As I thought, Columbia Alumni is slowly dying, which is a pity, because it's a team with an interesting background, but as you can see the professional level is not for them.

And congrats to John Cyr, he really deserves to be known as ironman of this sport.

I put my bet on Racers vs Archers in the grand final and I hope that next season will be better for Knights.

1955 NERC Second Round Semifinal

(3) The Bronx Bears vs (4) Manhattan Archers [scoreworms]

Date: September 17, 1955
Location: Riverside Field, The Bronx, NY
Weather: 74℉ (23℃), Cloudy
Wind: Moderate Breeze from S
Attendance: 25,000

Riverside Field was packed with runty fans, looking to watch an energetic game between two New York City teams. First, the home Bears took the field, to a chorus of cheering and whistling. Next, the visiting Archers took to the field. A good amount of Archer supporters made the trip to the other borough, but their cheers were drowned out by boos from the Bronx faithful.

The game started off slowly. In the first few minutes there weren’t any real chances. The first score of the game came 7:42 in, when Archers RO Ken Martin scored a goal off a nice solo run. After some more defensive play, the Bears would get their first scores of the game, two quick points. The Archers controlled the ball for the next bit, and would kick a point to take a 3-point lead. However, the Bears would pull off a full-field possession, rushing from their own end into Manhattan’s arc, and scored a goal with 57 seconds left, taking a 1-point lead into the second quarter. After 1, it was looking like the game would be a defensive battle.

AFTER 1: The Bronx 6-5 Manhattan

With their home fans still buzzing after their late first-quarter goal, the Bears would kick another 3 minutes into the second, courtesy of CF Freddy Falconer. They had a multi-possession lead, but after that goal, the Archers played tougher. C Donald Reed kicked a point, then RF Vern Chamne scored a beautiful goal, where he broke 3 tackles before kicking a picture-perfect shot into the top left corner. Just like that, the game was tied at 10. That wouldn’t last long, as Manhattan came out again, and kicked a point to retake the lead. Past the halfway point of the quarter, the Bears’ Lucas Sizemore missed a great chance to score another goal, instead miskicking the ball and scoring his second point of the game. The remaining 11 minutes of the second saw no scoring, and the two teams were tied heading into the second half.

AT THE HALF: The Bronx 11-11 Manhattan

Early into the second, Reed tried to kick a goal from well out, but his kick went well wide for a point. After that, the Bears started playing like a well-oiled machine. First, LHF Eric Hayden scored to put the Bears up by 3. After that, the defense locked down several Archer rushes, not letting them get anything. The Bears didn’t have too many offensive rushes throughout the rest of the quarter, but when they did, they managed to kick points, slowly but surely making their lead bigger. The Archers couldn’t manage any more scores other than their one point at the start of the quarter. After 3, The Bears held a 6-point lead.

AFTER 3: The Bronx 18-12 Manhattan

Right off the opening jump-ball of the fourth quarter, the Bears carried the ball to Manhattan’s end, and Cyril van Antwerp cleanly beat Ken Martin, giving the Bears their largest lead of the game, 10 points. At this point, they elected to use a defensive press, in an attempt to tire out and frustrate the Archers forwards. For almost 10 minutes, the press worked flawlessly, until Manhattan RWC Tony Haling slipped behind his man, caught a perfect pass, and kicked the ball high. It was a glorious chance left unconverted. Manhattan’s only other real chance after that was Donald Reed’s 3rd points of the game with 7 minutes to play. Other than those, the Bears defensive press did its job. As the final whistle went, their fans went crazy, as the Bronx had clinched their spot in a winner-take-all Champions Cup Final against the Racers.

FINAL SCORE: The Bronx 22-14 Manhattan


Champions Cup Final Preview:
(1) Westchester Racers vs (2) The Bronx Bears, at New York, NY

Regular Season Matchups: The Bronx 27-37 Westchester, Westchester 26-28 The Bronx
Previous Playoff Meeting: The Bronx 25-23 Westchester (1955 SF)
Playoff Record: Westchester 0-1 The Bronx

Just like in 1954, this Champions Cup matchup features two teams that met in the first round. The Bears are looking to build off their two wins in the playoffs so far, while the Racers are hungry for revenge. The Bears defense managed to hold off Westchester’s #1 offense in their first meeting, so if they can do that again here, they should be able to take it. However, stopping the Racers’ offense for consecutive games is a tall task.

Analyst Prediction: The Bears just manage to hold off the Racers, winning 26-25.

1955 Champions Cup Final [scoreworm]
Date: September 24, 1955
Location: New York Runty Park, New York, NY
Weather: 67℉ (19℃), Cloudy
Wind: Moderate Breeze from E
Attendance: 30,000

It was a cool, cloudy day in New York City. Despite this, there was excitement all around, as it was the day of the biggest game in Runty, the Champions Cup Final. It was a matchup that had already been played in the semifinals. The Bronx Bears upset the Westchester Racers in Yonkers, but now there was a chance for revenge. Fans from all over the NYC metro area flocked to the New York Runty Park to take in the action. Despite the Racers being the designated home team, their fans took up about 40% of the stadium, and were outnumbered by Bears supporters, who filled up around half of the capacity. Neutral fans took up the remaining 10%.

The Bears won the jump-ball, and controlled possession for the first few minutes. 5:42 in, team captain Lucas Sizemore punched a cross past Racers RU John Whyte, giving the Bronx a 4-0 lead. However, just 3 minutes later, the Racers would tie the game, after C Samuel McGinn fired home a loose ball. After that goal, the Bears would control the ball once again. With around 7 minutes to play, they had two great chances in quick succession, but Whyte did well to deflect those dangerous shots wide for points. However, the Bears would eventually break through, as Lucas Sizemore kicked a beautiful pass to a wide-open Harvey Joachim, who easily scored to put the Bears up by 6. In the last minutes of the quarter, the Racers controlled the ball, looking to get a goal back. They got some good chances, but only managed to kick two points before the quarter ended. After 24 minutes of play, the Bears held a 1-goal lead over Westchester, who were gaining momentum.

AFTER 1: Westchester 6-10 The Bronx

The Racers started the second quarter off with a pummeling of shots, managing to get a point from Bob Jones and a goal from Joe Blake within the first 4 minutes. This gave them their first lead of the game. They weren’t done yet, as they pressed their defense forward. LB Jerry Barnes punched a cross home for a goal, and LFB kicked a rare point, and the Racers had increased their lead to 6. The Bears offense struggled throughout the quarter, as just 4 of the 24 minutes played were in Westchester’s half. They didn’t manage a single point in the frame, the first time since 1951 a team in the Champions Cup had gone an entire quarter without scoring a point. The Racers added a point in the dying seconds, putting them up by 7. At the half, the Bears were in serious trouble, and needed a halftime spark to get themselves back in. On the other end of the field, the Racers needed to keep doing what they were doing, and they would have their first ever Champions Cup title.

AT THE HALF: Westchester 17-10 The Bronx

The Bears must’ve had a passionate speech from coach Grenville Gold at halftime, because they looked like an entirely different team in the third quarter. Just 90 seconds in, CF Freddy Falconer blasted a shot home from close range, cutting the deficit to 3. The Racers would score a point on their next rush, but that would be their only real chance of the quarter. For the remaining 22 minutes, the Bears would control possession, though the Racer defense did well to limit their chances. There would be no scoring play for around 10 minutes after the Westchester point, until a shot from Bronx HF Val Victors hit the crossbar and went out of play for a point. The Bears would continue to dominate possession for the remainder of the quarter, but their only other scoring play would be another point from Harvey Joachim. Despite the dominant play, the Racers defense did well to limit the Bears to 6 points. After 3 quarters, Westchester held a 2-point lead. It had come down to the fourth quarter to determine the winner.

AFTER 3: Westchester 18-16 The Bronx

The first few minutes of the fourth quarter were slow, so that there could be minimal mistakes. At the 5 and 7-minute marks, the Racers would kick two points, putting themselves up by a goal once more. After the second point, the Bears would have a period of possession. They scored a quick point, then Harvey Joachim scored a nice goal, curling a kick into the top right corner of the net from mid-range, a shot which John Whyte could do nothing about. This goal put the Bears up by 1, their first lead since early in the second quarter. Their supporters erupted, and they looked to have the upper hand. They managed to slow to pace down for the next few minutes, but with 8:59 on the clock, Racers LF Steve Bezuidenhout, from out of nowhere, blasted a kick into the top-left corner of the net, giving the Racers the lead back. THey were up by 3, but the game still wasn’t over. However, the Racers did a great job at slowing the pace down, which is what the Bears unsuccessfully tried to do. They had some chances late to get the lead back, but they were all either blocked or saved. The final whistle went, and the Racers exploded with joy. They had become the first of the 1952 expansion teams to win a Champions Cup. On the other end, the Bears were stuck with the taste of defeat for the second year in a row.

FINAL SCORE: Westchester 24-21 The Bronx



1955 Championship Flag:

The Racers decided to use Roman numerals instead of stars to denote their championships on their flags. Any future titles won by them will feature a "II", a "III", and so on.

1955-56 NERC Offseason

Buckle up folks, this is gonna be a rollercoaster of a post.

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October 8, 1955: The Darkest Day in Runty History

There were rumblings of illegal activities committed by NERC officials earlier in the season, but when the rumours finally came to light, nobody was prepared.

On October 8, 1955, An underground NERC gambling/match fixing ring was discovered within the confines of New York City. This ring consisted of several high-up executives and even presidents of 5 of the league’s 10 teams. 

These teams were:
New York (ringleaders)
Hempstead
Staten Island
The Bronx
Boston

In the released findings, it was documented that these executives had illegally gambled on several NERC games, including ones played by their own teams. As well, some of the members of this ring had attempted to bribe referees to call games in one team’s favour, so that they could get their money.

Commissioner Elmer Wilkins was absolutely furious. A few hours after the findings were released, The NERC banned all those involved in the scandal for life, and announced harsh punishments on the teams themselves. Each team involved in the scandal was banned from participating in the NERC for one season, while the New York Knights, the club that started the ring, was banned for two. Wilkins had this to say on the matter.

“This is a sad and humiliating day, not just for myself and the NERC, but also for the professional sporting world. Words cannot express our frustration toward all those who took part in illegal gambling and match fixing. Our game and our league should never be taken advantage of in this way. Every individual person, whether an executive, team president, or referee, mentioned in the criminal investigation is no longer a part of the NERC, nor will they be at any point in the future. We will move on as best we can, to make sure that this situation will never happen again. 

As a result of their participation in these illegal activities, The Staten Island, Bronx, Boston, and Hempstead Runty Clubs will not be allowed to participate in the forthcoming 1956 season. The New York Runty Club, as a result of being the initiators of these heinous crimes, will not be allowed to participate in the 1956 and 1957 seasons. Once these clubs have no trace of anyone who took part in these activities, and have served their 1 or 2-year suspensions, the NERC will welcome them back into the league.

I would also like to announce my immediate resignation as commissioner of the North-Eastern Runty Championship. I have clearly failed in my position, having not known about this nonsense from the start. I am thankful for my tenure as commissioner, but now it is time for someone more qualified to take control. Former Hempstead President Isidore Spinola will be the new commissioner, and I look forward to helping him move the league forward into a brighter future.”

Fans, especially those of the teams involved, were in shock. There were protests outside all 5 team headquarters, calling for the removal of all those who participated. The general mood of the fans was anger and betrayal, but only toward those who were involved in the scandal. They had faith that each of the 5 clubs would do whatever they could to get their support back, and distance themselves from the crimes.

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Columbia Alumni Scholars announce departure from NERC

While newspapers and magazines were all swept up in the gambling and match-fixing announcements, another big news article dropped. The Columbia Alumni Scholars, amidst huge financial losses and poor attendance, announced that they would be moving back down to the NYRL. It wasn’t a huge surprise, as they struggled mightily in the past 2 seasons, setting multiple league records for futility. Nevertheless, this meant that the NERC was down to just 4 teams for the 1956 season. New league commissioner Isidore Spinola had this to say on the matter.

“We have accepted the Scholars’ request to withdraw from the NERC. We wish them the best as they attempt to get their finances back in order.”

The Scholars also stated that they were not interested in a potential NERC return, and that the NYRL was where they wanted to be permanently.

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NERC Announces Format for 1956 season

With only 4 teams to play in 1956, there was lots of speculation about how the season would be formatted. Some predicted a full 18-game season, while other wondered if it would be shorter. They got their answer 3 months before the season’s start. 

Each team would play 2 of the other teams 4 times, and the remaining team 3 times, for an 11-week schedule. As for the playoffs, the 2nd and 3rd-placed teams would face off in a semifinal, then the winner of that would play the 1st-placed team in the current Champions Cup format. Overall, this was seen as a bizarre solution, but that’s what the league wanted to do.

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Notable Player Movement

Perseus Whitney (HEM >>> BRK)

Whitney, who led the league in scoring in 1953, was adamant about continuing to play in the NERC and not in the lower-level NYRL for one season. He was traded to Brooklyn for cash shortly before the season began. The deal stipulated that he was to be traded back to the Clippers prior to the 1957 season for the same amount of money he was traded for.

Gil Littlewood (HEM >>> BRK)

Similarly to Whitney, Littlewood also had no interest in missing out on a year of NERC play. In a separate deal, he was traded to Brooklyn for young prospect Brent Sturm, who would get more playing time with Hempstead in the NYRL.  Also similarly to Whitney’s trade, this deal was to be reversed at the end of the season.

Willie Allen (NY >>> BRK)

Allen is a promising young defender who played short stints with Buffalo and New York. As a result of large financial losses from the gambling scandal, the Knights traded him to Brooklyn for cash. Unlike Whitney’s trade, this was a permanent deal.

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Pre-Season Picks

First Seed: Buffalo

While they may have had a disappointing first-round exit, the Panthers look primed to take the #1 seed in this shortened year. Des Samuel will only continue to improve, and the Panthers are due for some breakouts from their younger players. These paired together should make them the team to beat.

Champions Cup: Buffalo over Westchester

The Racers, while due to regress a bit, should still be a favourite to make the Champions Cup. Their 1955 title win is gonna give them confidence, but not enough to win 2 straight against the Panthers. Buffalo should be expected to raise another flag at the conclusion of this season.

Leading Goalscorer: Des Samuel (BUF)

He’s good at scoring. That’s really all that needs to be said.

Projected Standings:
1-x. Buffalo
2-x. Westchester
3-x. Manhattan
4. Brooklyn
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