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Where do the Raiders play? I know its on Long Island, but I was wondering where exactly.
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Enigmajones wrote:
Where do the Raiders play? I know its on Long Island, but I was wondering where exactly.
In Hempstead
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Darknes wrote:
Enigmajones wrote:
Where do the Raiders play? I know its on Long Island, but I was wondering where exactly.
In Hempstead
Yup they play out of Hempstead, Long Island Stadium is pretty much where Nassau Coliseum is located irl.
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1964 Award Winners
Most Valuable Player - RB Jimmy Golden BUF
A record-breaking season for Golden makes him the first RB MVP since RB Élisée Marchal back in 1951. While he only won by a couple of votes over QB Gene Bishop, the RB was clearly the best player all year long and extremely important to the Blue Wings returning to the playoffs after back-to-back 4-7-1 seasons.
Playoff MVP - RB Dareion Fields LI
While the Raiders feel short of their ultimate goal, Fields was absolutely unbelievable in all 3 games they played in the playoffs. The East Division Final against Montreal was probably the key game as the RB had 3 touchdowns in the come from behind victory to get them back to the McCallister Cup for the first time since 1958.
Offensive Player of the Year - RB Dareion Fields LI
While Fields didn’t receive a single vote for MVP, he was able to earn his second OPOY award with an excellent season. He had 20 touchdowns, which is typically a league-leading amount. If it weren’t for Golden’s record-breaking 24 scores, Fields would easily have been the best RB in the league this season.
Defensive Player of the Year - DL William Sanderson IND
It was finally time to recognize the abilities of DL William Sanderson who has put up league-leading numbers throughout his career but had been almost forgotten with the struggling Victors. Sanderson is one of the most feared but respected DL in the league and it is nice to see that he will get recognized for his play.
Special Teams Player of the Year - K Arthur Kettinger MTL
Kettinger was a kicking machine this season, scoring the next closest kicker by 19 points. This win marks Kettinger’s second STPOY award, his last being back in 1953 which was his rookie season.
Rookie of the Year - RB Max Tracy TOR
There was not a lot of competition from rookies this season, but that should not take away from a strong performance from the 1st overall pick this season. Tracy was able to shine despite splitting his snaps with RB Tommy Allen and RB Alex Warren. He managed to lead the team in rushing touchdowns with 7 (over Allen’s 6), and showed that he should be a great piece for the future in Toronto.
Coach of the Year - Ronald Martin TOR
It was a little difficult for many of the Steelheads to make the transition from Canadian football rules to Hybrid Football rules, but HC Ronald Martin was able to lead the team into a new era and not only help them adjust after an 0-2 start but to go 7-3 in the next 10 and make the playoffs in their first season. A great job was done by a veteran coach.
Breakout Player of the Year - DB Rutherford Winters LI
His younger teammate, DB Lauri Hayha took home this award last year, which might have been taken personally by Winters who had a great breakout season this year. Having more support around him allowed Winters to be more aggressive this season and it paid off with a career-high 4 interceptions. With Hayha and now Winters coming into their own, the Raiders are likely going to be a scary team to throw against for years to come.
1964 All-Stars
WEST ALL-STARS
QB Riley Kiernan LDN (7)
RB Jimmy Golden BUF (1)
OL Taylor Forbes LOU (2)
OL Gregory Farrell TOR (1)
OL Georgio Stephan BUF (3)
OL Bernhard Altermann LOU (5)
OL Jean-Baptiste Desjardins IND (2)
WR Max Sutton LDN (5)
WR Ed Edwards IND (3)
WR Edmund Landry TOR (1)
TE Tranquille Rousseau LDN (1)
DL William Sanderson IND (8)
DL Bjorn Sigmarsson LOU (2)
DL Richard Blunt LDN (2)
DL Lonnie Vincent BUF (4)
LB Scotty Williams LOU (13)
LB Dallas Dillard LDN (2)
LB Daniel Carpenter TOR (1)
DB Jackson Miles LDN (6)
DB Dean Hawkins BUF (1)
DB Kelly Kirkland IND (4)
S Johnny Berger LOU (5)
K Frank Hughes LOU (1)
EAST ALL-STARS
QB Gene Bishop MTL (2)
RB Dareion Fields LI (5)
OL Graham Chambers BOS (7)
OL Harrison Ward MTL (2)
OL Reynold Gilbertson BOS (1)
OL Elliot Winterbottom LI (6)
OL Ward Briscoe HFX (3)
WR Derek Cross MTL (3)
WR Cedric Peterson PRO (2)
WR Chester Bennett BOS (5)
TE Eli Grant MTL (3)
DL Wayne Baxton HFX (2)
DL Craig White PRO (3)
DL Lucas Kipling MTL (1)
DL Timmy Kerr BOS (2)
LB Konrad Aust BOS (7)
LB Deon Wiggins LI (2)
LB Douglas MacDougall OTT (1)
DB Neville Falkner PRO (4)
DB Joe Robinson HFX (1)
DB Alexander Bradley LI (9)
S Garet deVale MTL (4)
K Arthur Kettinger MTL (2)
1964 League Leaders
Passing Touchdowns
1 - QB Nathaniel Braddock BOS - 21
2 - QB Gene Bishop MTL - 20
3 - QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 19
4 - QB Riley Kiernan LDN - 16
5 - QB Todd Baker TOR - 15
Rushing Touchdowns
1 - RB Jimmy Golden BUF - 24
2 - RB Dareion Fields LI - 20
3 - RB Rodney Clark LOU - 15
4 - RB Kendall Morgan BOS - 13
5 - RB Scott Mallard-White MTL - 11
Receiving Touchdowns
1 - WR Derek Cross MTL - 11
2 - WR Chester Bennett BOS - 10
3 - WR Cedric Peterson PRO - 9
T4 - WR Max Sutton LDN - 8
T4 - WR Edmund Landry TOR - 8
Interceptions
1 - DB Neville Falkner PRO - 8
T2 - S Johnny Berger LOU - 5
T2 - DB Joe Robinson HFX - 5
T2 - DB Alexander Bradley LI - 5
T2 - DB Jackson Miles LDN - 5
T2 - S Garet deVale MTL - 5
Forced Fumbles
1 - DL William Sanderson IND - 8
T2 - LB Scotty Williams LOU - 6
T2 - DL Wayne Baxton HFX - 6
T2 - DL Lonnie Vincent BUF- 6
47th McCallister Cup Host - Milton Charles Stadium - Buffalo, NY - Capacity: 54,000
The last time Buffalo saw the McCallister Cup game played in the city was back in 1952, but after the team got a brand new stadium, there was no way that they would not get another chance to host the game. Buffalo famously had overfilled their old stadium for the 1952 game in order to get as many fans in the stadium at the time. While it shouldn’t need to happen this time, it does show the passion for the game that the fans of Buffalo have.
Last edited by Wallflower (8/10/2021 6:19 pm)
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1965 League Meetings
Expansion Draft Rules
With the addition of Pittsburgh to the NAAF, the league would be holding an expansion draft this offseason. They would officially announce the protection rules to the public, which had been fed to teams a little earlier in the season so they had more time to prepare.
Each current NAAF team will be allowed to protect 12 players of their choice, without any age restriction, however, they will have an additional 4 protections for players that are under the age of 24. They are allowed to protect more than 4 players under the age of 24, but they will not be able to protect more above the age.
Pittsburgh will then get to select 3 players from each team across the league. They can only take 1 player that is under 24 per team but can take all 3 above 24 if they so choose.
League Alignment and Season Format
Heading into next season, the NAAF will now have 12 teams in the league. Pittsburgh will be added into the West Division joining the Thunder, Victors, Tigers, Blue Wings, and Steelheads. The playoff format will not be changing, the top 3 teams in each division will make the playoffs, with a crossover rule for the final spot in either division.
As for the schedule, the league was deciding between two major formats, which would either see a format similar to the divisional heavy 1964 schedule where teams would play everyone in their division 2 times (10 games) and only 2 other teams from the opposite division (2 games) or more back to an all-around schedule that would see everyone play at least once during the season with an additional game being played against a division rival. In the end, the NAAF decided to go with the second format where everyone in the league would play at least once (11 games), and the team that they play for rivalry week will be the additional game to make up the 12 game season. These rivals would be predetermined and would be:
East
MTL-OTT
BOS-PRO
LI-HFX
West
BUF-LDN
LOU-IND
TOR-PIT
ACFL
Well, it certainly was an interesting year for the ACFL as they hoped the Boston Shamrocks would start to make up ground after grabbing QB Kenny Hodgson from the Pittsburgh Hammers. They would certainly improve, winning 4 games this season with Hodgson, but the stadium remained mostly empty. However, things were looking direr surrounding the Hammers, as the team, now without a young starter, was abysmal going winless and barely coming close to a win all year. There is now a lot of tension surrounding the league as both of the markets are now (or still) leaning in NAAF favour. The tough season from the Hammers certainly opens the door for the NAAF squad to give something for the city to cheer about.
GLFL talking to Minneapolis
The NAAF had taken a long look into expanding into Minnesota, but there just was not a viable stadium plan in place to get a team in the city. However, the GLFL is a little more lenient on the stadium issue and is willing to look at options to bring a team to their league. The move would make total sense and increase the league’s size to 8 teams. The discussion will likely continue throughout the GLFL’s upcoming offseason.
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Introducing the Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
Following the league meetings, William Braddock would finally reveal the brand for his new team: The Pittsburgh Blacksmiths.
The name was selected for two main reasons: to appeal to the established Hammers fan base with a steelwork related name that shows that the team is still the team for the fans, as well as appealing to the steelwork industry of which the team's main financial partner of Marshall Steelworks resides. There is also a sense from some fans and people in the NAAF, that the name takes a shot at the Hammers, being that a blacksmith uses a hammer to forge weapons. It’s almost like the team is using the Hammers to forge a new path in the NAAF.
As for the look of the team, they would look to maintain the classic black design that the Hammers typically use, but refreshing it with a fiery orange colour to represent burning metal.
The logo is an anvil, the classic workstation for a blacksmith with a “P” symbol within a square that is heat pressed/branded into the side of the anvil. The alternate logo is simply the “P” symbol on its own, which will appear on the helmet, and then the wordmark which is to be in the same style as the heat-pressed symbol.
The uniforms certainly took on a unique design with a classic style black helmet with orange stripes and the “P” logo on the side. Then a black jersey with stencil number font, however, the unique design is the heat-pressed square that surrounds the numbers acting as the only striping on the jersey. White pants with an orange and black stripe and then black socks with orange stripes round out the jersey. The road simply makes the jersey white with the inside of the number patches being black instead of also being white.
Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts!
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Huge fan of the Blacksmiths! Great color scheme, and I really love the heat-pressed/branded stamps, really cool idea and it fits the team perfectly without being too gimmicky for the era (in my opinion)! I might have liked the sleeve stamps to be just a hair smaller, as they really stick out on that away jersey to the point where I personally find it a little distracting.
But yeah, excellent job with this team!
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A Pittsburgh team not using Black and Gold for its colors?! Treason, I say! Just kidding, the Blacksmiths look great! To echo Stickman, the sleeve stamps could have a been a hair smaller, but nonetheless everything looks great!
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The Blacksmiths look really nice, I like the tv numbers matching the helmet logo
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I'm getting the Edmonton Oilers vibe with the Blacksmiths, A logo that will last for decades.