1957 Award Winners 

Most Valuable Player - QB Connor O’Rourke PRO
A close vote between Connor O’Rourke and Arthur Conner ended with O’Rourke on top. This season, O’Rourke was a huge part of the Gold Stars’ success, and if the team didn’t have him behind centre, they could’ve been in a very different position. O’Rourke also becomes the second Providence QB to win the league’s MVP award after Bruce Woodard won it in 1953. 

Playoff MVP - S Frazier Brooks BUF
Once again the McCallister Cup MVP takes home the playoff MVP as well. Brooks was a force in Buffalo’s secondary in both of their playoff games. He had a total of 3 interceptions over the 2 games and broke up another 9 passes. Brooks showed once again that he was a great pick back in 1952 and got the Blue Wings over the top once again.

Offensive Player of the Year - RB Arthur Conner BUF
Conner fell short in the MVP votes, but in consolation, he took home his second Offensive Player of the Year award. Conner has come into his own in the last few seasons and has been at the top of the league over those seasons. No doubt the RB, who has been overshadowed during a lot of his career, has become the best of the best with this second honour in 3 years.  

Defensive Player of the Year - LB Brent Harper BOS
Harper becomes the first Boston player to take home an award since the 1950 season. There was no doubt that Harper was the best defensive player this season. Leading the league in tackles and forced fumbles (10, which was 3 more than Lynch in second), Harper was playing on another level to get the Independents back to the playoffs.  

Special Teams Player of the Year - K Johnnie Berg BOS
After all the absent years, Boston grabs two awards with K Johnnie Berg taking home the Special Teams award. Berg was the most consistent kicker this season and was able to put up a league-leading 83 points this season, which made up 40% of Boston’s total points this season. 

Rookie of the Year  - DL William Sanderson IND
The rookies this year did not stand out like in years past, but you can not take away Sanderson’s strong first season where he led all rookies in sacks and forced fumbles this season. The 2nd overall pick already has lots of comfort in Indiana and should settle into a star role over the next few seasons. 

Coach of the Year - Dannell Willis BUF
Willis was the obvious pick for coach of the year after taking the Blue Wings from a 1-2 start to a 10-2 finish. In only his second season as the head man, Willis was able to rejuvenate the defence and, with the help of OC Tim Bakersfield, got Angelo Medina back to form for this spectacular season. 

Breakout Player of the Year - WR Sammy Moss PRO
Sammy Moss had a huge season in his second year. He broke through to second in the league in receiving touchdowns and was a key piece in the Gold Stars’ return to the top of their division. Moss is the third Gold Star to win the award after WR John Osborn and this year’s MVP Connor O’Rourke. 

All-Stars
The 1957 season marked a first where they had an All-Star team for each division.
West Division All-Stars
QB Angelo Medina BUF - 1
RB Arthur Conner BUF - 3
OL Jean Mathieu-Baptiste BUF - 1
OL Casey York BUF - 8
OL Bruce Wesley LI - 2
OL Aaron Spears LOU - 2
OL Ulysses Fairgrove ON - 1
WR Joseph Barry IND - 2
WR Robert Lang LI - 1
WR Benedict Spencer ON - 1
TE Johnny Mantle IV - 1
DL Sean Bowen BUF - 8
DL William Sanderson IND - 1
DL Vernon Spears LI - 1
DL Dee Floyd ON - 2
LB Aengus Lynch ON - 4
LB Rusty McVee LI - 2
LB Ben McCray BUF/LOU - 1
DB Slay Mitchell LI - 2
DB Lester Murphy IND - 3
DB Lou Lake BUF - 1
S Frazier Brooks - 2
K Thomas McFadden LOU - 6

East Division All-Stars
QB Connor O'Rourke PRO - 1
RB Marcus Devonshire WOR - 1
OL Andrew Furrson BOS - 9
OL Eugésippe Chalifoux MTL - 3
OL Charlie Bennett OTT - 1
OL Wilfred Gibson PRO - 1
OL Cliff Strautzenbeger WOR - 3
WR Chester Bennett OTT - 2
WR Sammy Moss PRO - 1
WR Ellis Lindholm BOS - 1
TE Jervonte Howell OTT - 4
DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT - 4
DL Vinny Brown WOR - 1
DL Calias McDonough PRO - 2
DL Zakary Turbide PRO - 3
LB Brent Harper BOS - 2
LB Scotty Williams WOR - 6
LB Konrad Aust BOS - 1
DB Quentin Xavier MTL - 2
DB Mingan Oliver OTT - 1
DB Alexander Bradley WOR - 4
S Mason Parker PRO - 1
K Johnnie Berg BOS - 1

40th McCallister Cup Host - Victory Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis will be the home for the 40th edition of the McCallister Cup. This will be the first to leave the true northeast as the league looks to continue to grow the midwest market. Victory Stadium just opened this past season and will be a fresh new home for the game.  

Great to see the young tandem of O’Rourke & Moss recognized with awards. We got a very bright future ahead of us in Providence.

1958 Retirements 

GM/HC Bobby Hooper - Buffalo, NY
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings GM/HC (1949-1955), Buffalo Blue Wings GM (1956-1957)
Head Coach Record: 38-27-1
McCallister Cups: 2 (1952*as HC, 1957*as GM)
Awards: Coach of the Year (1952)
Bobby Hooper will have an everlasting legacy in Buffalo. He brought the team to its first championship in the 1952 season and then put together another winning team this season as the GM. Hooper took home a Coach of the Year award and was overall a strong coach throughout his time in the role. He decided after the second championship that it was time for him to step away from the team.  

RB Joel Bonner - Boston, MA
Teams: Boston Independents (1949-1957)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1949,1950)
Awards: Offensive Player of the Year (1949)
All-Stars: 1 (1949)
Bonner will go down as one of those players that could’ve had an even better career. With a fantastic first couple of seasons in the NAAF where he took home an OPOTY award and his only All-Star nod in 1949. Unfortunately, his career took a turn with a major leg injury in week 1 of 1951. Since that injury, Bonner has still been a strong back for Boston, but he was not the same as his dominant 1940’s years. Bonner will still be remembered fondly by the Boston faithful and he is ready to watch the team moving forward.  

QB Maurice Norris - Montreal, QC
Teams: Montreal Rouge (1949-1950), Hartford Hawks (1951), Buffalo Blue Wings (1952-1957)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1952,1957)
Norris was strongly criticized in his early NAAF years in Montreal. He was able to get the team to the McCallister Cup in 1950, but failed to deliver in the big game and was traded to Hartford in the offseason. Norris would start for the Hawks and would end up holding the best starting QB for the franchise until Lyle Painter in 1955. Norris would ultimately join the Blue Wings as a backup and would get to win two championships with that team while getting several chances to play in games with Angelo Medina being hurt several times over the 6 seasons. Overall, Norris proved his worth throughout his career having quite a successful overall starting record in his career. 

WR Willard Brooks - Baltimore, MD
Teams: Ottawa Royals (1950-1955), Providence Gold Stars (1956-1957)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1954,1955)
Willard Brooks was a hotly contested free agent in the 1950 offseason between the Royals and Rouge. Brooks would end up playing for the Royals for 6 seasons and was a part of the first 2 seasons of their dynasty. He would join the Gold Stars for the final two seasons of his career. Unfortunately, he would suffer injuries during his final year which might have sped up the end of his career. Brooks was a real strong receiver throughout his career and will likely be remembered as Allen Atkin’s sidekick, but he was great on his own especially when Atkins would miss a game here or there.  

WR Samuel Floyd - Boston, MA
Teams: Boston Independents (1949-1954), Buffalo Blue Wings (1955,1956), Indiana Victors (1957)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1949,1950
)All-Stars: 2 (1949,1950)
Floyd was a speed demon in his career, often scoring 40+ yard touchdowns for Boston early in his career. He was at his best with QB Larry Larson throwing the ball his way helping him to 2 all-star nods. Both of those seasons would end with Boston winning the championship as well. With Larson retiring, Floyd would venture to Buffalo for a pair of injury-riddled seasons. Following that, he was selected by the Indiana Victors in the expansion draft, where he played another season full of injury. It wasn’t the best end to his career, but he was a strong player throughout his prime.

DL Craig Newman - Concord, NH
Teams: Boston Independents (1949-1957), Buffalo Blue Wings (1957)
McCallister Cups: 3 (1949,1950,1957)
All-Stars: 2 (1952,1954)
Newman was another long time Independent. He was strong during the team’s championship years but was noticed more in years after with a pair of all-star nods during the early ’50s. He would play out almost his entire career with Boston before he was traded to Buffalo during his final season. He would only play 2 games with Buffalo before being injured for the remainder of the season. He would still get to celebrate his 3rd career title with the team despite having played his last game several weeks earlier.

RB Gene Fischer - Providence, RI
Teams: Providence Gold Stars (1949-1953), Long Island Hawks/Raiders (1954-1955), Buffalo Blue Wings (1956), Montreal Rouge (1957)
Fischer was a running back with a bright future with the Gold Stars, but he was injured in 1949, which seemed to rock his confidence. The RB was still solid throughout his time, but he was never the piece to get them to the next level. He would swap spots with RB Johnnie Stafford in 1954. He would have a pair of strong seasons with the Hawks/Raiders, even getting to a McCallister Cup, before finishing his career in backup roles in Buffalo and Montreal.  

OL James Knowles - Oshawa, ON
Teams: Ottawa Royals (1949-1957)
McCallister Cups: 3 (1954,1955,1956)
All-Stars: 7 (1949-1955)
Knowles was a premier OL for most of his career. He played in Ottawa for its entirety and was a part of the 3 championship wins between 1954 and 1956. Knowles was an All-Star in each of the first 7 NAAF seasons, and the only reason he didn’t make it in the last two seasons was due to injuries that kept him out of the lineup.  

Other Notable Retirements
GM Kyle McCarty - Worcester, MA - GM WOR (1951-1957)
DC Kerry Miles - Rochester, NY - DC PRO (1951-1954), DC LI (1955-1957) 

WR Travis Gallagher - Buffalo, NY - BUF (1949-1954)*, LI (1955-1957)
DB Francis Veillette - Philadelphia, PA - BOS (1950-1954)*, LI (1955-1956), IND (1957)
RB Jacque Montier - Montreal, QC - MTL (1949-1950), WOR (1951-1954), OTT (1955-1956)**, ON (1957)
DB Eugene Christensen - Montreal, QC - MTL (1949-1950), HAR (1951-1953), BUF (1954), WOR (1955-1957)
OL John Richards - Springfield, MA - BOS (1949-1956)**, LOU (1957)
WR Ray Landry - Buffalo, NY - BUF (1949-1951,1954), BOS (1952-1953,1955), MTL (1956), IND (1957)
S Chester George - Boston, MA - BOS (1949-1951)**, MTL (1952-1955)*, LI (1956), IND (1957) 

* = McCallister Cup 

Last edited by Wallflower (9/29/2020 11:26 pm)

1958 League Meetings and Changes
The league’s annual meetings were focused on a couple of things. Firstly, was the discussion, updates, and finalization of the Tigers’ move from Kitchener to London. Owner Garry Duran and co-owner Darren Lindell would confirm that the construction of the new stadium in London, ON was on schedule and would be complete in time for kick-off in 1958. They also announced the name of the stadium which would be Western Fair Stadium with its location on the grounds of the Western Fair. In terms of the team’s brand, the owners only commented that they were in the process of updating the branding. 

Following the discussion about the state of the Tigers, the meeting would shift towards the success of the expansion teams in their first season. Both Louisville and Indiana had strong starts with large crowds in their first year. The competitiveness that the Victors showed early on was a quick grab for many fans, which ultimately helped them to get the hosting rights for the McCallister Cup this season. The hope is the game will bring even more fans to the stadium game-in and game-out.  

Louisville, despite not having as competitive a team, was able to bring in respectable numbers. It was especially evident in the second half of the season when the team won a couple of games and hometown hero, QB Leonidas Dumont, got a pair of starts. The team is ready to fill up their new stadium, Thunder Stadium, in downtown that will be open for the start of the season. The new building holds 46,250 people. 

The NAAF has been progressing well over the past few seasons. With the move to Long Island, the Raiders have brought in a plethora of new fans from NYC, and the new Midwest teams are already pulling in people from the midwest. The league and the sport’s fanbase has been expanding, especially without the competition of the American leagues in the summer for TV. The NAAF has become popular in the Northeast and is pushing the GLFL and the ACFL at the top for the best leagues in the world.

However, the other two leagues and their fans are still not taking the NAAF too seriously. They still view the league and hybrid football as gimmicky. They believe the league is for those who can’t make it to the pro leagues of the fall, which is not helped by the fact that there are a lot of players that have been in lower roles in the American leagues that have ventured to the NAAF. Of course, realistically the skill difference between the leagues is minimal, in fact, players like DB Alexander Bradley, LB Scotty Williams, and QB Jean Matieau, would likely tear it up in the ACFL or the GLFL. On the scouting side with the league working closely with Lawrence Gainsborough and The Gains Report, they are looking to attract more and more talent to the league.  

However, a major factor is the fans. The fans of the NAAF are passionate, but what about all the new fans that don’t know the league or the players. Commissioner Ryan Jameson would announce that new uniform regulations would be put into place this season. With the newest uniform updates adding shoulder TV numbers, the league has decided to make them mandatory for the rest of the league. On top of that, they will also be adding the player’s last name to the back of the jersey so people can get to know the player’s names. The adjustments will make the league that much more accessible, especially with the extended agreement with CBS and CBC to have every single game covered during the season.  

The new league jerseys would also have shorter sleeves and even lighter materials to make them even more comfortable for the players during the summer. With those updates to the overall template, every team needed to do at the very least a minor update to their uniforms. 

The new designs will be released tomorrow over several posts starting with the least changed to the most.

Last edited by Wallflower (10/01/2020 7:23 pm)

With the Addition of TV numbers, hopefully the league can grow some more with fans across the world.