I like Philly and STL! Between the two I prefer the individuality of the Rattlesnakes but the consistency of St. Louis' set is very nice. Cant say I'm the biggest fan of the font, though. I understand what you're trying to do with it (and  I like the idea a lot) but I think the U specifically is throwing me off. That's what's giving me the child-like inconsistency rather than a hand-drawn inconsistency, if that makes sense.

MitchSwanson94 wrote:

Both new teams look great! Really like the logos for both, they look really cool and appropriate for that era! Hopefully they’ll be on the helmets soon.

Thanks! I'm trying to keep some historical accuracy with the NFL, as only 4 out of the 12 teams had some sort of design on their helmet by the end of the 1950's. We'll definitely see more teams adopt helmet designs as only Pittsburgh and Washington have something besides a stripe or two on their helmet.

Wallflower wrote:

I dig the new teams Dire. I love the Rattlesnakes as a name and mascot, though I am not so excited about their gold uniforms as the primary. However, St. Louis looks sharp. I really like the look overall. They are near the top of the league for my favourite looks. Also I do like the font choice for Louisville. No, not because it looks awesome, more so that it fits with an old school look even with a more 'childish' feel to it. I just think it works well for the past

The Rattlesnakes were originally going to be a primarily blue team, but I then realized that they almost shared the same colors as Cincinnati, so the primary color was changed to the old gold. I figured Philly would be at least a little polarizing due to said change but ultimately I think it will work. I'm glad you like St. Louis though, I was a bit concerned about the similarities to your Louisville Thunder (you know, red/gold horse-themed team), but I think there are enough differences between the two where they hopefully aren't confused for one another.

Wallflower wrote:

Also I do like the font choice for Louisville

You said it not me haha

QCS wrote:

I like Philly and STL! Between the two I prefer the individuality of the Rattlesnakes but the consistency of St. Louis' set is very nice. Cant say I'm the biggest fan of the font, though. I understand what you're trying to do with it (and  I like the idea a lot) but I think the U specifically is throwing me off. That's what's giving me the child-like inconsistency rather than a hand-drawn inconsistency, if that makes sense.

I took a look into the inconsistency with the U, and it appears there's a considerable difference between some of the uppercase and lowercase letters in the font (notably the N and U as you mentioned). I was going to change the font all together, but I moved everything to be uppercase so it fits with the vibe I was going with originally.

Section30 wrote:

I think I finally found my team, the 'Snakes look great

Thanks! Hopefully the 'Snakes are able to perform well in their first season.

C&C Appreciated! I'm still working through the offseason but now that I'm a graduated boy™ I should have more time to work through the AFL. As always, prospect submissions are always welcome (the main class is still being finalized so feel free to submit any last minute players) and any other questions about the AFL or the world itself are welcome.

1956 Draft Preview

AACA Top 20:
1) Oklahoma - 10-0 
2) Calvert - 9-1 
3) Iowa A&M - 8-1  
4) Georgia A&M - 9-1 
5) Texas State - 9-0-1 
6) Rogers Clark - 8-0-1 
7) Michigan - 7-2 
8) Brooklyn College - 7-2 
9) Wisconsin State - 7-2 
10) Pittsburgh State - 7-2-1 
11) Tryon - 8-2 
12) Minnesota State - 6-1-2
13) Oregon - 7-2-1 
14) Southwestern Christian - 7-3
15) UCleveland - 6-3 
16) Navy - 6-1-2
17) Columbian - 7-1-1 
18) ULA - 8-2 
19) New Jersey - 7-1-2 
20) Nebraska State - 7-2-1 

AACA Bowls:
Tournament of Roses Bowl (Los Angeles, CA) - (13) Oregon 27-21 (19) New Jersey
Palm Bowl (Miami, FL) - (6) Rogers Clark 35-19 (17) Columbian
Magnolia Bowl (Houston, TX) - (5) Texas State 27-28 (20) Nebraska State
Columbian Bowl (Chicago, IL) - (1) Oklahoma 13-7 (3) Iowa A&M
Gold Bowl (San Francisco, CA) - (7) Michigan 27-13 (18) ULA
Cigar Bowl (Tampa, FL) - (2) Calvert 13-0 (12) Minnesota State
Syrup Bowl (New Orleans, LA) - (4) Georgia A&M 14-32 (10) Pittsburgh State
Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX) - (11) Tryon 14-21 (15) UCleveland 
Orange Bowl (Orlando, FL) - (8) Brooklyn College 13-20 (9) Wisconsin State

AFL Top 25 Prospects
1) RB Mickey Greene - Pittsburgh State -  DireBear
2) OL Harvey Leonard - Los Angeles State - DireBear
3) QB Aksel Kahr - Pittsburgh State - Darknes
4) LB Isaac Bullock - Pennsylvania - QCS
5) WR Julian Washington - University of Cleveland - Kingsfan11
6) LB Matt Ross - Texas State- Kingsfan11
7) DB Joe Bellisario - New Jersey - DireBear
8) TE Isaac Vella - Chicago Christian- Darknes
9) S Bobby Loes - Staten Island - DireBear
10) DB Casey Selig - Permian Industrial* - DireBear
11) LB Tim Semptimphelter - Montana State - idm
12) DL Rusty Shankles - Wisconsin State - Dan O’Mac
13) QB Otto Brunswick - St. Paul* - MitchSwanson94
14) RB Andrew Outlaw - Wisconsin State - Kingsfan11
15) LB Hak-Kun Park - University of Los Angeles- Darknes
16) RB Rob Golden - Anaheim State* - DireBear
17) DL Moe Greene - Monongalia State - QCS
18) WR Jimmy Woods - Rogers Clark - Dan O’Mac
19) DL Buford Grant - Utica* - Wallflower
20) LB Gabriel Rose - Trinity - - DireBear
21) S Ernie Haas - Washington State - DireBear
22) WR Vlademar Kahr - Pittsburgh State - Darknes
23) WR Ben Fitzgerald - Brooklyn College - idm
24) QB Johnathan Lewis - Calvert - MitchSwanson94
25) WR Johnathan McDonald - Minnesota State - Kingsfan11

The Stormin’ Tornadoes of Oklahoma put together another undefeated season, claiming another national championship while claiming their second Missouri River Valley Conference title in just two years. Their players would once again get scooped up by the PAFC, and the Tornadoes would head up north to Chicago at the behest of PAFC president Virgil Bradshaw to play the Midwest’s best team in 3rd ranked CAC champion Iowa A&M Fightin’ Monks in the Columbian Bowl. In what would be a prospective bowl for PAFC talent, Oklahoma and Iowa A&M engaged in a defensive battle, where the Tornadoes capped off their undefeated season in a tight 13-7 win. Oklahoma’s traditional place in the Magnolia Bowl would instead be filled by MRVC runner-up Nebraska State Bulls, who had the tall task of playing the 5th-ranked RRC champion Texas State Lonestars. The Lonestars flew under the radar before the season, but had an excellent defense led by LB Matt Ross that propelled them to a 9-0-1 record and their first Red River Conference title in nearly a decade. The Bulls would end up narrowly staving off a fierce comeback by the Lonestars to win 28-27 in one of the bigger upsets in recent bowl memory. Calvert was unfortunately unable to match its undefeated season last year, but still managed a 9-1 year behind strong-armed senior QB Johnathan Lewis. The Terriers’ high-flying offense was lured to the PAFC thanks to hometown support from the Baltimore Barons, but Lewis was undeterred from their offers and instead declared for the AFL. They would be paired up in the Cigar Bowl against 13th ranked Minnesota State Twisters, where WR Johnathan McDonald awaited them in Tampa. McDonald was not the x-factor that the Twisters needed, as he was shut down by Calvert DB Harold Knox as the Terriers cruised to a 13-0 victory. With Calvert going south, the Tournament of Roses Bowl instead featured 19th ranked New Jersey Mallards, who took the bid after the bowl did not want Brooklyn College or either Los Angeles school for the 5th year in a row. Luckily for the Roses Bowl promoters, neither of the LA teams would win the Pacific Coast Conference, with the honor going to 13th ranked Oregon Pioneers. The Mallards were primarily led by a stout secondary headed by the tenacious DB Joe Bellisario, but the Pioneers were able to get past the Mallards to sneak ahead and win the Roses Bowl 27-21. The real underdogs this year were the 17th ranked Columbian Colonials, who would win out in a relatively weak Piedmont Conference, only to be put against the 6th ranked powerhouse known as the Rogers Clark Badgers in the Palm Bowl. Rogers Clark WR Jimmy Woods put up a dominant performance, speeding past the Columbian defense for 3 TD’s as the Badgers soundly defeated the Colonials 35-19. Brooklyn College was invited to the Orange Bowl in Orlando instead of their now-usual spot in the Roses Bowl, where they faced the perennially dominant Wisconsin State Warriors. Each side was not as strong as they had been in years past, but still provided some excellent talent to show off against one another. BC WR Ben Fitzgerald would show off his flashiness early, but Wisconsin State managed to pull ahead and win 20-13 thanks to two TD’s from RB Andrew Outlaw and a critical stop by DL Rusty Shankles. 7th ranked Michigan Beavers would end up finishing second in the CAC and as a result was selected to the Gold Bowl with PCC runner-up and 18th ranked ULA Aztecas, headed by the insanely smart LB Hak-Kun Park, who only recently took up football after his family fled Korea. Park alone would not be enough to stifle Michigan, who dominated them through the arm of QB Chick Buckley for a 27-13 victory. The Sun Bowl pitted RRC runner-up and 11th ranked Tryon Armadillos against Great Lakes Conference champions Cleveland Wildcats, where the Wildcats were highlighted by best WR this year in Julian Washington, a shifty and elusive player who easily torched the Armadillo defense for two touchdowns to put UCleveland above Tryon 21-14. 

What was a relatively normal year was marred by the events surrounding the 1956 Syrup Bowl in New Orleans between the 4th ranked Georgia A&M Chargers and 10th ranked Pittsburgh State Great Danes. Pitt State had rocketed out of nowhere to their first appearance in the top 10 of the polls thanks to a high-flying offense led by QB Aksel Kahr and WR Vlademar Kahr, and this year’s Bernheim Trophy winner RB Mickey Greene. The only problem beforehand was that the Syrup Bowl was one of the last Southern bowl games to still enforce segregation, and the best college player in the nation just so happened to be black. Many of the older bowl promoters wanted either a different team to play or to outright prevent Greene from playing. Pitt State and new bowl promoter Rudy Branthwaite II made their stance very clear: no Greene, no game.  The Great Danes were so adamant about Greene playing that they announced he would travel, eat, live, practice, and live with the team, treating him just like any other player. The Chargers of Georgia A&M received their invitation to the Syrup Bowl after Pitt State did, and their head coach Leroy Edwards polled his players if they were willing to play an integrated team. Every single player voted in favor. The vote made its way to both Georgia governor Marvin Griffin, who had a son attending Georgia A&M, and to Birmingham Steelers owner Gerald Carlisle, who had already hired Edwards to be the Steelers’ new head coach. Griffin had already confirmed the Chargers’ participation in the bowl game, and Carlisle (allegedly at the behest of Virgil Bradshaw) persuaded him to think otherwise for the “integrity of the game”. Griffin then sent a public telegram to the state’s board of regents to prevent any Georgia-based college teams from engaging with any integrated sporting event, regardless of integrated participants or in the stands. That night, a group of Georgia A&M students began a protest against Griffin’s actions, which soon gained numbers and became a riot. The students marched their way from the Georgia A&M campus to the governor’s mansion in Atlanta, hung effigies in Griffin and Carlisle’s names, and ransacked properties until a state representative ensured that the game would be played. Similar protests spread to the other two major colleges in Georgia (Georgia University in Savannah and Baldwin College in Athens), where both protesting bodies stated “for once we agree with (Georgia) A&M.” The news of Carlisle’s and Griffin’s actions would spread after the protests subsided, where nearly everyone detested their actions, including AFL commissioner Donovan Hasenkamp, who called their actions “un-American”. PAFC president Virgil Bradshaw was unsurprisingly the only one at least leaning in favor of Carlise and Griffin, defending the un-American comment from Hasenkamp by stating “football is the most American of sports, and it must stay that way to stand out.” Leroy Edwards would back out of the Birmingham coaching position the morning of the protests in Atlanta and return to coach the Chargers, who would take himself to the Georgia board of regents soon after to argue in favor of Georgia A&M, ending his statement with “...we’re either going to the Syrup Bowl or you can find yourself a new goddamn head coach of Georgia A&M.” The board of regents would end up voting 13-1 in favor of allowing the game to proceed, the lone detractor being a good friend of both Bradshaw and Carlisle. With the Syrup Bowl back on track, it was an offensive showing by Pitt State. Mickey Greene would prove to put on a show, rushing for nearly 200 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns. The Kahr brothers would connect for a touchdown of their own, while DL Buster Wright took down the Chargers’ offense late for a safety to put the game away. Branthwaite would directly hand the game’s trophy to Greene, bringing excitement to New Orleans football not seen in nearly a decade. 

The arguably next best player after Mickey Greene is OL Harvey Leonard from LA State, who might be one of the next best pass blockers in the league to whichever team will take him. Unfortunately, the rest of the offensive linemen in this class aren’t up to the same caliber as Leonard, so there are no clear-cut rookie starters besides him. Sitting with Greene as one of the other best prospects in this class is Pennsylvania LB Isaac Bullock. Bullock has the mental skill needed to play at the position, but the only knock against him is that he lacks a bit of the physicality typically needed at the linebacker position. If teams are willing to further develop that part of his game, Bullock can immediately become a game-changer for whichever team takes him. Rounding out the best players that did not participate in a bowl game includes Chicago Christian TE Isaac Vella, a block-first tight end that will slot nicely into any run-focused offense, and Staten Island S Bobby Loes, who has the ability to fly across the field to get to nearly any play. Although the best at each of their positions, they suffered a bit of stock due to either being part of a rare down Chicago Christian year for Vella or playing for a mid-major and not getting the prime experience at a larger college for Loes. The best players out of the Lower Division this year include DB Casey Selig out of Permian (TX), an excellent man-to-man type of back, RB Rob Golden from Anaheim State, who rarely needs more than one move to get into the clear, and DL Buford Grant from Utica, who is a menace on the offensive line but can get easily angered. 

Outside of Pitt State’s Aksel Kahr and Calvert’s Johnathan Lewis, no other QB clearly stands out as a starting option. Washington A&M’s Chris Bell and St. Paul’s Otto Brunswick both come from smaller schools, and thus could go either way if they are starting caliber or not. Bell prefers to extend plays with his legs, while Brunswick prefers to throw it deep while allowing more time for defenders to get to him in the backfield. These two could either range from great starting QB’s in a pinch to potential backups to ASPFL starters or anywhere else in between. Michigan’s Chick Buckley is similar in style to Brunswick but has a tendency to overthrow his receivers while trying to show off his arm. The other remaining option at QB is UCleveland’s Maximus Richards, whose attitude on and off the field has been detracting his play and would also need some time to develop. 

Draft Picks/Needs:

1 - Philadelphia Rattlesnakes
Picks: 1, 13, 25, 49
Needs: Everything

2 - St Louis Stallions
Picks: 2, 14, 26, 43 (PIT), 50
Needs: Everything
 
3 - Pittsburgh Shamrocks
Picks: 3 (DET), 20 (TRI), 31, 38 (STL), 40 (DET), 55, 58 (CHI)
Needs: QB RB OL WR DL LB DB S P

4 - Boston Dragons
Picks: 4, 16, 28, 45 (BUF), 52
Needs: OL WR TE DL

5 - New York Lions
Picks: 5, 17, 29, 53
Needs: OL WR TE LB DB

6 - Cleveland Crows
Picks: 6, 18, 42, 54
Needs: OL WR TE DL LB DB

7 - Detroit Knights
Picks: 7 (PIT), 15, 19 (PIT), 27, 37 (PHI), 39, 51
Needs: QB OL WR DL LB DB S

8 - Tri-Cities Hawks
Picks: 8, 30 (CLE), 32, 44, 56
Needs: OL WR TE DL LB DB S

9 - Buffalo Hammers
Picks: 9, 21, 33, 57
Needs: QB RB OL WR TE DL DB S

10 - Chicago Hogs
Picks: 10, 22, 34, 41 (NY), 46
Needs: RB OL WR TE DL LB DB

11- Washington Federals
Picks: 11, 23, 35, 47, 59
Needs: RB OL WR TE DL LB S

12 - Cincinnati Rivermen
Picks: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60
Needs: QB RB OL WR DL S

Jimmy "The Goods" Woods to my favorite team? Hell yeah!

It'll be exciting to see how the QBs that slipped in the draft work out, or if teams were passing on them because there was a reason to pass on them.

1956 Season Preview



1 - Cincinnati Rivermen
1955 Record: 8-4 (2nd West)
1955 Result: Won Championship

The core that finally gave Cincinnati their first title in over two decades are still on the team and are ready to challenge the league to claim another title. QB Lester Parker is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and as long as he is at the helm the Rivermen are expected to be in contention for a championship. Their offense is the best in the league, with RB tandem of Perry Ferguson and Billy Garcia plowing through defenses, and WR Alfred Dunn as the best pass-catcher in the league. The defense is also very solid, with one of the best secondaries in the league headed by DB Kerry Lantz. Cincinnati seems like they would be able to challenge the Hogs in the West for years to come, but that time could be coming to an abrupt end. Most of their main starters are nearing the end of their prime, meaning this current core only has another few years to claim another title. Knowing how the Rivermen have been building their team over the past few years, they should be able to stay toe-to-toe with the other best teams in the league and keep the gap between championships a lot shorter.

2 - Chicago Hogs
1955 Record: 9-3 (1st West)
1955 Result: Lost West Division Final

Every time the Hogs suffer a major defeat, they go out into the market and attempt to one-up the team that took them down. Chicago made possibly the biggest move in the offseason by acquiring 3-time All-AFL and All-Star LB Barry Moore from Pittsburgh, maintaining their stellar linebacking core and adding to what already was the best defense in the league. And as long as RB Billy Gould is at the helm, they’ll continue to be among the best. All eyes will be looking elsewhere in Chicago, as third-year starting QB Nathan Aldenberg is starting to get doubts if he can really lead Chicago’s offense without relying on the RB tandem of Gould and Arthur Busch. They’ve won a championship with a majority of these starters, but this new era of Hogs football will be put to the test if they really want to make it further than a division title. There are no doubts that the Hogs will not be near the top of the West, but now there will be some competition to get the much-needed bye week and home-field advantage.

3 - Washington Federals
1955 Record: 8-4 (1st East)
1955 Result: Lost Championship

Now that the Federals got out of the cesspit that was the West, they now have free reign to dominate the now-weaker East Division. With most of the East either rebuilding or expansion teams, it’s really a two-horse race for the division between the Federals and the Hammers, but Washington has a significant advantage over Buffalo. This team now has two championship appearances and a title under their belt, with some media pundits labeling QB Johnnie Sellers as one of the best QB’s ever to play professional football. It’s not a surprise, as he’s surrounded by players like RB Rip Rooney and WR Darius Sanderson to make one of the most lethal all-around offenses in the league. Their defense is no joke either, with what may now be the best secondary in the entire league with the addition of rookie S Bobby Loes. Washington is now facing the same problem as Cincinnati: age. Most of their players are reaching the end of their prime, and now the question for the future is how they will replace said stars. With this team’s experience, they should be a shoo-in to make the playoffs and a heavy favorite to make it back to another title game.

4 - Buffalo Hammers
1955 Record: 8-4 (2nd East)
1955 Result: Lost East Division Final

It’s been a turbulent two years under the helm of QB Brendan Turnbull for the Hammers, having given away division titles in two straight years after late-season collapses. The reason could have been how young the offensive core was, but now with some experience under their belt and with an experienced coach in Vincent Merritt, they made major strides last year, nearly winning the division title in the process. If their young pieces develop as they should, such as WR’s Justin Harris and Harry Chilton, then this team could be a threat in the postseason. Age is once again a limiting factor for the Hammers, as most of their veterans that helped them to their last championship appearance in 1952 are aging out after playing successful careers in two different leagues. Their running back core especially seems suspect, as longtime starting RB Calvin Townsend is in his age 30 season and seems to have lost the luster that made him a 3-time All-Star and 1-time All-AFL selection, and understudy Tyler Dye has shown flashes but hasn’t proven that he can be the long-term replacement at 26. A shift to the passing game may be in store for the Hammers, as they’ll be set to dominate the very weak East Division.

5 - Cleveland Crows
1955 Record: 5-7 (4th West)
1955 Result: Missed Playoffs

If there was one word to describe the 1955 season for Cleveland, it would be disappointment. After a stellar 4-1 start, the team plummeted to a 5-7 record to finish the year after a surprise title run the year prior. With the collapse now behind them, they’ll have another chance to capitalize on that run to get back in the playoffs. Even in a West Division that is more competitive than ever, the Crows seem to have more experience than the other two teams trying to fight for that last spot in the West. It could have been that the team was getting adjusted to new OC Richard Morgan, as QB Denzel Collingsworth struggled a little bit to get the offense to mesh together. Their big acquisition of DL Ralph Rogers didn’t aid the defense as well as they thought it would, though injuries to the other parts of their front seven didn’t exactly help them. This is still a relatively young team, though with another year under their belt they could be ready to right the wrongs that kept them out of the postseason last year. It will be a make or break season for the Crows, ready to prove that their 1954 season was no fluke and that they’ll be in contention to make the playoffs for years to come.

6 - Tri-Cities Hawks
1955 Record: 7-5 (3rd West)
1955 Result: Lost West Division Semi-Final

A surprise playoff appearance from the Hawks last year puts them in an interesting position in the years to come. Longtime starting QB Gilbert Clay is on the last year of his contract that was signed when they won the championship in 1950, and last year’s 3rd overall pick in Rocco Vanthourenhout is waiting in the wings for his turn at the helm. They’ve each shown that they are capable of being the starter, but the question for Tri-Cities is which one to start. The offensive pieces are there for either of them, a good RB duo of Brian Bruce and Spike Roosevelt and a breakout season from WR Max Ausloos made him the favorite target of Clay last year. Their secondary also showed some improvement, led by S Tom Meltzger and DB William Owens. The unfortunate part for the Hawks is that the rest of their team is fairly shallow, with one of the worst offensive lines that severely limited their production and a very lackluster front 7 that gave offenses too much time to make a play. While they addressed the defensive line issue in the draft, the offensive line didn’t change too much, meaning their offense will be stunted once again. With the West as cutthroat as it has ever been, the Hawks will have a tougher time getting back to the playoffs and to another title.

7 - Detroit Knights
1955 Record: 3-9 (5th West)
1955 Result: Missed Playoffs

After a chaotic offseason where original owner August Riddle died and the team nearly moved unauthorized to San Francisco, the Knights may finally have some stability after years of chaos. New owner Florian RIddle promised that Detroit would return to its glory days sooner rather than later, and they made the first move in doing so by cutting ties with former #2 overall pick Terry Kadlec, and allowing a quarterback battle between Mike Major and Mick Casey. Major seems to have won out the battle after starting the latter half of last year, and he’ll take charge of a promising young team with much to prove. The Knights have plenty of good, young players with promise, but inefficient coaching has significantly limited their ability. New HC Tommy Park was hired over from Washington, where he helped turn around a stagnant offense in Columbus to a title-winner in just a single year. They’ve made some good selections over the past 3 drafts, so it may be a matter of time before this team melds together and finally does something good in the AFL. With some teams, this turnaround was done in an instant, but the Knights may take a few more years in such a strong West Division.

8 - Boston Dragons
1955 Record: 3-9 (5th East)
1955 Result: Missed Playoffs

Boston had a rough go-around in their first year in the league, having high hopes as a dark horse in the playoff race that ultimately turned into the worst record in the league. After only one year at the helm, the Dragons moved on from QB Adrian Alfonso and acquired ASPFL MVP Sam Eagleburger from Tri-Cities. Offensively, the team has all the pieces to succeed, running backs Pete Abbott and Jim Riggs are a fairly solid duo, WR Lloyd Lawson is arguably the best wideout in the league, all anchored by one of the best-constructed offensive lines in the league. It didn’t help that the offense last year was without its major starters for a majority of the year, limiting their capabilities. Their defense was also fairly solid, with second-year LB Bob Jessup leading the charge in a relatively inexperienced core, but were also plagued by injuries last year that caused them to plummet to the bottom of the standings. They did address some areas of depth that caused them to go on a long losing streak with, but their starters have to stay healthy if they even want a chance of getting a winning season. If everything goes right with this team, then they have a realistic chance of sneaking into the playoffs.

9 - Pittsburgh Shamrocks
1955 Record: 5-7 (3rd East)
1955 Result: Lost East Division Semi-Final

After a few years of disappointment, the Shamrocks decided it was time to rebuild. They sold star LB Barry Moore to the Hogs for a fairly large return, and sent starting QB O.J. DeMille to St. Louis for some pick swaps and ASPFL players. They spent some of those resources to trade up to the 3rd overall pick to guarantee getting hometown QB Aksel Kahr as their quarterback of the future. It may be a couple of rough years for the Shamrocks, having lost two of their star players to trades and had to move on from longtime RB Marion Waters, who retired after the end of last season. Former Bernheim Trophy winner Paul Barker will take over as the lead running back, now having to carry the remnants of a once-great team. The defense still has a few key pieces, including veteran DL’s Archie Webber and Roy Forbes and DB Jerry Pruitt, but the younger players have not been developing as they should be for them to compete. Pittsburgh made the right move to sell off with the current state of affairs in the East, and it’s just a matter of how far they will continue to fall with a rookie QB and an aging team.

10 - St Louis Stallions
1955 Record: -
1955 Result: -

St Louis will suffer the same expansion woes as its brethren, but they’ll have a slight bit more attention on them for one reason or another. It’ll be a true test of westward expansion, as they’ll be the first new team west of the Mississippi for the fledgling league. The other point of contention is at quarterback, taking a significant risk by acquiring Pittsburgh’s O.J. DeMille to compete for the starting job with former Cincinnati backup Addison Golden. DeMille won the close battle for QB1, and the young team seems to be putting their trust in him for the time being. They managed to build a fairly average defense, which in terms of expansion teams is already a great start. 2nd overall pick LB Isaac Bullock will be in line to eventually become the leader on the defense in a few years, but there will be a few years before he can potentially become an elite player. Even if they were to be competitive, they would have to get through the gauntlet known as the West Division, where it is unlikely they’ll get a winning record within the division. They may be considered a “dark horse”, but their surrounding circumstances will not allow them to get very far barring a major shakeup.

11 - New York Lions
1955 Record: 4-8 (4th East)
1955 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Lions managed to stay in the playoff race until the very last week due to how mediocre the rest of the division was. RB Jeffery Spears made a bounce-back year to make his first All-Star game since 1952, and QB Roy Woodward made some progress to get back to his prime form before the AFL. Their defense got riddled by injuries as well, but New York managed to limp to a decent 4-8 record, setting a low bar for expansion teams to beat. They’ll have slightly more expectations put upon them this year, where the offensive side has progressed towards a more balanced approach after going run-heavy the prior year and the defense has young players who are ready for a breakout year such as DL Leroy Brockhaus and LB Duane Ackerman. Those expectations will have to wait at least a few more years, as the Lions are far from competing for the playoffs barring an explosion somewhere on the team. Expect their record to be somewhat similar to last years’ team, maybe with a win or so of improvement at best.

12 - Philadelphia Rattlesnakes
1955 Record: -
1955 Result: -

Philadelphia will primarily be relying on one man to carry them to any sort of relevance in their first year, that being first overall pick Mickey Greene. Greene has the potential to be one of the best running backs the league has ever seen, meaning Philly can be one of the first expansion teams to leap out of the basement in the near future. However, the Rattlesnakes like the other expansion teams suffer from a lack of experience that both Boston and New York suffered from last year, especially at the QB position. Two of their potential starters, Freddie Hughes and Dwayne Dessena, have never made an appearance in the AFL, only starting games for teams in the bottom half of the ASPFL last year. They attempted to build a defense with the leftovers of the league, and will likely languish at the bottom of the East for a few years as a result. The future in the city of brotherly love seems bright, though it will take several years to even get to where they want to be in the first place.

C&C Appreciated!