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Congrats to Buffalo on their 4th McCallister Cup, Montreal tried their best but it wasn’t enough against a very dominant Blue Wings team.Love the stadium and field graphics and I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing some more of those in the future.
Could I get a Montreal/Buffalo sig? I think this final has cemented them as my 2 favourite teams
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LETS GO BUFFALO!!!
It was great to bounce back and win it all after getting left out of the playoffs last year despite the talent on our roster. It's a great day to be a Blue Wing!
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Congrats to the Buffalo Blue Wings! The Bills might disappoint every year in real life, but the city of Buffalo can at least occasionally be champions in the fictional world!
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Good for Buffalo. Hopefully next year, the Tigers and Thunder will do better.
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1966 Award Winners
Most Valuable Player - QB Charles Lemieux BUF
Lemieux takes home his first MVP award this season after taking the Blue Wings to the top this season in quite the revenge season for the team. He has solidified himself as one of the greats already with plenty of potential to continue to lead the Blue Wings to more success. Also, this marks the 8th straight MVP from the West Division, the last East Division winner is QB Jean Matieau in 1958.
Playoff MVP - QB Charles Lemieux BUF
Lemieux did not have a player of the week award in the playoffs, but his consistent leadership and stellar play earned him the playoff MVP narrowly over S Garet deVale. The dominant performance in the McCallister Cup is what truly turned the tide in Lemieux’s favour to win this award.
Offensive Player of the Year - QB Lyle Painter HFX
Painter has put himself right into many conversations of the best QBs in the league history. After last season’s MVP, he joined the Mariners and took home the OPOY award this season. The Mariners are hoping that Painter can continue his play over the past few seasons to help the team stay as a competitive squad. This is the second time Worcester/Halifax has won the OPOY, the first being QB Riley Kiernan in 1956.
Defensive Player of the Year - S Garet deVale MTL
deVale has always been a stellar piece in the Montreal defence, however, he never was able to find his way to the spotlight until this season. His MVP-calibre season solidifies him at the top as the league’s best safety. The win gives a Montreal Rouge member the DPOY award for the first time since LB Quinton Brewer won in 1951.
Special Teams Player of the Year - K Ross Poindexter IND
Poindexter was voted by the majority to win the STPOY award. This season he helped the Victors reach their 8-4 mark and showed that he can kick it with the best at the position.
Rookie of the Year - WR Felix Fontaine BOS
Fontaine was far and away the favourite rookie of this season. He had a great season being a key young piece in the Boston offence and likely the future #1 receiver. Fontaine is the first Independent to win the ROTY award.
Coach of the Year - Dannell Willis IND
Dannell Willis and Maurice Evanson were in a tight race for the award, but Willis will become the first back-to-back coach of the year award winner since Peter McDuffin in 1949-1950 with Boston. Willis’ ability to lead the Victors to another successful season despite losing QB Lyle Painter, shows how important he is to the team.
Breakout Player of the Year - WR Shane Steadman HFX
It was another close vote for the Breakout award, but Shane Steadman’s early lead would stand and the WR would become the second straight WR taking home the award. His fantastic season will show that Halifax has a bright future at the WR position.
1966 All-Stars
WEST ALL-STARS
QB Charles Lemieux BUF (2)
RB Max Tracy TOR (1)
OL Wally McRose PIT (1)
OL Gregory Farrell TOR (3)
OL Viktor Stahl IND (2)
OL Jean-Baptiste Desjardins IND (3)
OL Emil Jennings LDN (2)
WR Ed Edwards IND (5)
WR Julius Drake BUF (1)
WR Nathan Murray-Lawrence PIT(1)
TE Paul Arturberry BUF (1)
DL William Sanderson BUF (10)
DL Bjorn Sigmarsson LOU (4)
DL Lawrence Armstrong TOR (2)
DL Lonnie Vincent BUF (5)
LB Terrence Patton IND (2)
LB Dallas Dillard LDN (4)
LB Marshall Langenbrunner IND (1)
DB Ezra Power BUF (1)
DB Kelly Kirkland IND (6)
DB Orville Blake TOR (2)
S Johnny Berger LOU (6)
K Ross Poindexter IND (1)
EAST ALL-STARS
QB Lyle Painter HFX (2)
RB Dareion Fields LI (7)
OL Graham Chambers BOS (9)
OL Harrison Ward MTL (4)
OL Forrest Green LI (2)
OL Flint Boyer HFX (1)
OL Ward Briscoe HFX (5)
WR Taylor Karis MTL (3)
WR Shane Steadman HFX (1)
WR Owen Paisley PRO (1)
TE Ryan Hatcher OTT (2)
DL Wayne Baxton HFX (4)
DL Pat Butler HFX (2)
DL Craig White PRO (5)
DL Lucas Kipling MTL (2)
LB William Washington II LI (2)
LB Konrad Aust BOS (9)
LB Victor Falkensteig PRO (1)
DB Neville Falkner PRO (6)
DB Alexander Bradley LI (11)
DB Joe Robinson HFX (2)
S Garet deVale MTL (6)
K Henderson Schumacher (4)
1966 League Leaders
Passing Touchdowns
1 - QB Lyle Painter HFX - 22
T2 - QB Charles Lemieux BUF - 19
T2 - QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 19
4 - QB Tom Applewhite IND - 18
5 - QB Nathaniel Braddock BOS - 17
Rushing Touchdowns
1 - RB Raymond Green IND - 16
2 - RB Max Tracy TOR - 14
3 - RB Rodney Clark LOU - 14
4 - RB Jimmy Golden BUF - 13
5 - RB Kendall Morgan BOS/LI - 11
Receiving Touchdowns
1 - WR Taylor Karis MTL - 11
T2 - WR Shane Steadman HFX - 10
T2 - WR Owen Paisley PRO - 10
4 - WR Ed Edwards IND - 9
5 - WR Cedric Peterson PRO - 8
Interceptions
1 - DB Neville Falkner PRO - 9
T2 - S Garet deVale MTL - 7
T2 - DB Alexander Bradley LI - 7
T4 - DB Ezra Power BUF - 6
T4 - DB Kelly Kirkland IND - 6
Forced Fumbles
1 - DL William Washington II LI - 6
T2 - DL Wayne Baxton HFX - 5
T2 - LB Terrence Patton IND - 5
T2 - LB Dallas Dillard LDN - 5
49th McCallister Cup Host - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - Ottawa, ON - Capacity: 45,210
With Canada celebrating their 100th birthday during the year of 1967, the NAAF has awarded the McCallister Cup to Ottawa, ON. The capital of Canada and home to the NAAF is the perfect spot for this McCallister Cup to celebrate this centennial birthday.
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1967 League Meetings
NAAF
ANNOUNCING THE HALL OF FAME
Last offseason, Stephan Van Fossen, commissioner of the ACFL, announced that there would be the creation of the American Football Hall of Fame. The emphasis was on “American” as Van Fossen made it clear that anyone connected to hybrid football and more specifically the NAAF would not be eligible to be inducted into the Hall. The decision to exclude the hybrid members was not well received by fans of the NAAF, their players, staff, and owners. NAAF commissioner Ryan Jameson took the decision to heart and acted over the offseason. It was a no-brainer decision for the rest of the owners and players that the NAAF would form their own Hall for Hybrid Football. A building will be constructed in Ottawa, specifically at Lansdowne Park, the old home of the Ottawa Royals and the first place where Hybrid Football was played professionally. Jameson announced that they would call the building the Hybrid Football Hall of Fame. The initial class of inductees will be announced during the lead-up to the 49th McCallister Cup in Ottawa.
THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN MINNEAPOLIS
A new stadium has been in many city council talks in Minneapolis for several years now. There has been no success to get it through, even to the point where Minneapolis mayor Brad Kennard has just ignored any new proposals. With Twin Cities Stadium getting older and not being the best fit for football (with its usual baseball usage), there has been the urge to build a new spot to better suit football. Recently, a new development has formed and the city council is looking at a proposal from the University of Minneapolis. With the increasing popularity in football at the college level, the University is hoping they can build a new building on campus.
Hearing of these rumours, Kris Matheson, the one who had been an advocate for a new stadium all these years, has decided to jump in to help. Although he certainly had his own demands or desires with the facility. He said that he would help with the stadium if it meant that it would increase their planned capacity to be able to field a professional team and that it would still have the ability to fit a hybrid-sized field in the stadium. The University certainly liked the idea that it could also bring in more revenue for them as well if they help him get a team to the city.
With that agreement and the funding increase, as well as the fact the city had a professional team in the GLFL, the city was willing to listen. However, there was immediate push back from Harold Smith, owner of both the Baseball team and the GLFL’s new Minneapolis team, as he liked his monopoly over the professional sports in the city and had quite the attachment to the old Twin Cities Stadium. In fact, throughout the process, he officially cut Kris Matheson out of the football team after letting him in last season due to Matheson complaining that Smith had gone over his head to get the team. Smith’s actions immediately put a stick in the mud. Matheson was now desperate, and he would return to Ryan Jameson and the NAAF looking for support.
After hearing of the developments, Jameson and the NAAF decided to support the plan themselves. The NAAF has been interested in the Twin Cities for a long time as a market without much in terms of football, however, they never felt that there was a stadium suited for a team. With the new plan, the NAAF has decided to reopen conversations with the city and Kris Matheson about a potential team, however, they will only do so if the stadium plan gets approved.
The city council is still to vote on the plan, but there is new life in the NAAF heading further west.
ACFL
VAN FOSSEN’S PLANS FOR ANOTHER ATTACK
The last few seasons have been quite hectic for the ACFL. One of the main causes has been Commissioner Stephen Van Fossen whose pinnacle move has been adding Boston and Rochester to the ACFL. However, favour has certainly turned against him as Boston has continued to lack any improvements in attendance despite the team’s improving success on the field. On top of that, Pittsburgh has continued to lose attendance as well. The Blacksmith’s more successful season (especially at home going 4-2), was the most successful season for a Pittsburgh football team in a decade. The success has seen many fans willing to spend their money on tickets for Blacksmith games versus Hammers’ games.
Several other owners are seriously questioning if the attack of the NAAF is in the best interest of the league. However, Van Fossen continues to point out how important it is to continue the push for growth and be the top league in North America. The owners certainly agreed that they would want to be the top, they also don’t want that to rip a hole in their pockets. The whole situation was why the owners were considering a vote to remove Van Fossen as the commissioner. However, Van Fossen had one last thing up his sleeve. He revealed the second phase and the “true” nature of his overall plan. It certainly seemed like a gamble, but he maintained that the NAAF has been putting teams in their markets ever since the ACFL formed. Starting with Long Island, which Van Fossen left behind when joining the ACFL from the NYFL, and then more recently Pittsburgh. He even pointed out the move out to Indianapolis and Louisville was a huge push into the GLFL’s territory. He quickly showed that if they can do the same with markets in the north, they could A) take away territory from the NAAF and B) expand their league to be bigger and better. The idea seemed to be enough for some of the ACFL owners to allow Van Fossen to carry on as the commissioner, however, he was still on thin ice.
With at least a little longer of a leash, Van Fossen would attempt to put his plan into action. He quickly started looking for owners and stadiums in several more northern markets in hopes of expanding the ACFL by 4 teams to get to 14 teams and become the biggest professional league in North America. The first cities he has marketed on the map are Hamiton, ON, a city that lost its team because of the Ontario Football Union’s merger with the NAAF and Hartford, CT, a city that lost its historic team to the relocation of the Long Island Raiders. Both could certainly be valuable markets to the ACFL if it works out, however, one issue could be a lack of great stadium options in both cities (a big reason the NAAF are not in either city right now). Along with those two main targets, several others are being considered: Syracuse, NY, Albany, NY, Worcester, MA/Springfield, MA, Portland, ME, Norfolk, VA, and Scranton, PA. There are a lot of smaller markets in contention, but Van Fossen is getting desperate to find places for teams so he is not taking any options off the table.
GLFL
MINNEAPOLIS’ FIRST SEASON
The big news this season was the city of Minneapolis finally joining the GLFL and a professional football league. The Minneapolis Black Bears as they would be eventually called. In their first season, the Black Bears’ performed as expected. They were certainly behind the mark compared to the other teams only winning a couple of games. However, the most important mark for success is attendance. This season, the numbers started out well with the first game being a sellout. However, as the season went on, the attendance went down. Many fans complained that certain parts of the baseball stadium were difficult to watch the football game from. Once again adding more fuel to the fire to the new stadium discussion that was covered earlier. Owner Harold Smith is hoping that with more success next season, the attendance shall improve purely based on the success of the team.
Last edited by Wallflower (5/14/2022 10:25 pm)
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It'll be interesting to see if Van Fossen's gamble in the North will pay off for him, plus certainly interesting news coming out of the Twin Cities.
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It's nearly time... YEAH BABY MINNESOTA FOOTBALL
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Hopefully Portland can get a team. Did they have good attendance when the Athletics played there?
EDIT: Im blanking on whether or not this happened.
Last edited by Enigmajones (1/21/2022 12:38 am)
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Enigmajones wrote:
Hopefully Portland can get a team. Did they have good attendance when the Athletics played there?
EDIT: Im blanking on whether or not this happened.
Portland, ME or Portland, OR?