Ottawa is definitely MUCH improved!  You know, I wouldn't half mind seeing you try to put the "Northwestern Style" stripes for the red jersey too.   It looks really good on the white uniforms.  So good, in fact, that I think Ottawa's white jerseys are my new favorite white uniform.  

Philadelphia's third jersey is interesting, it reminds me a little of a muted Buffalo Bills jersey from the Jim Kelly era, which I loved growing up.

Nice job as always, especially again with Ottawa, which just went from the ugliest (yet appreciated) jersey to one of the league's best white jerseys, with a nice red one to boot.

1961-62 NAFA Season Summary

Regular Season Standings

East Division
4 - Boston Riders: 9-5
5 - Washington Federals: 8-5-1
Philadelphia Americans: 4-9-1
New York Blues: 3-10-1

Central Division
2 - Detroit Sparks: 11-3
6 - Toronto Nationals: 7-6-1
Ottawa Capitals: 7-7
Cleveland Lumberjacks: 5-7-2

West Division
1 - Indianapolis Chiefs: 11-2-1
3 - St. Louis Knights: 9-4-1
Minneapolis Black Bears: 7-7
Chicago Cougars: 3-11

Headlines

- Rookie Travis Bryan leads the Federals to the playoffs after going win-less in the 1960-61 season.
- After starting the season 3-1, MVP candidate Stuart Hunter breaks his collarbone and misses the rest of the season. It is also unlikely he plays at all next season.
- Detroit HB Ruben Ross wins the NAFA rushing title for the 3rd year in a row.
- With the the departures of QB Guy Ward from Ottawa and Coach Tom Evans from New York, both teams drop in the standings.
- Toronto shoots up the standings, securing their first playoff bid in 6 years.

End-of-Season Awards

Most Valuable Player: Ruben Ross | HB | Detroit Sparks
Rookie of the Year: Travis Bryan | QB | Washington Federals
Coach of the Year: Bryon Beauchamp | Indianapolis Chiefs

Postseason Results

PLAY-IN GAMES


Toronto Nationals 6   at   St. Louis Knights 20
January 13, 1962 | Sportsman's Park | St. Louis, MO

In his second career playoff game Toronto QB Guy Ward has another bad outing, going 14-21 for 165 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT (he now has a 2-5 TD-INT ratio in the playoffs). Neither offense got much going, as St. Louis was only able to score off of a pick six, punt return, and 2 field goals.

Washington Federals 24   at   Boston Riders 30
January 14, 1962 | Rodgers Stadium | Boston, MA

After TV viewers were left disappointed by a lousy playoff game Saturday night, they were in for a treat Sunday when the Federals visited the Riders. In the end, the teams combined for 889 total yards with Scott Jacobs going a near perfect 20-22 for the Riders.

SEMIFINALS


Boston Riders 6   at   Indianapolis Chiefs 15
January 20, 1962 | Miami Stadium | Indianapolis, IN

The Chiefs' defense, which had been great all season, continued their greatness in the playoffs, allowing a hot Boston team just two field goals. They forced 2 INT and 3 fumbles but were only able to put up 5 field goals themselves as their offense struggled to capitalize.

St. Louis Knights 23   at   Detroit Sparks 17
January 21, 1962 | GM Field | Dearborn, MI

Ruben Ross had a solid game for the Sparks, rushing for 135 yards and 2 TD on 27 carries. Other than that, the Knights were able to shut down the Sparks' offense, allowing just 49 passing yards. QB Stephen Cobb stepped up for the Knights going 13-16 for 151 yards as well as rushing 14 times for 87 yards and 2 TD.

CONTINENTAL BOWL XIV


St. Louis Knights 13   vs   Indianapolis Chiefs 10
January 28, 1962 | Yankee Stadium | New York, NY

In what was deemed "The Worst Continental Bowl Ever," both offenses struggled. Two late Stephen Cobb touchdowns put the Knights over the top after the Chiefs led 10-0 entering the 4th quarter.

Continental Bowl XIV MVP: Stephen Cobb | 11-23 | 99 yards | 1 TD | 16 rushes | 102 yards | 1 TD

Congratulations to the St. Louis Knights and their fan base on their 2nd Continental Bowl Victory!

And sorry to the Chiefs' fans. They're now 0-3 in Continental Bowls.

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Thanks for viewing, C&C is appreciated.

Last edited by DoctaC (8/06/2019 3:10 pm)

Slapshot Kirby wrote:

This is a cool league, you have going here, DoctaC! It was nice to see Washington make the playoffs after pulling off a 1976 Tampa Bay Bucs last season, LOL. I'll be looking forward to more, and the Riders are admittedly my favorite team so far, if not for their uniforms, as I feel the green and white go well together. 

Also, what are the chances of Montreal getting a team via expansion or relocation? Keep up the good work!

Thanks man, since Montreal is still the largest city in Canada they will be an option in the next expansion council.

Cleveland... Hunter gets hurt for possible 1-2 seasons and they draft a center from a small college and sign a receiver to a big contract? Guess they're throwing away a season for a run in 1963? --crusty Jacks fan

1962 NAFA Off Season: Part II

After a hectic first few weeks of school I'm back working on this project.

At this year's league meetings, the NAFA owners voted in favor of requiring a two-bar facemask for the 1962-63 season.

Only one team changed their look - the Cleveland Lumberjacks. They adopted a new logo while keeping their uniform design very similar. They raised their TV numbers on the sleeves and will now use white pants with their white uniform:


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Some more big news came out of the league meetings when Commissioner Tom Evans announced that they had voted in favor of expanding the league by a whopping four  teams over the 1964-55 and 1965-66 seasons (2 each). The league has exploded in popularity over the past 5 season, generating record amounts of revenue and attendance.

The New NAFA Expansion Council is now open. If you would like to participate, please fill out the following information:

Name: Your character's first and last name.
Age: Your character's age.
Bio: Claim to fame, Business, etc.
Choices for Expansion: Choose 4 of the following 8 markets -

Cincinnati, OH
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
Montreal, QC
Pittsburgh, PA
Vancouver, BC

The council will be open until Thursday August 29th (when I get my wisdom teeth out ) at 2pm.

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Thanks for viewing and/or participating in the expansion council, C&C is appreciated.

Last edited by DoctaC (8/27/2019 8:11 pm)