GRIDIRON BOWL I


It was a cool and crisp, yet sunny day at Yankee Stadium as the first ever Gridiron Bowl, between the Fort Wayne Chiefs and Washington Americans, kicked off. The coin toss was done by Commissioner Elias Morrison, who gave a speech beforehand thanking and congratulating the fans, players, coaches and owners for a great first season of PFA football. The Chiefs would win the toss and defer to the second half, giving Drew Cain and the prolific Washington offense the ball first. Cain would start out strong, completing 3 passes in a row before the Americans were eventually forced to punt. Fort Wayne would then put together a very good drive that ended with a 23-yard Nathan Sanders touchdown run, giving them the first lead of the game, 7-0. Washington followed it up with another drive that ended in a punt, giving Fort Wayne a chance to take a two possession lead with their next drive. 7 plays in they sat at the Americans’ 22, and it seemed like they would. However, QB Lonnie Williams would throw a pick into the end zone. Cain led Washington to midfield as the quarter expired, and then got them into the end zone on a rare 8-yard scramble that tied the game at 7-7. Neither team would score for the remainder of the first half, leaving the score tied at 7-7. Fort Wayne received the second half kickoff and quickly went three and out. Washington then fumbled it back to the Chiefs, who then punted once again. Washington finally ended the scoring drought on their next drive as Cain connected with his receiver for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 4 minutes remaining in the quarter. The Chiefs punted for the fifth time of the game as the fourth quarter began, giving Washington a chance to throw the knockout punch and up two scores late in the game. Instead of continuing to rely on Cain’s arm, they chose to run the ball and try to waste some clock, but couldn’t move it enough and had to punt it back to Fort Wayne. The Chiefs were sparked by a 42-yard run by Nathan Sanders that got them to the Americans 12, and sat at 3rd and goal on the 5-yard line with 8 minutes to go. Lonnie Williams would throw a pass to Sanders out of the back field, but he would be stopped short on the 2-yard line. They chose to take the field goal, cutting the lead to 14-10. Washington was then able to chew off a significant chunk of clock on the ensuing drive, punting the ball back to the Chiefs, pinning them at their own 7 with just 1:23 remaining. They were unable to put together a game-winning drive, with time running out as they entered Washington territory. Players from the Americans’ sideline stormed the field, celebrating, as they had won the first ever Gridiron Bowl. Drew Cain would later be named the first Gridiron Bowl MVP, going 19-30 for 213 yards with 2 total touchdowns.

FIELD


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Up next will be the 1958 Offseason, which will include the PFA Entrance Draft. I want to make this thread as interactive as possible, so I will be taking player names and positions to be used in this draft and future drafts! This is the link to the form. I will also be adding it to the original post for easy access. There is no limit on how many players you can submit.

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Thanks for reading. C+C is encouraged and appreciated.

Last edited by DoctaC (1/06/2021 12:49 am)

1958 PFA OFFSEASON


6. Pittsburgh Miners: Keith West, WR, Oklahoma
7. Houston Stars: Nathan Marshall, S, Georgia
8. New York Knights: Fred Hightower, OT, Penn State
9. Los Angeles Palms: Sebastian Andrews, LB, Rice
10. Philadelphia Blue Coats: Francis Collier, G, Mississippi State
11. Chicago Cougars: Clay Hoffman, DE, Oregon State
12. Hartford Oaks: Craig Hicks, CB, LSU
13. Fort Wayne Chiefs: Phillip Jennings, WR, Arizona State
14. Washington Americans: Toby Whittaker, RB, USC

OTHER NOTABLE SELECTIONS

2-7: Houston Stars: Duke Envia, C, North Carolina
2-10: Philadelphia Blue Coats: Leland Graves, DE, Ohio State
3-4: San Francisco Condors: Archie May, QB, Texas A&M

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PLAYER SIGNINGS

Los Angeles Palms quarterback Jeffrey Howard resigned with the club on a 5-year deal.

Cleveland Lakers defensive tackle Calvin Guzman, coming off a season ending knee injury, resigned with the club on a 1-year deal with a low salary.

Philadelphia Blue Coats receiver Mitchell Tucker left to sign with the Houston Stars on a 3-year deal after his rights were given up. The team didn’t want to pay him as much as he was asking for.

Pittsburgh Miners cornerback Courtney Rodgers, widely regarded as a top 3 corner in the PFA, resigned with the club on a monster 7-year deal. He is now signed through his age 33 season.

San Francisco was able to retain breakout running back Dewey Abbott on a 4-year deal.

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COACHING CHANGE

New York fired Coach Andrew Moore after 14 seasons with the club. They then went out and hired up-and-coming college coach Ian Gill from West Virginia. Gill looks to invoke some new life in the franchise, moving them away from the Wing-T offense they’ve run for years.

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Thanks for reading. The 1958 Regular Season will be posted next, most likely tomorrow.

Sevsdast wrote:

just submitted 20 more players!

With DoctaC having it set up on a Google Forms, they likely don't need you to announce when you put in players. Also, seems like I don't need to submit players, as you got it covered!