCallister Cup MVP (1962)
All-Stars: 3 (1958,1959,1961)
O’Brien was never able to truly live up to the expectations of a 1st Round selection, however, he still managed to make the most of his career. He had a rocky start to his career, as he was traded to Worcester after only 2 years in Boston. He was then dealt to Louisville 2 seasons after that. His time in both first cities was alright, but nothing special, however, he was able to break loose in Louisville. He took to the leadership role on the young Thunder team and eventually was named an alternate captain in 1959. He would help the Thunder win their lone title in 1962 with the game’s MVP. Silas has loved being in Louisville and is expected to stick around in retirement. 


OL Bruce Wesley - New York City, NY - Creator: Wallflower
Drafted: BUF 1953 - 3rd Round - 24th Overall
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings (1953), Long Island Hawks/Raiders (1954-1963)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1958)
All-Stars: 4 (1956-1959)
On to another player that was traded early in his career. Bruce Wesley was originally drafted by the Blue Wings in 1953, but was then shipped to Long Island a year later as one of the main pieces in the trade for DL Sean Bowen. Wesley wasn’t expected to be much out of the 3rd round, but he would prove people wrong with 4 all-stars with the Raiders. Wesley was a solid addition for the Raiders O-line and would help them reach the top in 1958. 


DL Vinny Brown - Albany, NY - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: WOR 1953 - 4th Round - 26th Overall
Teams: Worcester Athletics (1953-1961), Montreal Rouge (1962-1963)
McCallister Cups: None
All-Stars: 3 (1957,1958,1960)
Worcester didn’t seem to miss in the first couple of NAAF drafts. Brown was a strong selection out of the 4th round in 1953. He would develop into a mainstay on the D-line for many years and would make a strong impact with 3 All-Stars in his career. Many Worcester fans love Vinny, especially when he would stick around right up until their final season in Worcester. He would close out his career with a couple of seasons with Montreal but was unsuccessful in winning the cup. 


OL Wilfred Gibson - Peterborough, ON - Creator: Wallflower
Drafted: PRO 1952 - 2nd Round - 13th Overall
Teams: Providence Gold Stars (1952-1963)
Captaincy: PRO A - (1961-1963)
McCallister Cups: None
All-Stars: 1 (1957)
Gibson was no elite player, but he had a strong career with the Gold Stars. He would be a leader for the team taking on the A in his final 3 seasons. He played a major role in helping to develop some of the younger Gold Star OL that are currently starting today. 


Other Notable Players
* = won championship during that time
LB Daevion Shelton - Norfolk, VA - Creator: Wallflower - Drafted: PRO 1952 - 4th Rd - 29th Ovl - Teams: PRO (1952-1963)
OL Shawn Lawrence - Hamilton, ON - Creator: Wallflower - Drafted: TOR 1952 - 3rd Rd - 18th Ovl - Teams: TOR/ON/LDN (1952-1963)**
WR Truman Harry - Bangor, ME - Creator: Rugrat - Drafted: HAR 1953 - 2nd Rd - 12th Ovl - Teams: R.HAR/LI (1953-1955), LI (1955-1956), LOU (1957), OTT (1958-1960)*, LOU (1961-1963)*
DL Tyrone Affalo - Bronx, NY - Creator: Darknes - Drafted: HAR 1953 - 2nd Rd - 17th Ovl - Teams: HAR/LI (1953-1960)*, LOU (1961-1963)*
RB Connor Riley - Boston, MA - Creator: Captain Mort 3D - Drafted: PRO 1953 - 4th Rd - 29th Ovl - Teams: R.PRO (1953-1954), LI (1955-1963)*
TE Phineas Vandenlangenberg - Weekapaug, RI - Creator: Dan O’Mac - Drafted: Undrafted - Teams: R.WOR (1955-1957), OTT (1958-1960 & 1962)*, LOU (1963)

I love the Steelheads look, and I like the way you merged two franchises well. A great looking team.

Providence is... different. I really like the three stars on the helmet stripe. The patch is... nothing too out there, just a good solid patch. With it just being the 50 on the star, it feels more like something they'd do with jersey numbers, so I don't know how I feel about the application on the helmet. I like the idea of using just the star after this season, however.

The Rouge going to just gray/silver pants feels like a step back. They've always felt like a red and white team only, so the gray/silver pants feel out of place to me.

1964 Coaching Changes

There were plenty of coaching changes that occurred around the league, especially from some teams that had disappointing seasons. 

BUFFALO BLUE WINGS
After being with the team for 10 years, and being the head coach for the last 8, Dannell Willis was let go by the team. The firing follows a disappointing 4-7-1 season for the team. GM Reginald McMahon felt that it was getting a bit stale with the long-term coaching staff and felt the change was necessary to take the next step. To replace the longtime HC, the Blue Wings would bring in former Victors head coach Maurice Evanson. Evanson’s time in Indiana was certainly not the most inspiring, he was quietly carrying the quite untalented team to a decent season. Overall, it should be a solid hire for a young Blue Wings with plenty of weapons. 

The Blue Wings would let go of OC Tim Bakersfield as well, hoping to find someone who can get QB Charles Lemieux and RB Jimmy Golden to take another massive step forward. Their replacement would be a bit of a surprise with Royals OC Soni Dionne moving over to Buffalo. Dionne felt that he wasn’t going anywhere within the Royals’ organization and was excited for the chance to work with fellow Quebec City native Lemieux in Buffalo. 

INDIANA VICTORS
HC Jimmy Sargent only lasted 2 seasons in the Victors’ organization, but after a very frustrating 4-8 season, GM Everett Henderson felt that Sargent wasn’t the guy to get the team to the next level. To replace Sargent, the Victors would bring in Dannell Willis from Buffalo. Willis certainly has a better track record than Sargent and should certainly help the defence take the next step with his strong defensive schemes. 

MONTREAL ROUGE
Montreal had the most apparent disappointment. Many viewed them as the most talented team last season, but they could only manage a 6-6 record. HC Dean Reed was let go despite being in the McCallister Cup the previous season. GM Virgil Gross would then promote OC Perry Powell to HC. Powell served as Gross’ head coach during his time in Providence (which included Providence’s 9-1 season in 1953). Gross has always liked Powell and had only fired him while in Providence due to the higher-ups. Some are thinking that the change in ownership and the disappointing season gave Gross the chance to finally get Powell back in the HC role. Regardless, Powell still knows how to coach a team and he should be able to unlock an extra level of the offence. 

They would also let go of DC Patrick Taylor based on the tough defensive performance. They would ultimately bring in Tim Bakersfield from the Blue Wings for the OC role and Jimmy Sargent from the Victors for the DC role. Both are very experienced coaches and they should be able to add some stability to the Rouge next season.

OTTAWA ROYALS
The last change would come from Ottawa since Soni Dionne left for Buffalo. To replace the OC the Royals would bring in Kent Winters. Winters was an interesting hire since his last job was a one-year stint with The winless Athletics, however, it might just be a temporary hire for what could be a time of transition for the Royals. 

MyTeamIsDr.Pepper wrote:

Ooo I like a good expansion team, even if the Steelheads aren’t necessarily an expansion. I like the story behind the name, as well as the whole merger story, which was really well written and enjoyable to read, and the identity looks really nice too. My only quip is that the blue and the silver look too similar and the numbers on the blue uniform would be unreadable. I think the silver in general has a very Cowboys-esq blue tint, which can be nice and unique but it needs to be paired with a much darker blue then baby blue. I think an easy fix would be just swapping the numbers for white ones (which could spark a cool in world story about them having to play a whole season in white uniforms because after taking the field fans realized the silver numbers were unreadable or something) or going as far as darkening the blue or making the silver more, well, silver.
The throwback is nice, I think the black too feels somehow very blue, oddly enough, but it’s nice.

Thanks, DP! Glad you enjoyed the story elements!

Yea I totally get the silver-blue. I had some conversations with others that brought it up. I am using the Lions silver from their '64 jerseys which appears a lot closer to white in images, so I would imagine (especially in the sun) the numbers would come off as more white legible with reflections. However, I think the team will likely make some updates fairly quickly as this look is quite rushed due to the quick turnaround. 

As for the alternate, the black is actually the same as the Athletics used, so the blue tinge probably comes from the silver which is again the Lions and some elements (the helmets) use Raiders silver.

I never realized how blue that Lions silver is then. Your probably right too that it’s making the black seem more navy-ish. I was more worried about TV viewers being able to read the numbers, but a) I’m not sure how much real life NFL worried about that, or b) how advanced the TV broadcasting is in this universe, so it’s probably not anything to worry about. It’s a good look!