Here comes the 4th team limping into the station:

Columbus Buckeyes

Columbus is the oldest team of the inaugural AFL teams, formed by former players of the University of Ohio in 1906, hence why both of them share the same name. They were an independent team for a long while, and joined up in the AA for all three of its seasons before joining the MWFC. They were dominant in their early years, winning 2 out of the 3 AA titles and snagging the first ever Bradshaw Cup in the Championship. Now, UOhio has basically become a feeder team to the pro Buckeyes, but even then that isn’t helping the Buckeyes get back to the top. They have not been contenders lately, and have been living in the basement for some time now, mainly due to the Buckeyes going through 2 ownership changes and several roster rebuilds in order to be relevant once more. Randolf Durant is the 3rd owner the Buckeyes have had since their last championship, and was the final owner approached by Hasenkamp to form the league. Durant believes the exposure that the league will have will help the Buckeyes, but it’s a long road up for them. The Buckeyes’ play out of Buckeye Stadium, sharing it with UOhio, and is the largest Stadium in the league at 66,210 seats.

The Buckeyes are not contenders by any sense. They’ve managed to snag up some younger talent, but their main problem is that the team is old. Third year head coach Leon Maddox has not proven that he is head coaching material yet, as he has failed to bring the team past the .500 mark in his tenure. They have great receiving talent, with WR’s Tony Carroll, Joel Weeks, and Howard Herman all being great receivers who are starting to reach the end of their prime. However, they aren’t being utilized properly within the team’s scheme. The main culprit is current starting QB Morris Cole, who is 37 and lacking the athleticism he had in his prime. Instead of throwing to his receivers, he’s feeding it to young RB Martin Quinn, who hasn’t exactly proven himself as a starter caliber player just yet. TE Ronnie May gets more of the passing targets, even though he’s not the best receiver on the team. Their defense is the weak point of the team. They really only have 1 star player on this side of the ball: LB Christopher Carney. Carney has been the anchor of the defense in his short time with the team, and also pulling the weight of everyone else. Their defensive line is the weakest in the league, with their starters either being old and ineffective or young and unproven. Their secondary is led by DB Gilbert Ferrell, who is almost doing everything in the secondary when Carney isn’t there to assist him. 

Their logo is similar to that of the University of Ohio, with a block C instead of an O, and a buckeye leaf on top of it. They used to be near identical clones to the UOhio Buckeyes, but they changed their uniforms recently to try to break away from their over-reliance on the university. They switched to a more blue-focused set, but still kept some red in the red pants at home and in the striping.




(Players shown: WR Tony Carroll (21) and LB Christopher Carney (43))

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And now, the penultimate team for the AFL:

Detroit Knights

The Knights were founded in 1906 by a group of Catholic priests wanting to create a community team for their parish. After going pro in 1913, they tore up their local league before joining the AA in 1920, nearly winning it all in their first year. When the AA went belly-up, the Knights returned back to the Michigan league before rejoining the top flight of football when the MWFC started up in 1926. In the first 5 years of the league, the Knights finished in the top 4, winning their first Bradshaw Cup in 1929 and finishing runner-up a year later. After a brief period of mediocrity, they returned back to the top in 1937, beating their rival in the Hogs for their second Championship title, and returned to the title game in 1941 and 1944, beating the Crows the first time around and losing to the Hogs in their revenge game. The Knights have stayed relevant due to owner/GM/head coach August Riddle revolutionizing the scouting game, sending out scouts to find players outside of their local area instead of relying on headlines to gather info on players. Riddle himself is a great coach, but the coordinators he has had in recent years have hampered production due to inefficient and questionable play calling. The Knights’ home field is Kaiser Field, placed right in the middle of downtown Detroit, and can seat 52,555 fans.

Detroit is a mix of young and old talent that still drives the team. On offense, the youth movement is running away with it. 25 year old QB Roy Woodward is one of the best, if not the best, play caller in the league. He has a multitude of young and great weapons to use. RB Jeffrey Spears is only 24 and has proven himself as a consistently great ball carrier in his short time as a pro. WR George Payne is Woodward’s favorite target, and it will remain that way for sometime. Rookie WR Lloyd Lawson is still adjusting to the professional playstyle but looks to be one of the best WR’s in the league so far. Woodward’s other two targets are WR Andrew Starr, who is fairly average as receivers go, and TE Francis Sellers, who usually doesn’t get many targets outside the redzone. The defense is a bit older than the offense, but still has plenty of great players still able to contribute. They are led by veteran DL James Sellers, who even at 33 is still one of the best linemen in the league. Their defensive line is all over 30 but all still able to contribute to the game, with DL’s Max Michael and Benjamin Finley both being solid options. LB Jerry Flowers leads the linebacking core, with the 25 year old being well ahead of his other two teammates in David Short and Clarence Carter. The secondary is led by DB Johnathan Hobbs, and he’s doing most of the work for his other teammates in the secondary when they mess up. DB’s Hermann Schmitt and Edward Simon and S Ernest Workman aren’t bad players, but they are more average when it comes to players like Hobbs. The Knights’ players alone are enough to get them to the top, but it's their coaching staff that drags them down. August Riddle hasn’t been the best at hiring coaches under him, and it has shown in recent years. If they can get over the coaching hump or even look past it, Detroit is a sure-fire contender for the title game.

The Knights have been in red and blue since their inception. They’ve been through several different designs throughout their history, but they’ve spent their longest in red. What sets them apart are the blue yokes, which were part of their original uniforms when the team was first founded and has remained ever since then. 



(Players shown: QB Roy Woodward (3) and DL James Sellers (97))

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Detroit? Check. Yokes? Check. Well done, bear.

I'm with QCS, there are appropriate amounts of red and blue in this, but the contrast is a bit rough. Though I also agree that this brand should evolve well.

personally, I think there's enough contrast between the red and blue, especially on the uniforms, though I do think qtπ has a point and maybe it could use some white down the line. that said, I like what you've got going on here! chicago and cincy are still my favorites so far but you've got a pretty solid thing going