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Late to the party here, but what else is new.
Big fan of the changes for the Rouge and Gold Stars. Montréal's new logo is really nice. Part of me wants to see some silver incorporated into the rest of the look so the pants don't look out of place, but it's not a big deal.
I'm not as keen on Pittsburgh as everyone else is, though. The logo package is nice, although the P isn't really doing it for me. Is there a reason it's different from the one in the wordmark? I think that's the better version.
I also don't like the number boxes. They seem somehow both really dated and yet not era-appropriate in the slightest. I honestly think you get the idea across with the stencil font on its own. You've done a really good job so far at making everything seem like it fits the time period, which makes this stick out like a sore thumb to me. That said, everyone else seems to like it, so don't change it just because I'm here throwing a fit about it.
Last edited by ItDoesntMatter (8/19/2021 5:18 pm)
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ItDoesntMatter wrote:
Late to the party here, but what else is new.
Big fan of the changes for the Rouge and Gold Stars. Montréal's new logo is really nice. Part of me wants to see some silver incorporated into the rest of the look so the pants don't look out of place, but it's not a big deal.
I'm not as keen on Pittsburgh as everyone else is, though. The logo package is nice, although the P isn't really doing it for me. Is there a reason it's different from the one in the wordmark? I think that's the better version.
I also don't like the number boxes. They seem somehow both really dated and yet not era-appropriate in the slightest. I honestly think you get the idea across with the stencil font on its own. You've done a really good job so far at making everything seem like it fits the time period, which makes this stick out like a sore thumb to me. That said, everyone else seems to like it, so don't change it just because I'm here throwing a fit about it.
Glad you like Montreal and Providence, I totally get the silver connection to the jersey, it is a bit of a traditional thing for Montreal to just have silver pants, but the definition of a red and white team everywhere else, there will probably be changes in the future anyway.
Honestly, I was more expected comments like this about the look for Pittsburgh. I was not sure about the look either, but I think it was just going for something a little more out there to make a bit of a statement, and also something unique within the league that wasn't just a blank black jersey or classic striping. So I think sticking out like a sore thumb works a little here. Well, it was just a suggestion to exaggerate the gap a little, I just didn't want to have to do that to the entire font, so I chalk it up to pour design planning for the team, but I get what you are saying.
Again, thanks for the comment man I appreciate the honesty and I am considering making adjustments.
Last edited by Wallflower (8/20/2021 8:46 am)
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Wallflower wrote:
Glad you like Montreal and Providence, I totally get the silver connection to the jersey, it is a bit of a traditional thing for Montreal to just have silver pants, but the definition of a red and white team everywhere else, there will probably be changes in the future anyway.
Honestly, I was more expected comments like this about the look for Pittsburgh. I was not sure about the look either, but I think it was just going for something a little more out there to make a bit of a statement, and also something unique within the league that wasn't just a blank black jersey or classic striping. So I think sticking out like a sore thumb works a little here. Well, it was just a suggestion to exaggerate the gap a little, I just didn't want to have to do that to the entire font, so I chalk it up to pour design planning for the team, but I get what you are saying.
Again, thanks for the comment man I appreciate the honesty and I am considering making adjustments.
Yeah, with the Rouge, it was more so a suggestion or idea than an actual critique of the uniforms. They're honestly one of my favorite looks in the league as is.
For Pitt, I can see where you're coming from, in the sense of trying to stand out from the Hammers. I like the principle of the idea too, I just don't see it as something a team would've done in the mid-60s. Maybe this is something where the team tries something wild and then ends up with a more conservative look in a few years (especially if they start to become the more popular team in town). Then again, everyone else seems to be a big fan, so maybe not.
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1965 Retirements
QB Jean Matieau - Ottawa, ON - Creator: Wallflower
Teams: Ottawa Royals (1949-1964)
Captaincy: OTT - C (1957-1964)
McCallister Cups: 4 (1954,1955,1956,1959)
Award: 3 Most Valuable Player (1952,1955,1958), 2 Offensive Player of the Year (1954,1962), Breakout Player of the Year (1952), 2 Playoff MVP (1955, 1956), 3 McCallister Cup MVP (1955,1956,1959)
All-Stars: 7 (1952, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962)
The greatest player in league history. It’s really hard to argue with that statement. No player has as many awards as Matieau (11), and on top of that, he has 7 all-stars and 7 McCallister Cup appearances with 4 wins. Unfortunately, his historic career that featured a record-setting 30 passing touchdown season (which was in his first full year as a starter), was likely cut short following a major injury suffered in 1963. He was able to come back for one more season and had the Royals in the fight, but he was clearly not his old self. He will walk away as the best to ever do it, but the question will be, will there be another that can match him.
OL Cliff Strautzenberger - Cheesequake, NJ - Creator: Dan O’Mac
Drafted: 1953 WOR - Round 1, Pick 2
Teams: Worcester Athletics (1953-1961), Montreal Rouge (1961), Louisville Thunder (1962-1963), Buffalo Blue Wings (1964)
Captaincy: WOR A - (1960)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1962, 1964)
All-Stars: 8 (1954, 1956-1962)
A long-time staple in the Athletics offensive line, a leader, and just a fun guy. Strautzenberger was a great player throughout his career, consistently getting all-star nods.
He never was able to win with the Athletics, but he managed to come out on top after spending time with both the Thunder and Blue Wings where he won a title with each team.
OL Ulysses Fairgrove - New Haven, CT - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: 1953 ON - Round 1, Pick 3
Teams: Ontario/London Tigers (1953-1962), Providence Gold Stars (1963), Buffalo Blue Wings (1964)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1960, 1964)
All-Stars: 6 (1957-1961,1963)
Fairgrove was quite a personality with the Tigers throughout his career, being a long-term lock-in on the offensive line. He was a part of the team’s first championship-winning team in 1960 but had missed out on the second while playing against the Tigers in 1963. He did get a second title with the Blue Wings this season after reuniting with fellow retiree OL Kazimir Smirnov.
WR Ellis Lindholm - Rochester, NY - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: 1953 BOS - Round 1, Pick 7
Teams: Boston Independents (1953-1964)
Captaincy: BOS A - (1958-1964)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1961)
All-Stars: 5 (1957-1961)
Lindholm’s injuries seemed to finally catch up with the veteran this season, and with WR Chester Bennett having a steller bounceback year, he felt his time was up with the team. He decided it was time to hang them up, and he was satisfied having won the Cup in 1961.
DB Mingan Oliver - Sept-Îles, QC - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: 1953 OTT - Round 2, Pick 14
Teams: Ottawa Royals Res. (1953), Ottawa Royals (1954-1964)
Captaincy: OTT A - (1962-1964)
McCallister Cups: 4 (1954, 1955, 1956, 1959)
All-Stars: 5 (1957, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963)
A strong leader within the Royals organization, Oliver continued to deliver throughout his career. He was always finding ways to make plays and get his team going which heavily contributed to the team’s massive success throughout the 1950s. In the last few seasons, he has taken a bigger leadership role and helped some younger players take on bigger roles, he sees that his time has come and will be stepping away from the game.
DB Slay Mitchell - Providence, RI - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: 1953 HAR - Round 1, Pick 3
Teams: Hartford/Long Island Hawks/Long Island Raiders (1952-1961), Providence Gold Stars (1962-1964)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1958)
All-Stars: 4 (1955, 1957-1959)
A player that looked a little disappointing in his first couple of seasons, Mitchell finally broke through in 1955 and became a star DB for the Raiders. He would help them win the title in 1958, before joining his hometown team in 1962 to go for a title. They came close in 1963, but unfortunately, his goal was unsuccessful in the end.
OL Charlie Bennett - Hamilton, ON - Creator: ZO82
Drafted: 1954 OTT - Round 3, Pick 17
Teams: Ottawa Royals Res. (1954), Ottawa Royals (1955-1964), Long Island Raiders (1964)
McCallister Cups: 3 (1955, 1956, 1959)
All-Stars: 4 (1957-1960)
Certainly a late bloomer, but a good one. Bennett was the anchor on the Royals O-line throughout his career. The team loved him and he played up until his final few games when he was sent off to the Raiders. While Bennett didn’t love the move, he was more thankful when the team made it to the McCallister Cup.
DL Dee Floyd - Nassau County, NY - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: 1953 ON - Round 4, Pick 27
Teams: Ontario Tigers Res. (1953-1954), Ontario/London Tigers (1955-1963), Montreal Rouge (1964)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1960, 1963)
All-Stars: 2 (1956, 1957)
It’s always interesting to see if a player may rise out of the 4th round. Dee Floyd was not expected to be much, but once he made his mark on the Tigers D-line, he was a great player. He had a couple of great seasons in ‘56 and ‘57, before becoming a member of one of the toughest D-line’s the league has seen that helped to win a pair of titles for the Tigers.
K Donald Brewer - Warwick, RI - Creator: Wallflower
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings (1951-1961), Louisville Thunder (1962), Amateur Team (1963-1964)
McCallister Cups: 3 (1952, 1957, 1962)
Awards: Special Teams Player of the Year (1954)
All-Stars: 1 (1954)
Brewer has not played in the NAAF for the last couple of seasons, but since he was once a STPOY award. He deserves to be recognized. Brewer was a staple for the Blue Wings for 11 seasons, before joining the Thunder for a championship run in 1962.
OL Moses Griffin - Burlington, VT - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: 1954 LI - Round 2, Pick 15
Teams: Long Island Hawks/Raiders (1954-1963), Boston Independents (1964), Halifax Mariners (1964)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1958)
All-Stars: 1 (1958)
Griffin was a great lineman for the Raiders, being a leader on the line over a developing period in the mid-to-late 50s. He helped a lot of the other youngsters like OL Elliot Winterbottom, that would lead the team to a title in 1958.
Other Notable Players
OL Kazimir Smirnov - Queens, NY - Creator: ZO82 - Drafted: 1954 ON R1: P3 - Teams: R.ON (1954), ON/LDN (1955-1961)*, BUF (1962-1964)*
DB Carson Scott - Markham, ON - Creator: ZO82 - Drafted: 1954 BOS R3: P21 - Teams: R.BOS (1954), BOS (1955-1961)*, MTL (1962), BUF (1963), LOU (1964)
QB Andrew Sexton - Scranton, PA - Creator: Wallflower - Teams: HAR (1951-1952), R.HAR (1953), LI (1954), PRO (1955), R.PRO (1955), ON/LDN (1956-1957), MTL (1959), IND (1960), MTL (1961-1964)
DL William Collins - Utica, NY - Creator: Dan O’Mac - Drafted: 1954 ON R2: P11 - Teams: R.ON (1954-1956), ON/LDN (1957-1962)*, IND (1963), BUF (1964)*
WR LeRoy Krueger - Hartford, CT - Creator: Dan O’Mac - Drafted: 1954 BUF R3: P19 - Teams: R.BUF (1954-1955), BUF (1956-1961)*, LI (1962), HFX (1963), LOU (1964)
DL Clyde Dale - Springfield, MA - Creator: Thehealthiestscratch - Drafted: 1954 PRO R1: P7 - Teams: PRO (1954-1955), MTL (1956-1959), BOS (1960), LOU (1961-1962)*, PRO (1963), LOU (1964)
Last edited by Wallflower (8/20/2021 6:30 pm)
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Congrats on retirement for all those players. The retirement of Jean Matieau marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
Last edited by Kingsfan11 (8/20/2021 7:44 pm)
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Oh Clyde, some might say you were a man’s best friend. Which is odd considering you’re a man. Good memories. People love you for these memories. Like the time you got peanut butter stuck on your nose or when you tried to wear the number “K9”. Even consistent memories had an impact, like your tendency to beg for coach to put you in every game just so you could eat the grass and run around. You were also a great player. Committed to the same diet 2 times a day, every single day. You might have only been here for 9 years, but you gave enough to last 63.
On that note, Rusty V is still deep in the NAAF baby! They’ll have to drag that half average, old, beautiful man out of the league!
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1965 Coaching Changes
PITTSBURGH BLACKSMITHS
The big question initially would be who would the Blacksmiths bring in to fill in the staff ahead of the upcoming expansion draft. They would first hire their GM in Cooper Ellington. Ellington was an assistant GM within the Boston Independents organization that Owner William Braddock had met while watching his son play. He thought Ellington was bright and would be the perfect fit for a GM role in Pittsburgh.
After that, the team would search for a head coach and they would land on Providence Offensive Coordinator Ted McMahon. McMahon had been looked at as a future head coach in the league with a great offensive mind that has helped QB Connor O’Rourke find lots of success. As for their own Offensive Coordinator, they would bring in Fredrick Quincy out of Detroit, MI, with lots of experience in college, and then they would grab Jerome Morris, who had previously had experience as DC with the Thunder and Gold Stars but had never really caught on for more than a year or two.
OTTAWA ROYALS
The Royals would end up keeping HC Joseph Curry, however, they would make a change at Offensive Coordinator letting go of Kent Winters and replacing him with Jean Matieau. It had apparently been in the works for a while that they would likely make the change if Matieau retired. The former QB was as much of an OC as Winters was last season, and he was helping call plays during the last couple of games of the season last year. Matieau has one of the best offensive minds the league has ever seen and he is likely going to have a very successful coaching career.
HALIFAX MARINERS
Halifax would keep most things the same, but they would make a change at OC, dropping Wayne Ball following his lack of success in developing the team’s two young QBs (Buck Murphy and Michael Benedict). They would hire Alfred Deniau to replace him, who was a head coach for the Quebec City Rams of the Eastern Canadian Semi-Pro Football League. Deniau was a great offensive mind and was excited to be back in the Maritimes to coach.
MONTREAL ROUGE
One of the more surprising moves saw the Montreal Rouge and GM Virgil Gross part ways. The new ownership in Montreal seemed to want to take a new approach into the future. They would promote from within and make Martin Gagneaux the new GM. The former head of scouting was a lot calmer and more patient with his actions so they hope he keeps some more consistency with the team.
BOSTON INDEPENDENTS & INDIANA VICTORS
There were a couple of swaps that happened between Boston and Indiana. Boston would decide to drop OC Malachi Knowles and DC Carroll Moss after several disappointing playoff exits. Indiana would also drop both OC Jack Dorsey and DC Arnold Baker for obvious reasons. Boston would end up hiring Arnold Baker as the new DC, Baker is most known for leading the late 50’s Long Island defence which was one of the best in the league’s history. Indiana would then hire Malachi Knowles as their new OC. The former OL had been the OC in Boston for 8 seasons and will be ready for a new challenge.
The other replacements would be new faces with Boston bringing in Lou Granger from a local college, Granger has some great potential as a great offensive mind. As for Indiana, they would bring on a coach out of Chicago in Johnathan Fox who might be one of the best coaches who finally wants to take a stab at professional ball.
PROVIDENCE GOLD STARS
The final piece of the puzzle would be the Gold Stars new OC after the team had lost Ted McMahon to the Blacksmiths. They would end up grabbing Jack Dorsey from the Victors after their bid for Malachi Knowles fell through.
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1965 Expansion Draft Protection Lists
The teams released their expansion draft protection lists. Each team protected the max 16 players using all 4 of their under 24 protections. There were a few surprising protections and players left available who could be quite risky to dangle. Many teams figure the Blacksmiths will be trying to grab younger players so they leaned into protecting the younger crew, which does leave some veterans available, but that may work in their favour.
Boston Independents
QB Nathaniel Braddock - NTC
RB Kendall Morgan
OL Graham Chambers
OL Reynold Gilbertson
WR Alexei Dubois - NTC
WR Evan Clanton
TE Tobias Lindholm
DL Timmy Kerr
DL Austin Antonio - U24
LB Brent Harper
LB Konrad Aust - NTC
LB Aristofane Zuccaro - U24
LB Kyle Essena - U24
DB Lawrence Ralph
DB Mordecai King
S Ernie Osborne - U24
Top 5 Unprotected
DL Robin Hill
S Drew Porter
DL Sammy Pickett
OL Sal Valcano
OL Bubba Hankins - U24
Buffalo Blue Wings
QB Charles Lemieux - NTC
RB Jimmy Golden - NTC
RB Théodore Lemieux - U24
OL Johannes König - U24
OL Clancy Harrison - U24
WR Zachariah Pembroke
WR Julius Drake
TE Paul Arturberry - U24
DL Lonnie Vincent - NTC
DL Tournel Guay
LB Orion Carter
LB Randall Lambert - U24
DB Dean Hawkins
DB Ezra Power - U24
S Wesley Jones
K Ryan Perch
Top 5 Unprotected
OL Georgio Stephan
LB Sam Wynn
WR Daniel Irons
TE Tanner Tint
DL Mickey Daly
Halifax Mariners
QB Michael Benedict
RB Ronald O’Sullivan
OL Ward Briscoe
OL Clifford Pratt - U24
OL Flint Boyer
OL Millard Streety - U24
WR Joshua Lafleur
WR Jav Kerrigan - U24
WR Shane Steadman - U24
DL Wayne Baxton - U24
DL Pat Butler
LB Pepper Burress
LB Bear Donnelly - U24
DB Joe Robinson
DB Bobby Bastian - U24
S Jay Shepard
Top 5 Unprotected
RB Stavros Black
QB Buck Murphy
LB Joe Larkin
WR Paul Franklin
WR Nathan Murray-Lawrence - U24
Indiana Victors
QB Lyle Painter
QB Tom Applewhite - U24
RB Raymond Green - U24
OL Viktor Stahl - U24
OL Jean-Baptiste Desjardins
OL Elias McCarren
WR Ed Edwards - NTC
WR Silas Peyton
WR Orlando Barrack - U24
TE Emmanuel Hines
DL William Sanderson
DL Fred Webster
LB Terrence Patton
DB Kelly Kirkland
DB Adam Levesque - U24
S Tom Parrish - U24
Top 5 Unprotected
RB Cody Barnes
S Calvin Hobbes
QB Magnus Torrensen
OL Benedict Benedicto
DL Ilya Mikaelov
London Tigers
QB Riley Kiernan
RB Austin Andrews
OL Emil Jennings - U24
OL Jeffery Uduike
OL Carl Harrisburg - U24
WR Max Sutton
WR Russell Wilcox
TE Tranquille Rousseau
DL Richard Blunt
DL Keith Gavelstein - U24
LB Dallas Dillard - NTC
LB Gideon Jura
DB Jackson Miles - NTC
S Neil Graham
S Ezekiel Locke - U24
K Nimrod Handsworth
Top 5 Unprotected
RB Clifford Russell
WR Jack Duncan
DL Olympus Heights
LB Red Clarkson
OL Magnus Gunnersson
Long Island Raiders
QB Stanley Troyer
QB Matt Fletcher - U24
RB Dareion Fields
OL Elliot Winterbottom
OL Gary Bies - U24
WR Casey Coleman - U24
WR Larry Mossholder
TE Andrew Mathias - NTC
DL Pionk Bjorkkstrand
LB Deon Wiggins
LB William Washington II - U24
DB Alexander Bradley - NTC
DB Rutherford Winters
DB Lauri Hayha
S Eric Willis
K Henderson Schumacher
Top 5 Unprotected
OL Wally McRose
WR Wilson Queensgate
DL Vernon Spears
LB Gene Bensen
S Clarence Sale - U24
Louisville Thunder
QB Leonidas Dumont - NTC
QB Nikolas Diakos - U24
RB Rodney Clark
OL Bernhard Altermann
OL Taylor Forbes
WR Piers Key - NTC
WR Chad Anderson - U24
TE Christopher Gist
DL Bjorn Sigmarsson
DL Winfield Winchester - U24
LB Calvin Hardy
LB George Yokoi
DB Oliver Langstrom - NTC
DB Jayden Mills
S Johnny Berger - NTC
S Tom McDougall - U24
Top 5 Unprotected
OL Forrest Green
LB Scotty Williams
DB Elvin Waters
QB Stanislav Ovechkin
RB Greg Dix
Montreal Rouge
QB Gene Bishop
RB Scott Mallard-White
RB Hugo Hughes - U24
OL Maxence Castex
OL Harrison Ward
OL Mathieu Roy - U24
WR Derek Cross - NTC
WR Taylor Karis
WR Yahui Sun - U24
DL Hubert Tessier
DL Lucas Kipling
LB Sam Fitzroy
LB Jeremy Trudeau - U24
DB Quentin Xavier
DB Jayson Klyde
S Garet deVale - NTC
Top 5 Unprotected
QB Mike Key
LB Wilson Rockwood-Barnes
DB Ty Boone
DL Dexter Barbarcos
DB Jared Francis
Ottawa Royals
QB Lee Rogers
QB Landon Ross
RB Corbyn Knight
OL Levi Francoeur - NTC
OL Peter Kingsley
OL Xavier Villeneuve
WR Carter Henderson
WR Marshall Leonard
WR Colby Bancana - U24
TE Ryan Hatcher - U24
DL Zane Tannith - U24
LB Douglas MacDougall
DB Jerome Caldwell - U24
DB Wesley Nires
S Randall Green
K Ira Foster
Top 5 Unprotected
WR Mackenzie Jones
DB Jacques Gaul
OL Calvin Forman
DL Olaf Viktorsson
DL Howard Grant
Providence Gold Stars
QB Connor O’Rourke - NTC
QB Joel Joeson - U24
RB Rashed Smith
OL Varo Giovanni
OL Herman Mecklenburg
WR Cedric Peterson
WR Owen Paisley
WR Doug Piva - U24
TE Micheal Bowman III
DL Calias McDonough
DL Craig White - NTC
DL Ryan Sargent - U24
LB Victor Falkensteig
DB Neville Falkner
DB Cameron Taylor
S Paul Christopher - U24
Top 5 Unprotected
RB Wally Morton
WR Ben Roland
LB Sebastian Andrews III
S Cal Clemmons
QB Terry Bourbon
Toronto Steelheads
QB Todd Baker
RB Max Tracy - U24
OL Gregory Farrell
OL Richard Justice
OL Elliot Owen - U24
WR Edmund Landry
WR Samuel Petri
TE Jesse Butler - U24
DL Lawrence Armstrong
DL Allen Barrera
DL Chester Avery
LB Daniel Carpenter
LB Kenneth Mercer - U24
DB Orville Blake
DB Luke Warren
S Daniel Perry
Top 5 Unprotected
RB Tommy Allen
WR Sam Nash
DB Evan Harris
OL Tyler Cunningham
OL Christopher Weeks
Last edited by Wallflower (8/25/2021 10:25 pm)
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Some interesting players left open - with Halifax exposing Buck Murphy, does that leave Benedict as the de facto #1 on the team? Also surprised to see Stavros Black and Scotty Williams unprotected, Pittsburgh could have a sneaky good team to start, though I don't expect them to surprise quite like Toronto did.
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How can you not protect the legend that is Benedict Benedicto?
But seriously, seeing Stavros Black out there as a productive member of the Mariners was a surprise.