1953 NAFA Off Season

The off season was rather uneventful. The most important things to note were that a few teams slightly altered their looks.

Chicago Cougars

The only change was making the road numbers white instead of black.


Cleveland Lumberjacks

The 'Jacks brought back the brown socks due to a large demand from their fan base after they didn't utilize them in their new look last season. Despite being the worst team in the league, Cleveland actually has a pretty solid fan base, and doesn't seem to be heading near any financial trouble like most under-performing teams typically encounter. They sell plenty of tickets, 3rd most in the NAFA.



Philadelphia Americans

The slight changes attempt to use more navy blue. The star on the helmet, road socks, and road pant stripe were changed to navy blue. The star on the logo was also colored in blue like the helmets.



Thanks for viewing, C&C is appreciated.

Last edited by DoctaC (5/28/2019 10:51 pm)

The brown socks are a winner...even if the team is not.

1953 NAFA Season

Regular Season Standings
East Division
1. Philadelphia Americans: 8-1-1
2. Baltimore Knights: 6-2-2
3. New York Football Club: 5-3-2
4. Montreal Saints: 2-8-0

West Division
1. Toronto Nationals: 7-2-1
2. Chicago Cougars: 6-3-1
3. Indianapolis Chiefs: 5-5-0
4. Cleveland Lumberjacks: 0-9-1

On September 27, 1953 (exactly a week before the beginning of the season), Baltimore Knights owner Benny Banks filed for bankruptcy after his grocery supply chain went out of business. This forced him to sell his beloved Knights. For a while it seemed as though the team would be sold and remain in Baltimore, but in early November talks began with a new buyer from St. Louis.

On November 18, the Knights were sold to St. Louis businessman Cesar Thompson, who then announced his intentions to move the Knights to St. Louis. He received approval from the NAFA Board of Trustees and then was able to buy Baltimore out of their lease at Chesapeake Stadium. With 3 weeks left in the regular season the Knights signed an agreement with the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, Sportsman's Park, through 1960.

While all this was going on, Baltimore was still battling for a spot in the Continental Bowl. In a crucial week 8 game against Philadelphia at home, just 2,330 fans attended the game (the lowest attendance at an NAFA game ever), and the Knights lost 20-3.

Sportsman's Park Football Setup



The Americans were led by quarterback Milton Gilbert, who had one of the best seasons ever under center. He threw for 29 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions, and was 8-0 on the year (he was injured in weeks 3 and 4, in which Philly went 0-1-1). Their rushing attack was much improved from last season - tailback Philip Watkins ran for 804 yards, 3rd in the NAFA.

In the West Division, the defending-champion Toronto Nationals once again came out on top. They got another amazing year from Wayne Hill, who led the league in rushing yards (976) and touchdowns (11). Chicago came in second again, but are solid competition for the Nationals despite being just two years old. Talks about a new 4-team playoff for next year have also began, which could give Chicago a better shot at the Continental Bowl, should they get second again next season.

Continental Bowl VI

A cool, crisp December Day in Philadelphia saw the Toronto National take on the hometown Americans at National Field. For the third year in a row, the visiting team was the favorite.

The Nationals received the opening kickoff but were quickly forced to punt the ball to Philadelphia. On their first drive, the Americans were able to convert multiple 3rd downs before facing 3rd and 15 from the Toronto 24. Milton Gilbert dropped back, but was sacked for a loss of 9, making the ensuing field goal attempt by Pat Moran much harder. When Moran got his foot on the ball from 48 yards out, it seemed as if it was going to be short. However, the ball hit the top of the crossbar and bounced it, giving Philly a 3-0 lead. The rest of the first quarter was uneventful with 4 more punts, and as the quarter finished Philadelphia was in possession of the ball at their own 19.

End of 1st Quarter: PHI 3, TOR 0

To open up the second Gilbert hit receiver Donnie Perry on a 57 yard bomb that set up the Americans in National territory. Later in the drive, they faced a 3rd and 1 from the 8, and elected to hand the ball up the middle to Philip Watkins. He was stuffed for a 3-yard loss and they were forced to take another field goal, raising their lead to 6-0. On their next drive, Toronto seemed to be loosening up a bit, and beginning to heat up. Over the span of 7 long minutes, Wayne Hill carried 8 times for 48 yards, and Toronto sat in the Philadelphia red zone, looking to score their first points and possibly take the lead. On 2nd and goal from the 9, Phillip Conner dropped back and fired a quick pass over the middle to Joseph Hunter. Philadelphia linebacker Charlie Fowler jumped the route and intercepted the ball with 2:32 left in the half. Philly then moved the ball down the field and was able to gain 3 more after a 29-yard field goal as the half expired.

Halftime: PHI 9, TOR 0

Philadelphia got the ball to start the second half but did nothing with it, punting the ball to the Nats just 2:01 into the quarter. Wayne Hill then led Toronto down the field with 3 carries for 20 yards and 2 catches for 22. On 2nd and goal from the Philly 5-yard line Phillip Conner hit TE Garrett Manning on an out route to score the touchdown. This only gave them a 6-0 lead, as kicker Corey Bishop missed the PAT (the first missed in a Continental Bowl). Much like first quarter, the last 6 minutes were rather, boring, with multiple punts and a Philadelphia fumble at midfield.

End of 3rd Quarter: PHI 9, TOR 6

The 4th quarter began with Toronto punting the ball to Philadelphia. Nelson Patterson caught the punt for the Americans, and it looked as if he would be taken down after just a few yards, but he broke a tackle and was able to steal 15 more for the Americans, putting them at their own 48. They quickly moved the ball into the Toronto red zone and sat at 1st and 10 from the 13. Philly ran a play-action passing play and Gilbert dropped back before throwing the way of fullback Roger Park. Gilbert's pass deflected off the top of an American lineman and popped up into the air before Toronto came down with it. The Nats quickly faced 3rd and 14 from their own 5, and needed some yards just to be able to punt safely. So, they ran a screen pass to Hill, hoping for at least 5. Instead, Hill broke 3 tackles before breaking down the left sideline and scoring a 92-yard touchdown, the longest in Continental Bowl and NAFA history. The PAT was converted this time, and Toronto took a 13-9 lead with just 5:58 to go. Philadelphia used all three of their timeouts as they moved the ball into National territory, and threatened to score. But their drive stalled fast, and they sat at 4th and 7 from the 12. The entire game came down to this play. Milton Gilbert dropped back and looked the way of Travis Henry on the out route but he was covered. Every American receiver was covered. So, Gilbert took off up the middle of the defense. He was then tackled by defensive end Irvin Castillo at the 7, forcing a turnover on downs and sealing the repeat for the Nationals.



Continental Bowl MVP: Wayne Hill - Toronto - 25 carries, 153 yards, 6 catches, 121 yards, 1 receiving TD

Thanks for viewing, C&C is appreciated. The 1954 NAFA Off Season will hopefully be up tonight.

Last edited by DoctaC (5/30/2019 7:22 pm)

Love the series, just read through and love the concept, and while the concepts are basic, they're great for the time period. One note on that last post though....

DoctaC wrote:

On November 18, the Knights were sold to St. Louis businessman Cesar Thompson, who then announced his intentions to move the Knights to St. Louis. He received approval from the NAFA Board of Trustees and then was able to buy Baltimore out of their lease at Chesapeake Stadium. With 3 weeks left in the regular season the Knights signed an agreement with the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium, through 1960.

While all this was going on, Baltimore was still battling for a spot in the Continental Bowl. In a crucial week 8 game against Philadelphia at home, just 2,330 fans attended the game (the lowest attendance at an NAFA game ever), and the Knights lost 20-3.

Busch Stadium's Football Setup

Busch Stadium II, seen above, was built in '66. Do you mean the original sportman's park or am I just missing something?

1954 NAFA Off Season

Contrary to the previous summer, 1954 was very busy with a lot of changes put in place.

First, the New York Football Club finally adopted a team nickname, the "Blues." This is because many fans call them the Blues after their all-blue uniforms they often wear at home (they're one of the few teams to wear color at home). Here is the new logo and uniforms:


The new uniforms use the Blues script on the helmet, replace gray with white, and add the five stripes for the five boroughs of New York to the socks.

The now-St.Louis franchise chose to use a fan vote to choose their team's new nickname. The choices were the Rivermen, Steamboats, or to keep Knights. Surprisingly, 61% of fans voted to keep the Knights moniker. Steamboats was second with 29%, and then Rivermen with 10%.


St. Louis kept a very similar design to the one used in Baltimore. They changes the shade of red to match the St. Louis city flag, and also added the blue from that flag as well. Everything that used a B was replaced by an SL, and a shield was added to the helmets behind the numbers.

On July 21, the NAFA Board of Trustees met at the NAFA Building in Manhattan in order to vote on some proposed rule changes.

First was the issue concerning the playoff. Because the league sat at 8 teams and was planning on expanding in the near future, many felt it was time for an introduction of a playoff before the Continental Bowl. The new proposal would create a 4-team playoff with the top two teams from each division playing each other in a Divisional Championship game. The two winners would then play in the Continental Bowl at a neutral site instead of at the team with the better regular season record.

Vote: YES 10 - 3 NO

The second rule surrounded an equipment change. The new proposal would make it mandatory for all players to use at least a single-bar face mask for the 1954-55 season. The extra year would give teams time to order the new face masks.

Vote: YES 8 - 5 NO

The final vote was about future expansion in the NAFA. It would make it required for each new American team to also have a Canadian counterpart, ensuring a balance between the two countries in the league. For example, if Los Angeles were given a team, a city in Canada such as Vancouver would also be required to receive a team within the next 3 years.

Vote: YES 4 - 9 NO

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That's the 1954 NAFA Off Season, I hope you all like the new looks for New York and St. Louis and the new changes coming to the NAFA.

Thanks for viewing, C&C is appreciated.