1950 NAFA Season

Regular Season Standings
1. New York Football Club: 10-0-0
2. Philadelphia Americans: 8-2-0
3. Toronto Nationals: 6-2-2
4. Baltimore Knights: 4-5-1
5. Montreal Saints: 2-6-2
6. Cleveland Lumberjacks: 0-7-3

New York became the first team in NAFA to go undefeated in the regular season. They were once again led by halfback Lester Riley, who rushed for 983 yards and 13 TDs. NYFC's defense was also very solid, known for their amazing tackling ability. They didn't force a ton of turnovers, but they rarely gave up first downs, let a lone touchdowns.

Philadelphia came in 2nd, setting up a rematch of Continental Bowl II in CB III. They did this despite losing halfback Ralph Figueroa during the off season, when he left football to spend more time with his family. They were once of the first teams to be successful with a primarily passing attack. Despite his horrid performance in last year's Continental Bowl, in which he threw 3 interceptions, Milton Gilbert looked great all season.

1950 Continental Bowl

After playing their first two Continental Bowls on the road, NYFC finally got to play one in front of their home crowd at Kings County Stadium in Brooklyn. However, it seemed as if this had little effect when the game started. Philadelphia received the opening kickoff and returned in 44 yards to the NYFC 38. Their drive then stalled, and they took a 3-0 lead after a 22 yard field goal. On their first drive, NYFC got two first downs before being forced to punt it back to the Americans. Then Philly got two first downs of their own before punting back to NYFC. New York then advanced to their own 43 as a boring first quarter came to a close.

End of 1st Quarter: PHI 3, NYFC 0

Three plays into the 2nd, NYFC coach Tom Evans called for a trick play where quarterback Brendan Boone would toss the ball to Lester Riley, who would then throw the ball back to Boone across the field. The play was a disaster, as Riley was unable to get the pass off, and was tackled for a loss of 11 yards, making it 3rd and 18 from the 49 yard line. They couldn't get anything on third down, and were forced to punt for the second time of the game. Philadelphia capitalized off of good field position after a poor punt, quickly moving the ball into NYFC territory. On 3rd and 13 from the 24 yard line, Milton Gilbert hit Isaac Stone on a slant route. He was then tackled very close to the first down line. The chains were brought out, and he was determined just about 4 inches short of the marker. Playing it safe, Philly took the field goal, and their lead was increased to 6-0 with 7:52 remaining in the half. NYFC's next drive was their best of the game, as they finally advanced into the Americans' red zone. It stalled, however, after a Lester Riley -3 yard rush on 3rd down. Rickey Barnett nailed the short field goal, and Philly's lead was cut to 6-3. With just 2:12 to go, Philadelphia hoped to get at least a field goal before half time. They used the sidelines to their advantage, and were already in NYFC territory with 1:03 left. They then called their last timeout with :34 to go as they were at the 14 yard line. One the next play, Milton Gilbert couldn't escape the pocket and was sacked for a 5 yard loss. He rushed his men to the line and the ball was snapped with :14 remaining. Gilbert tossed out a short pass to fullback Otis Klein, who took off down the right sideline, looking for the end zone. With approximately 4 seconds remaining, Klein had what seemed to be a lane for 6. However, NYFC linebacker Allen Bryan filled it, and Klein stepped out with :2 to go, ensuring Philly would get some points and take a two possession lead. Kicker Edward Thornton was brought out, and he made the chip-shot, bringing him up to 3-3 on the day and their led to 9-3.

Halftime: PHI 9, NYFC 3

NYFC received the ball to start the second half, and they looked like a different team. Their offense, which seemed off in the first half, began to click, as they moved the ball down the field (they also took up a lot of clock). On 2nd and 5 at midfield, Lester Riley took a right-middle hand off 50 yards for a touch down, giving NYFC their first lead of the game at 10-9. This seemed to light a spark under NYFC, as on the third play of the Americans' next drive, a big hit on Milton Gilbert caused a fumble. However, it was re-recovered by Philadelphia. Gilbert was injured on the play, and would not return. Backup quarterback Jonathan Sims entered the game, and looked good at first. He completed his first 3 passes, and moved Philly into NYFC territory. However, on 3rd and 8 at the NYFC 41, he tried to force a pass to Isaac Stone. Cornerback Terry Hudson jumped the route, and intercepted the ball. He then made two Philadelphia players miss before going out of bounds at the 50. The Americans got lucky though, and NYFC quickly went 3 and out and punted the ball back to them with 4:22 to go in the quarter. Despite the interception, they kept using Sims' arm, and he quickly moved them down the field and into NYFC's red zone. Then the drive stalled, and Philly was once again forced to bring out Edward Thornton, who nailed the 28 yard kick, giving Philadelphia the lead 12-10 as the third quarter ended.

End of 3rd Quarter: PHI 12, NYFC 10

The 4th quarter began with 5 consecutive punts, three by New York and two by Philadelphia. The Americans regained possession at their own 39 with 5:18 remaining, and it seemed as if they would have a chance to run out the rest of the clock and with the Continental Bowl. It seemed as if they would do just that, as they gained three first downs off of 8 running plays as the game clock reached 3:00. Then things took a drastic turn. On 3rd and 14 from the NYFC 32, Philly was forced to pass the ball. They ran a play action, and Jonathan Sims dropped back to pass. If he could complete this pass, the Americans would win, and he would be hailed a backup hero for the rest of his life. He held onto the ball while trotting to the right of the pocket. He then first a laser beam into the hands of tight end Ted Green, who took off running. He gained the first down, and most expected him to go down and end the play, sealing the game. Instead, he saw a lane towards the end zone, and he wanted to end it. He took off running, and it seemed as if he was going to score. TV announcer (Continental Bowls had been on NBC the past two years) Greg Foster famously yelled "GREEN IS GOING TO SCORE, GREEN IS GOING TO SCORE!" Then, out of nowhere, NYFC safety Israel Fleming entered the picture and rocked Green on his left side. He went flying, and the ball hit the dirt. Linebacker Craig King picked up the ball and returned it to the 44 yard line before he was forced out of bounds by Sims. Now with possession, NYFC only needed a field goal to win the game, and there was just 2:08 left on the clock. On first down, Lester Riley took a left side toss for 8 yards. Boone then rushed his team to the line and snapped the ball with 1:46 left. He dropped back, but couldn't find an open receiver. He then took off up the middle of the defense and gained 16 yards before sliding, advancing NYFC to Philadelphia's 32. They didn't run another play until there were 59 seconds remaining, when Lester Riley took a screen pass for 11 yards before going out of bounds. With 46 seconds to go and the ball at the 21, NYFC had all but won the game. They handed the ball up the middle to Lester Riley who carried for 4. With 8 seconds to go, they snapped the ball again, and Boone spiked the ball, stopping the clock. That's when 5'7" kicker Rickey Barnett trotted out onto the field. They set up their formation, and prepared to snap the ball. It would be a 24 yard field for Barnett, but it felt like 55. The ball was snapped, and Barnett took his steps towards the ball. He got a good foot on it, and it went straight down the middle, giving NYFC a 13-12 lead as time expired, and their 2nd Continental Bowl Championship.

After the game, many questions were raised about Philadelphia's performance. What if Otis Klein hadn't gone out of bounds and scored at the end of the 1st half? What if Philly hadn't passed on 3rd and 14 with 2:30 to go? And most of all, Americans fans asked what if Ted Green just went down and didn't get greedy?



Thanks for viewing. As always, C&C is encouraged and appreciated. Congrats to NYFC on becoming the first franchise with two CB titles!

Last edited by DoctaC (5/23/2019 6:27 pm)

Really cool start!

Pegging Cleveland as the first team to move.

I can get behind such a no-nonsense look as Montreal. They'll probably be my team heading forward.

1951 NAFA Season

Regular Season Standings
1. Baltimore Knights: 8-0-2
2. New York Football Club: 7-2-1
3. Toronto Nationals: 6-2-2
4. Philadelphia Americans: 5-5-0
5. Montreal Saints: 2-7-1
6. Cleveland Lumberjacks: 2-8-0

Baltimore was propelled into their first 1st place regular season finish behind a breakout year from quarterback Tommie Wagner. He set NAFA records for passing yards in a season with 2,561 and passing TDs in a season with 20. His go-to target was receiver Dennis Rose.

NYFC fell to second place this season after surprisingly losing to Cleveland twice and tying Baltimore at home. Lester Riley's production went down, but he still led the league in rushing TDs with 9. The leading rusher was Toronto's Thomas Graham, who recorded 802 yards.

Continental Bowl IV

It was a relatively warm December night in Baltimore when the ball was kicked off and the fourth Continental Bowl went underway. The scoring started early as NYFC return man Jack Pierce took the opening kick 83 yards back for a touchdown, giving the NYFC a quick 7-0 lead. The action kept coming as three plays into their first drive Knights halfback Edmund Miller took a pitch right 47 yards deep into NYFC territory. However, the drive quickly stalled and Baltimore was forced to take a field goal, cutting the lead to 7-3 with 7:16 to go in the quarter. NYFC then displayed a beautiful sequence of plays as they swiftly moved the ball back into Baltimore's end zone after a 23 yard Lester Riley rush, increasing the lead to 14-3. The Knights regained possession with 2:12 remaining and moved the ball to midfield as the first quarter came to its end.

End of 1st Quarter: NYFC 14, BAL 3

To open up the second, disaster struck for the Knights as Tommie Wagner's pass was picked off and returned 23 yards to their 38 yard line. NYFC couldn't gain much though, as they only advanced the ball to the 36 yard line before they faced a 4th and 8. They brought out Rickey Barnett who hit the 43 yard field goal, the longest in Continental Bowl history. This brought NYFC's lead to 17-3. The next 8 minutes of the game were boring to watch, as the teams exchanged 3 straight punts. NYFC got the ball back with 2:48 left in the half at their own 34. Facing a 3rd and 16 from their 42, Brendan Boone dropped off a short screen pass to Lester Riley, who weaved through the defense en route to a 25 yard gain and a first down. With :24 in the half, Boone dropped back again and led receiver Lewis McGee to the end zone with a perfect pass down the right sideline. This made NYFC's lead 24-3 at the half.

Halftime: NYFC 24, BAL 3

To open up the third Baltimore seemed to be back on track after some halftime adjustments. Tommie Wagner was 6-6 on their opening drive before they reached the red zone. He then suffered three straight incompletion (two drops) and the Knights were forced to take another field goal, cutting the lead to 24-6. The two teams then exchanged punts a few times until Baltimore retook possession at the NYFC 49. They moved the ball into NYFC's red zone in just 3 plays before halfback Herbert Neal was stripped by NYFC lineback Kerry Bridges. The "Blues" as fans have became calling them marched down the field very slowly, draining the clock before taking a 31 yard field goal from Rickey Barnett. The lead now stood at 27-6 and the NYFC seemed to be strolling their way towards a third straight NAFA Championship. Baltimore got the ball back with 1:13 to go in the 3rd and the quarter ended midway through their drive.

End of 3rd Quarter: NYFC 27, BAL 6

The fourth quarter was just a continuation of the first three. NYFC's defense continued to be dominant, shutting down Baltimore's passing attack. With 5:15 remaining, Lester Riley took a 34 counter 62 yards to the house, bringing the lead up to 34-6. Baltimore was finally able to get in the end zone with just :34 remaining when Wagner connected with Dennis Rose for a 13 yard score. In the end, NYFC won their 3rd straight Continental Bowl 34-13 for the largest margin of victory through the first four of them.



Shocking news was announced by Commissioner and coach of NYFC Tom Evans. He would be stepping down as coach to focus on running the league, which was growing rapidly.

Then, even more surprising news was announced, when Evans made it known that the NAFA would expand to 8 teams for the 1953 season, and that he had already received bids from potential markets and owners secretly.

Now, the first NAFA Expansion Council is open! If you want 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, origins, who they root for, etc. Put anything you feel would help develop your character.
Choices for Expansion: From the following options:

Chicago, Illinois
Market Size: Very Large
Football Following: Large
Chicago would be a great way to expand the NAFA further west. It also has a potential to be an NAFA fan-hub in 3-5 years due to its massive market size.

Charlotte, North Carolina
Market Size: Small
Football Following: Medium
Charlotte would be a great way to expand south. They also could develop a niche following in the coming years, and could produce some of the most passionate fans in the NAFA.

Houston, Texas
Market Size: Large
Football Following: Very Large
Houston would extend the NAFA's reach to the southwest. It also has some of the most passionate football fans in the country.

Indianapolis, Indiana
Market Size: Medium
Football Following: Small
Indianapolis is close to the current set of NAFA teams. It would be easy for them to travel to, and would cost less money. The worry is that they would have difficulty generating revenue themselves, but the city is sure they'd do better than fine.

The expansion council will be open until 4:00pm on Monday, May 27.

Thanks for viewing. As always, C&C is encouraged and appreciated.

Last edited by DoctaC (5/24/2019 11:22 pm)

Name: Abigail Winter
Age: 45
Bio: College Professor at the Eastern Kentucky University, originally from Cincinnati, currently a fan of the Cleveland Lumberjacks, hoping for a team to reach her hometown.
She votes for the following

Chicago: Because duh
Indianapolis: There’s no need to expand so south so soon, by mid 60s the market will be better developed for a team. For now settle for Indy, a solid market that’s big enough to support a team and close enough to the current teams