1950-51 Offseason

Although there wasn’t much player movement between teams, a lot of the older players on each of the teams retired after the grueling schedule put too much stress on their bodies and couldn’t deal with playing at this level. Some teams that had younger pieces, like Chicago, Detroit, and Tri-Cities, weren’t affected by the mass exodus of players, but Cleveland and Columbus were hit hard, with nearly half of their team leaving after the 1950 season and both scrambling to sign new players to take their place. Luckily for all the teams, there were plenty of players to go around, with 60 players declaring for the AFL straight out of college and a few more experienced players from the other leagues across the country. The biggest of the names coming out of college would be DL Eric Forbes out of Michigan University, with some proclaiming he might be one of the best defensive linemen ever if he develops properly. Pretty much every team reached out to sign a potential contract with him, but ultimately Forbes signed with the Hogs, instantly becoming one of the best players on Chicago’s defensive unit and might be the piece they need to win the championship. The Hogs also obtained the second best rookie available, snatching up OL Steve Holland to help with their already quite young offensive line to protect QB Alfred Walton. 

Elsewhere, there were 3 quarterbacks that AFL teams had their eyes on. 2 were coming straight out of college, those being Johnnie Sellers and Ronnie Hart. Both had incredible seasons last year, but Sellers far and away had the better season, winning the Bernheim Trophy for the best college athlete in the nation and claiming a part of the national championship. Hart did lead St. Francis of Assisi to a top 25 finish, but was mostly overshadowed since not many scouts went out to his hometown of San Jose to see him play. Columbus was one of the unlikely winners of the quarterback battle, signing Sellers to become one of their quarterbacks, but he won’t be the definitive starter yet. Since the Buckeyes lost their starting QB in Ray Hoffman due to retirement, they did sign the other remaining top quarterback to fight for the starting spot. Darrell Flynn had 3 years of experience playing in the NYPL, serving as a backup for Baltimore before transferring over to the AFL to become a starter. Hart ended up getting signed by Cleveland, who now has to fight for the starting spot over veteran backup Steven Francis. The remaining key players that signed ended up all in the state of Ohio. WR Alfred Dunn was putting up great numbers while at UOhio, and turned down a contract to play at his hometown team in the Buckeyes and accepted one with Cincinnati, whose middling receiving core will receive a great boost and take some weight off of RB Elmer Carson’s back. DB Johnathan Moon was the next top defensive player after Eric Forbes, and he’ll go the same route as QB Johnnie Sellers, who will hopefully help turn the Buckeyes around into a competitive team. Cleveland got the top RB in Perry Ferguson, and he might even take over from last year’s starter Tom McGee with how Ferguson performed in college. Ferguson was the main reason why Boston Christian was as good as they were last year, and the Crows hope that influx of youth could turn their team around. 

Besides the rookies and other younger players inbound from other leagues, the biggest splash of the season was Detroit locking up RB Jeffrey Spears on a 4 year deal worth $100,000, making him the highest paid running back in the league so far. Although the Knights didn’t exactly have the best season last year, they have enough faith in the 25 year old to be a key piece of their young core of players to eventually get them over the hump that plagued them last year. Chicago managed to re-sign OL Bill Armstrong to a 4 year, $54,000 deal that will put the 25 year old as the star of the Hogs’ already amazing offensive line. The biggest surprise re-signing was back in Detroit, as they gave TE Frederick Arthur a 4 year deal worth $74,000. The reason this is such a big surprise is that they already have a standout star at the TE spot with Francis Sellers, but the biggest reason why is that Sellers is 34 and only has 1 year left with the Knights, and Detroit believes that Arthur may surpass Sellers’ abilities either this year or next and become another key piece to their offense. 

Key Acquisitions:

Chicago
DL Eric Forbes (Michigan U.)
OL Steve Holland (Wisconsin State)
OL Jackie Holder (Oklahoma U.)
S Jeffery Irwin (North Carolina U.)

Cincinnati
WR Alfred Dunn (UOhio)
TE Floyd Rankin (St. Joseph’s)
DL Theo Love (NYPL - Bronx Bulldogs)
LB Jeff Blankenship (California State)

Cleveland
QB Ronnie Hart (St. Francis of Assisi)
RB Perry Ferguson (Boston Christian)
OL Tim Fitzgerald (Minnesota State)
WR Joseph Atkins (California State)

Columbus
QB Johnnie Sellers (Chicago Christian)
DB Johnathan Moon (Philadelphia State)
OL Kenneth Hodge (Virginia State) 
DL Robert Stanton (Chicago Christian)

Detroit
OL Greg York (Brooklyn College)
OL Todd Solomon (Audubon)
WR Gerald Berger (NYPL - Baltimore Barons)
LB Vincent Meyer (Illinois U.)

Tri-Cities
DB William Owens (Massachusetts State)
RB Jim Riggs (Texas U.)
WR Chris Marks (Chicago Christian)
DB Barry Roach (Illinois U.)

Brand Updates:

Columbus were the only team to make changes this year, making a slight adjustment to their uniforms by removing the blue pants and white socks on the away and switched to their home pants and socks instead. 


(Players shown: QB Johnnie Sellers (12) and DB Johnathan Moon (41))

1951 Season Predictions:

Although Tri-Cities has a majority of their core back from their championship last year, Chicago is still the best team on paper. The Hogs made huge improvements to their offensive line and secondary, and that might be all they need to push them over the top. The league seems to have a bit more parity than last year, and really it could be anyone in the championship this Thanksgiving. Detroit has the talent to get there, but their coaching staff has made it clear that they are holding the team back and owner August Riddle will clean house if they fail again this year. Cincinnati looks to be a dark horse in this race, but it may take a collapse from one of the other teams to even have a chance at making it. Cleveland and Columbus are starting on shaky ground, and they probably aren’t going to be contending this year and might just look for next year. If there were any two teams to make it to the championship, it would most likely be a rematch between the Hogs and the Hawks.

My Predictions:

Chicago 7-3 - x
Tri-Cities 7-3 - x
Detroit 6-4
Cincinnati 5-5
Cleveland 3-7
Columbus 2-8

Second American Football Championship Game
Tri-Cities over Chicago

While Chicago would have the more “experienced” team in terms of age, they haven’t been able to beat the Hawks while in the AFL. It’s going to be another close matchup for the second championship, but Tri-Cities will ultimately come out on top against Chicago once again.

C&C Appreciated! Any predictions for the '51 season?

Last edited by DireBear (1/12/2024 3:31 pm)

Nice season for Cincy, I hope they can upset the Hogs for the win!

1951 AFL Championship


Union Stadium was a major upgrade in capacity compared to the championship held at LeClaire Field last year. It had nearly double the capacity, allowing more tickets to be sold compared to last year and more fans to show up. The stadium was primarily packed with local Chicago fans, but Rivermen supporters did manage to show up, managing to make about a 65-35 split between the two teams. The weather was slightly better, with temperatures reaching 36°F with mild winds and light rain at kickoff. Both teams were eager to capitalize on the championship this year, with Chicago looking to cap off a dominating year, while Cincinnati was trying to make something out of a seemingly lost season by upsetting the top team in the league.

Q1
The Cincinnati Rivermen elected to take the opening kickoff to try and take the Hogs by surprise. Chicago wasn’t caught off guard though, forcing the Rivs to go three and out. Chicago didn’t have any better luck, with the rain messing the field up just enough to put MVP Alfred Walton out of his groove and forcing them to punt as well. It was a rough game to begin with the offenses, with the defenses taking the spotlight early in the quarter. The Hogs almost converted on a 3rd down near midfield, but Walton was taken down by LB Jim Norman for a loss. The Rivermen fared worse on offense, as their second drive ended in disaster, as RB Elmer Carson was tackled in the backfield by ROTY DL Eric Forbes and forced the ball loose. Chicago would end up winning the scrum, with DL Kenneth Emery ended up with the ball. The Hogs would get the ground game going as the rain kept on pouring, trading off handoffs between veteran RB Johnnie Hendrix and rookie RB Brian Bruce, each chewing up yardage to get within scoring range. However, a third down pass by Walton into the endzone intended for WR Nicholas Kramer was broken up by DB Jim Farmer, so the Hogs ended up settling for a 35 yard field goal to score the first points of the game late into the first quarter
CIN 0, CHI 3

Q2
The rain started to ease up a bit after the Hogs’ field goal, which gave a bit more room for QB Clarence Stanley and the Rivermen to work with. Stanley found rookie WR Alfred Dunn across the middle for a 20 yard gain over the middle, but relied a bit too much on RB Elmer Carson, as he could not gain anything with the stingy Hogs defense matching his every move. Cincinnati did eventually gain enough on other plays to tie up the game midway through the 2nd quarter with a field goal of their own. Chicago would remember how good their offense was throughout the season and put together a fantastic drive near the end of the quarter. Walton would find his primary targets in TE Glenn Chambers and WR Nicholas Kramer for big gains, but Walton would find another receiver in Donnie Stout for 5 yards to cap off the drive for the first touchdown of the game. Cincinnati would not get any sort of momentum to end off the half, leaving the ball back in the hands of the reinvigorated Chicago offense to begin the second half
CIN 3, CHI 10

Q3
With clearer skies after halftime, both offenses were looking to make up for the lack of production they produced in the first half. The Hogs would get on the board first, with a deep ball by Walton to Kramer eventually setting up a field goal that extended their lead to 10. Cincinnati retaliated quickly to keep the game close, as QB Clarence Stanley threw up a ball for the rookie Dunn against DB Tommy Lane deep down field, and Dunn’s youthfulness prevailed, winning the contest and strutting the remaining 10 yards for the score. The next drive, the Rivermen forced a rare error from Chicago RB Johnnie Hendrix, as LB Jeff Blankenship ripped the ball out of Hendrix’s hands and recovered it for Cincinnati, setting them up in prime scoring range to potentially turn the game around in their favor. Cincinnati would end up scoring on the following drive, but only got 3 on a field goal to tie up the game once more. The game would not stay tied for long, as another expertly led drive by QB Alfred Walton resulted in a touchdown for the Hogs, with Walton hitting TE Glenn Chambers from three yards out would put Chicago back up by 7.
CIN 13, CHI 20

Q4
The Hogs wanted to tone down their offensive production, and only put it into action more when needed. Their defense has been the best all year, and things had to cool off after a third quarter that was filled with scoring. Luckily for Chicago, their defense did hold up against Cincinnati, at least for the first half of the fourth quarter. The Hogs held the Rivs to back-to-back 3-and-outs to begin the quarter, but Chicago’s offense couldn’t put the game away on either drive and thus gave the Rivermen another chance to come back. WR Alfred Dunn almost single-handedly got Cincinnati into scoring range, but failed to gain a single yard on third down and kicked it through the uprights to put the game closer than Chicago would want it. Chicago’s woes would get complicated further after RB Brian Bruce coughed the ball up after a decent run, and in the resulting scrum Cincinnati DB Thomas Marshall came out with the ball with less than 3 minutes left to play and with good field position. With how their offense was playing as of late, it was the RIvermen’s game to lose. QB Clarence Stanley was trying to find his #1 target in Alfred Dunn, but he was being double teamed and was scrambling to find other targets. What he didn’t see was DL Leslie Black directly in front of him, taking him down to set up fourth and long for any hope of Cincinnati upsetting the Hogs. Stanley once again took the snap looking for Dunn, and with pressure mounting against him, hastily threw the ball downfield in hopes that Dunn could receive it. Unfortunately for the Rivermen, the throw was way short and landed directly in the hands of Chicago DB Vincent Kelly, who downed himself to end the Rivermen’s hopes of a title. After a few handoffs to run out the remaining clock that was left, the Chicago Hogs would win their first ever AFL championship, something that coach and owner Donovan Hasenkamp would bring more attention to the young and now competent league.
CIN 16, CHI 20

The MVP of the game would be awarded to Chicago QB Alfred Walton, who ended the day with 231 yards passing and 2 TD’s, while also playing what most would consider to be a near-perfect game. His skills leading the Hogs were already well known throughout the year, and this game cemented his status as one of the best QB’s in the league so far.

C&C Appreciated! Don't forget to send in prospects!

Ah, shame Cincy couldn't get it done. Props to Chicago, hopefully the Rivermen will come back next season!

Oh look, an AFL post that doesn't take a month to get out. I know, shocking. I actually have some time on my hands, so my hope is that the next few offseason posts can go by relatively quickly so that I can prep for the 1952 season. While the next few posts are already in the works, here's another edition of what is happening with the rest of pro football.

The Wide World of American Football: 1951-52 Edition

MWFC TO EXPAND IN ‘52
After being reduced from 13 teams down to 7 after the AFL split off from the Championship, what was once the premier league for football in America was scrambling to reclaim something to stay afloat. Once the expansion cities from the AFL fell through once they accepted Buffalo and Pittsburgh, Commissioner Virgil Bradshaw pounced on the opportunity to expand the market of the MWFC to what it once was. He announced shortly after the AFL expansion that the MWFC would expand to 9 teams in 1952, with new teams propping up in Louisville and Kansas City, the two cities mentioned in the original AFL expansion proposal that were within the Championship’s range. The league had been to Louisville before, as the Louisville Colts had existed from 1929-1942, who had folded due to losing nearly half its team to the army during World War II, and this new team, led by businessman Gilbert Feldman, would effectively be a revival of the old team. Kansas City was never a part of the MWFC, and Bradshaw sent his right hand man Harold Burns instead of the proposed owner from the AFL to set up the new team. The Kansas City Cowboys, as they would be named, would be the furthest professional football has gone since the AA, and if these cities succeed, the Championship could rival the AFL in a few years time.

NYPL IN SHAMBLES
The already unstable NYPL is now on even more shaky ground after losing 2 of its most stable teams that weren’t from the New York metro area. After the league made another deficit in profits, the league has decided that it will contract to at least 6 teams from 8 within the next 3 years, and might shrink more if needed. The two Philadelphia teams will merge into a single team, with the Philadelphia Federals merging into the Philadelphia Americans and the former will cease to exist. The two teams only have a combined two championship appearances, with the Federals winning a fluke in 1938 and the Americans more recently fluking their way into the championship in 1946. Philadelphia has long struggled to become a football market, with the two Philadelphia baseball teams vastly outperforming them during their time in the NYPL. The Long Island Islanders were also given the boot, as they have had the worst performance and attendance out of all the NYC teams, failing to bring in crowds from Long Island and from the New York area. The Islanders had 2 titles to their name, but they haven't had a winning season since that 1931 season where they took home their second title. No year has been set in stone as of yet, but it’s looking more and more like this will happen before the 1953 season, as the league is bleeding money and might demand compensation from the AFL for putting it in this scenario. The NYPL is looking like it's on its last legs, and it’s anyone’s guess as to when the league will go under or if the league will come back stronger and compete with the AFL and MWFC.

NEFL'S BOSTON TEAMS DENIED INTO AFL
While it was believed for a time that only Buffalo and Pittsburgh wanted into the AFL from another league, a report from The Boston Globe stated that both Boston teams from the NEFL, the Boston Bards and the Boston Rebels, were also looking to join once word got out that the AFL was looking to expand. However, Boston Bards owner Leslie Watson revealed that both he and fellow Boston Rebels owner Frank Goldstein applied to the AFL, but were turned away in favor of the two NYPL teams. The AFL was open to having either Boston team join at some point in the future, but Hasenkamp made it clear that the league would only accept one team from Boston, not both. Rumor had it that Hasenkamp didn’t want two teams from the same city to discourage the MWFC Chicago team from ever potentially joining, needing to set a precedent so that the AFL would have a reason to deny them. While the AFL and Watson wanted to keep negotiations between the two Boston teams open, as Watson was the de facto commissioner of the NEFL, Goldstein was furious. Goldstein had thought that the prestige of the Boston teams was enough for both of them to join the AFL. He became adamant about having the Rebels join the Bards if the AFL does eventually accept the latter, but for now talks have centered around what to do with the remnants of the NEFL if their premier teams do end up leaving. Goldstein’s attitude towards having both Boston teams join has stalled negotiations for now, and it’s only a matter of time before some decision is made regarding the NEFL.

C&C Appreciated! The offseason meetings will be up next, and they're just as interesting as the rest of the world.