the qcs to cleveland pipeline is strong

1957 Season Preview


1 - Cincinnati Rivermen
1956 Record: 9-3 (1st West)
1956 Result: Lost Championship
Highlighted Players: OL Milton McCovery (54) & DL Fergus Prenderghast (99)

The Rivermen suffering an embarrassing loss in the championship made them realize something critical. Their core was starting to reach their prime, and they needed to make a push sooner rather than later. That realization resulted in them trading for possibly the league’s best defensive linemen in Fergus Prenderghast from Cleveland. They’ll certainly need him with how the rest of the West Division is beginning to shape up. Their defense is now arguably as good as Chicago’s: Prenderghast and fellow DL JJ Worthington should be a lethal 1-2 combination to terrorize offensive lines, LB Cade Masters has developed into a very solid top option at linebacker, and DB Kerry Lantz proving worthy of his DPOY award a year ago to be one of the best corners in the league. Their main issue now is that their key players are starting to get up there in age.  QB Lester Parker is just about to hit 30, and the rest of their offensive playmakers have just hit the apex of their primes. How long will the Rivermen have left on the top of the league? Cincinnati surely hopes it will last as long as they want, but they’ll have to get back to the title game in an extremely competitive West Division that is both young and ready to take down the more established teams. The Rivermen have got what it takes to get back to the top, and will surely be a lock to at least make the playoffs.

2 - Washington Federals
1956 Record: 8-4 (1st East)
1956 Result: Won Championship
Highlighted Players: QB Johnnie Sellers (12) & LB Howard Treadaway (51)

Washington got their revenge on a blown call in the 1955 championship game by obliterating their rival in the following title game. They’ve made the title game in three out of the past four years, and will continue to extend that streak with how weak the East is. They’ve run into the same position as Cincinnati, as their primary players are beginning to reach their apex, but they’ve been taking steps to remedy that when the time eventually comes. They drafted two wide receivers late in the draft this year to eventually take over when Joseph Atkins and Darius Sanderson inevitably leave D.C.. Their main defensive players are locked into contracts so they’ll stay in Washington for the foreseeable future. They have some of the best offensive and defensive units in the league. The Federals, at least in the eye of their fans, have gotten a bit complacent in their whole position in the league. They’ve coasted to division titles the past two years, the first year because of a timely Buffalo collapse and the second year because no team could really catch them. Boston is right on their tail, and Federals fans have gotten a bit scared of losing their iron grip on the East. Washington will have to attempt to avoid becoming stagnant, else another team will usurp their guaranteed division title.

3 - Chicago Hogs
1956 Record: 8-4 (2nd West)
1956 Result: Lost West Division Semi-Final
Highlighted Players: DL Eric Forbes (95) & RB Billy Gould (34)

It seemed it was all but certain that the Hogs were to win the 1955 title. After a high-scoring regular season, they were held to just 6 points to a Cincinnati team that would eventually win their first championship in over 20 years. They went all-in on making another push to a title by acquiring LB Barry Moore in a blockbuster trade from Pittsburgh. They would end up losing the division title to said Cincinnati team, and suffered an even more humiliating defeat to an expansion team in the play-off game to St Louis. The Hogs went out by making another similar move in the offseason, acquiring S Charlie Fischer from Detroit for a steep price in an attempt to shore up a position of weakness for Chicago. They’ve made the same kind of move for two years in a row, and it proved the first time that it couldn’t single-handedly get them over the hump to another title. RB Billy Gould can only carry the team so far, and coach Donovan Hasenkamp needs to rely on his other offensive playmakers to possibly get over that hump. QB Nathan Aldenberg is an incredible player when he gets the opportunity, but still the team prefers to run over their opponents with Gould and to a lesser extent Arthur Busch. This team is still the odds-on favorite to win the league, but the way this team is being run they might not even get a taste of the championship game.

4 - Boston Dragons
1956 Record: 7-4-1 (2nd East)
1956 Result: Lost East Division Final
Highlighted Players: S Tom Meltzger (26) & WR Lloyd Lawson (7)

Boston stormed onto the scene a year later than expected, getting luck to swing their way as they cruised to a 7-4-1 record thanks to an incredibly stout defense that allowed just 12 points a game. LB Bob Jessup led the defense to play much better than was expected, partially the reason why he would win DPOY last year in just his second season. The secondary was a sore spot last year, and the Dragons acquired probably the best safety in the league in Tom Meltzger from the Hawks to fix that. He and fellow S Carl Allyn will definitely be enough to stop whatever goes through their other two defensive backs, so their defense should be even better than it was last year. The main problem of concern is the offense. Boston’s defense was able to hold the opponents to next to nothing, but their offense only scored 15 points a game on average. Their offensive line is one of the best in the league, but it’s not their fault when no one else on offense could take advantage of their coverage. RB’s Pete Abbott and Jim Riggs are sufficient enough to have a running game, and QB Sam Eagleburger performed decently for his first year playing in the AFL. He primarily relied on throwing to WR Lloyd Lawson or TE Guy Horne, with a plethora of secondary receivers that caught a pass last year. With how they performed last year, they should be in the playoffs, but with how this team is constructed at the moment they will likely not win a title unless they get lucky.

5 - St Louis Stallions
1956 Record: 7-5 (3rd West)
1956 Result: Lost West Division Final
Highlighted Players: QB O.J. DeMille (9) & LB Isaac Bullock (54)

St Louis had its original football team, the Archers, wrongfully folded when they had one of the most dedicated fans in the MWFC/PAFC. In the first year of the new team, they shockingly made the playoffs and took down one of the “old guard” teams in Chicago in a defensive rout. QB O.J. DeMille finally showed off the talents that he flashed during the 1952 playoffs, quickly making Pittsburgh regret that trade with their current situation at quarterback. The Stallions needed to quickly fix holes in a good starting running back and wide receiver, and what better way to do that by fleecing their geographic rivals in the Tri-Cities Hawks. RB Spike Roosevelt and WR Max Ausloos should be excellent additions to the offense, and will certainly help them compete in the arms race that is the West Division. They’ll certainly hope that the defense develops just as well as the offense, still being made of scraps leftover from teams and the young players they drafted the past two years. LB Isaac Bullock will be leading the defense in just his second year, hoping that his presence alone will elevate the relatively middling defensive unit around him. If last year was not just a first-year fluke, then they should be in great form to compete for the playoffs and potentially be a dark horse to win it all.

6 - Detroit Knights
1956 Record: 7-5 (4th West)
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: WR Paul Kent (14) & LB Vincent Meyer (54)

A change of scenery for the Knights is what they needed to finally get their first winning season in the AFL. They were in prime contention for a playoff spot last year, but dropped their last two games to lose out on a playoff spot on tiebreakers to St Louis. For the first time in almost a decade, Detroit football has hope. Head coach Tommy Park brought what was successful over in D.C. and worked wonders to a shambling team. QB Mike Major took over the starting duties in the middle of 1955, and a changed gameplan has improved his play significantly. WR’s Paul Kent and Pat Kimball have looked like studs in Park’s system, and with the weight significantly off of him RB Jesse Brown put up the best season in his career. The defense could arguably gotten worse, as they did trade away their best player in S Charlie Fischer for cheap to Chicago. Still, their defense is young and ready to prove themselves. The real question now is whether this team is ready to make the next step and make the playoffs. They’re only in the toughest division in the league with 3 other teams trying to make it as well, and two of them are better than them already. With a St Louis team ready to pounce on the rest of the division, the Knights will have to prove that last year was not a fluke and make the playoffs for the first time in the AFL.

7 - Buffalo Hammers
1956 Record: 6-6 (3rd East)
1956 Result: Lost East Division Semi-Final
Highlighted Players: QB Brendan Turnbull (17) & DB Rogelio Amos (33)

The Hammers were looking great in their first year with head coach Vincent Merritt two years ago, until they blew the last few games of the season to lose the division title. That seemed to prelude what happened last year, finishing at 6-6 and getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs. The primary issue could be explained by all the veterans taking a backseat to the younger players, and the team struggling to fill gaps in areas of depth. The offense is the least of concern, with QB Brendan Turnbull becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the league with a young trio of wide receivers at his disposal to throw to in Harry Chilton, Justin Harris, and Julian Washington. The running back position is now something the team has to worry about, now having to replace longtime starter Calvin Townsend, with either returnman Tyler Dye or rookie Duke Cooper having to fill that hole. The defense unfortunately faced the brunt of the lack of depth issues over the past year, but the youth has developed enough for that problem to have been lessened. If they are unable to avoid further collapse, they’ll be at risk of missing the postseason for the first time since joining the AFL in 1952.

8 - Pittsburgh Shamrocks
1956 Record: 4-8 (4th East)
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: OL Bob McKenna (67) & DL Roy Forbes (71)

The Shamrocks were forced to plunge into a rebuild, missing the postseason for only the second time since joining the AFL. 3rd overall pick last year Aksel Kahr was supposed to take over starting quarterback duties this year, but still does not look like he is ready to take over the starting job from current starter Eric Trueblood. Even worse, their former starting QB O.J. DeMille is now flourishing in St Louis. Despite that, not everything seems doom and gloom for Pittsburgh. RB Paul Barker has fit right into the mold of successful running backs, running behind what may be the league’s best overall offensive line. Whoever is under center will usually throw to WR Ron Guy, who has finally given the Shamrocks a true #1 receiver for the first time in years. The defense is still building up after its main stars were dealt away, but should not be overlooked as a complete pushover. Their linebacking core is the highlight of this, with rookie Tebucky Hambrick already proving to be ready to be the head of the defense along with fellow LB’s Hak-Kun Park and Dick Cooper. With how weak the East already is, one slip up from any team in the middle of the pack would allow the Shamrocks to sneak into the playoffs, but that may be to their detriment. Pittsburgh isn’t sure how long they want this rebuilding phase to be, but it may be some time before the Shamrocks see the postseason again.

9 - Cleveland Crows
1956 Record: 2-9-1 (6th West)
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: WR Joey Staniskovski (19) & DL Ralph Rogers (93)

It seems that the Crows’ run to the championship game in 1954 might have been a fluke season. And now, with 4 teams in the West that are vying for playoff spots, Cleveland may be doing the right thing and beginning to sell off what brought them to the title game. Most of the main contributors are still here, but who knows how long they’ll have left with the team. WR Joey Staniskovski might be the next impactful player to leave Cleveland, with his contract expiring and not wanting to commit to staying through a rebuild. RB Max Panders suffered a setback in recovering from a season-ending injury last year, and may not be the same back that led the Crows to the top of the East in ‘54. What’s left of the defense consists of either veterans who are clinging on to a starting job for now (DL Ralph Rogers, DB Nicholas Lamb, and S Stephen Norris), or young players finally getting into the starting lineup after waiting behind older players who held on too long. Luckily, they will likely not be in the basement in the West thanks to another team that sold more aggressively than them, but the playoffs are seemingly moving further and further out of reach.

10 - Philadelphia Rattlesnakes
1956 Record: 3-8-1 (6th East)
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: RB Mickey Greene (38) & DB Roosevelt Richter (36)

The Rattlesnakes seem to be building a fairly decent team for the future. Mickey Greene practically carried the team on his back last year, proving worthy of winning ROTY and putting himself up in the conversation for the league’s best running back in just his first year. Greene was unable to help the rest of the team, finishing second-to-last but getting QB Raymond Oram as their potential quarterback for the foreseeable future. Philadelphia wants Oram to succeed, and traded for struggling Roy Woodward this past offseason to take the reins and take the young quarterback under his wing. Woodward is expected to win the starting job, though Oram is giving Woodward a run for his money with Woodward on an already scorching-hot seat. RB Neal Earnhardt has also become a very solid #2 option to back up Greene, but their offensive line is average at best to support them. Philly has also worked on trying to improve their defense for the future, but at this moment their defense is just a red carpet for other teams to walk all over them. As long as they keep building for the future, the Rattlesnakes may become a potential playoff team. But for now, they’ll continue being at the bottom of the league standings unless they punch above their weight with a very underrated running back tandem.

11 - New York Lions
1956 Record: 4-8 (5th East)
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: LB Duane Ackerman (58) & RB Felix Philipow (28)

New York is quickly falling into the shadow of fellow expansion team Boston. They’re a team that doesn’t really have an identity while the Dragons nearly made the championship in just their second year. Roy Woodward was expected to bounce back after a few years with horrid Detroit teams, but brought that play into New York to an equally horrid 4-12 record over one and a half seasons of play. He was shipped off to Philadelphia, and now the Lions are back at square one at the position. Gary Byrne performed fine after Woodward got hurt, but now he’ll have to compete with incoming Freddie Hughes for the starting position. First-round selection RB Felix Philipow will be the focal point of the offense, but will not have much of an offensive line to do anything behind. Their defense is not much better. They’ve been lucky to hold teams within reason the past two years, but the lack of any significant development anywhere on defense will likely mean a struggling offense won’t be able to keep up with how many points the defense will allow. The Lions will probably be a top candidate for finishing at the bottom of the East, and will only get the first overall pick if they somehow screw things up more than the Hawks.

12 - Tri-Cities Hawks
1956 Record: 5-6-1 (5th West)
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: QB Rocco Vanthourenhout (14) & DL Clifford Dale (90)

The Hawks of this year look completely different than any Hawks team in the past, and that’s not a good thing for them. Longtime owner Bert Hester passed away before the start of the season, and his son Bob took over the team and made sweeping changes to sell off anything of value. He practically gave away RB Spike Roosevelt and WR Max Ausloos to St Louis and S Tom Meltzger to Boston, and forced longtime QB Gilbert Clay into retirement after attempting to trade him to New York. What remains of the former Hawks team, frankly is not that good. QB Rocco Vanthourenhout will essentially try to carry the offense all by himself, with no clear top receiver for him to throw to or a decent back to hand off to. The defense is not much better, with the only good players still left in the secondary, but who knows how long they will still be with the team. Fans are unsure if Hester is actually attempting to rebuild the team, but it seems he is trying to do that unintentionally. Barring a major collapse from any other team, the Hawks should be a shoo-in for the top pick in the draft next year.

C&C Appreciated! I added a highlighted players section so you know who's representing the jerseys on the graphic. Don't forget to send in prospects as I'm completely out for next year's draft.

Last edited by DireBear (5/01/2025 12:11 am)

Feels weird to see Detroit near the top and Chicago near the bottom, have a feeling we have a changing of the guard coming in the West. Anyway, we can only hope the Feds repeat as champions!

1957 Playoffs: Division Semi-Finals

West Division Semifinal: St Louis Stallions @ Detroit Knights
Kaiser Field welcomed fans for postseason football for the first time since before the second World War, and they showed up in droves to watch their Knights finally play for something. It was just above freezing at gametime, with the grounds crew dealing with the remaining snow as the fans poured in. Although some St Louis fans were found in the grandstands, their cheers were quickly drowned out by a raucous Detroit crowd.

Q1
Detroit would get the ball first, and were eager to keep the crowd with a good first outing. Even though QB Mike Major was ready to go back out as the starter, the Knights would continue to ride the hot hand of Mick Casey for their first AFL playoff game. Casey dropped back on the first play of the game, and threw a dart over the middle to WR Pat Kimball, who bounced off two defenders and broke free but got winded and was taken down for a nearly 60 yard reception. The Stallions were clearly rattled by the first play, as the Knights waltzed in two plays later on an 8 yard rush from RB Jesse Brown. St Louis faced an early third and short on their ensuing drive, but the handoff to the outside would get stopped at the line of scrimmage. The Knights would not be able to follow up on their first drive, leaving both teams in a defensive stalemate. St Louis would seem to break through, as RB Spike Roosevelt broke free from his own 20 yard line before getting tripped up at midfield. The Stallions would continue to run the ball, but on the next play RB Kevin Knox had trouble getting the handoff and flung the ball ahead of him. Detroit would come up with the ball in prime territory to go ahead by two scores. They would inch their way down over the next few plays, but two deep shots to the endzone sailed incomplete to force K David McGinnis onto the field. McGinnis was automatic from 24 yards out, and the Knights would put up a very solid lead entering the second.
DET 10, STL 0

Q2
St Louis’ offense began making their way downfield, primarily short passes from QB O.J DeMille to his receivers and relying on Roosevelt to get yardage when it mattered. The Knights defense bended just enough for the Stallions to tire themselves out, but not before getting into opposing territory for the first time all game. St Louis K Kevin Finch hit a pretty easy 20 yard field goal to cut the deficit to a touchdown. Detroit QB Mick Casey would in turn make quick work of the Stallions secondary, as WR’s Pat Kimball and Paul Kent were too much to take down as the Knights easily worked their way to the goal line. Casey made it seem like he would run the ball in himself, but tossed a short pass to TE Dan Shelton for the easy touchdown. The Stallions got a quick start on a big reception from WR Max Ausloos, and it seemed as if they would finally break through after a fairly rough first half. RB Spike Roosevelt was trusted to get the last few yards on third and very short, but Detroit DL Archie Webber acted like his prime self by tripping up Roosevelt and putting the ball just short of the first down. St Louis would send K Kevin Finch out to kick his second field goal from 12 yards out, and hit it through to make their deficit a little less embarrassing. Detroit would beg to differ on the final drive of the half, working the remaining clock to get into scoring range just before the end of the half. They got to the opposing 24 yard line before they nearly ran out of time, and K David McGinnis once again sent it clean down the middle to please the home crowd to end the first half.
DET 20, STL 6

Q3
The second half would start just about as well as it could for St Louis, as they got moving very quickly compared to their previous struggles. RB Spike Roosevelt took a handoff to the outside and maneuvered around LB Jacob Garfield before the secondary caught him for a 26 yard rush that seemed to have briefly brought the spirits of his teammates up. They would again inch their way downfield, but would once again stall out before getting to the endzone. Stallions K Kevin Finch had a slightly more difficult job, and just put the ball around the left upright from 40 yards out to cut the lead to 11. Both teams would have another chance at the ball before punting it back to the other, leaving Detroit with a chance to get the home crowd rowdy once again. On a second and short, RB Jesse Brown took the handoff up the middle and squeezed through two defenders before getting into open field. Both St Louis safeties attempted to take him down, but Brown was just too quick for them as he showboated his way into the endzone for a 59 yard score. The Stallions offense was seemingly rattled by Brown’s run, as just two plays later the blind side of QB O.J. DeMille was left wide open for DL Buford Grant to land a brutal hit onto him. The ball was knocked loose, and the Knights would continue to let their crowd hear it as they came up with possession of the ball. They may have let it go on a little too long, as the offense couldn’t get anything done in prime territory, and the usually automatic McGinnis missed the field goal a bit to the right. Still, with the momentum on their side, the Knights had created a near-insurmountable lead against St Louis and entered the fourth quarter with a massive point cushion.
DET 27, STL 9

Q4
It seemed that the Stallions were already waving the white flag with a quarter remaining, as they went three and out in their first real drive after the lost fumble. Detroit would add salt into the wound on the literal next play. QB Mick Casey threw a bullet to WR Pat Kimball, who lived up to his nickname of “Pinball” by bouncing off the two Stallions defenders for the completion, and then outran the remainder of the Stallions’ secondary for a 57 yard score. Detroit had all but put the game away, St Louis would desperately try to gain some sort of footing with what little time they had. These attempts went about as expected for this game, as they only gained a single first down on two drives and punted the ball away in both of them. Detroit responded in kind by taking away as much time as possible to delay the inevitable, but the Stallions didn’t seem like they were wanting to throw in the towel just yet. QB O.J. DeMille tried to work with his receivers one last time, moving the ball successfully for what seemed like the first time all game. Granted, the game was all but determined at this point and Detroit had begun to rest a majority of their starters, but that didn’t stop the Stallions from trying. DeMille attempted a throw to WR Max Ausloos over the middle, only for the ball to get tipped at the line of scrimmage. Detroit LB Gabriel Rose reacted quick enough to dive for the interception, and all but sealed it for the Knights. After killing the clock for what seemed like forever, Detroit ran one last play and time expired on their first playoff win in over a decade.
DET 34, STL 9



East Division Semifinal: New York Lions @ Boston Dragons
It was a very mild day for Boston for the first playoff game between two expansion teams, and their paths here could not be any different. The home Dragons were expected to be contenders right out of the gate, and besides an injury-laden first year they’ve mostly lived up to that expectation. The Lions are just happy to be here after the rest of the East collapsed in on itself and was the last team remaining. New York lost both of their matchups against Boston this year, but might be able to hang with the Dragons if they match their pace.

Q1
The Dragons decided to let their rivals start on the wrong foot in front of their home crowd. That decision would work well for the home team, as the Lions were quickly stifled by the Dragons’ defense and went three and out. Boston would show New York how it was done. The Dragons would easily get two first downs before Boston QB Sam Eagleburger found a massive gap in the Lions’ secondary to throw to WR Lloyd Lawson, who walked in untouched for a 40 yard touchdown. The Lions managed to move the chains once, but ultimately were forced to punt and handed the ball right back to the Dragons. Boston looked like they would waltz right back into the endzone with how their first drive went, but that would not be the case. On an innocuous second down, Eagleburger threw the ball just over the head of WR Alan Price, and directly into the arms of New York DB Jeff Brother. Brother didn’t get very far, but it gave the Lions their first signs of life. After a few short passes by QB Freddie Hughes got them pretty much nowhere, they decided to utilize the ground game that got them here in the first place. Rookie RB Felix Philipow flashed why he won the Rookie of the Year award, bobbing weaving through defenders before getting close enough for fellow RB Bernard Parks to dive up the middle for a touchdown. Boston got back going after the miscue, though not like they had been before the interception. Still, they were in range for K Dan Rasmussen to make a field goal, and he narrowly put it around the right upright to take the crucial 3 point lead.
BOS 10, NY 7

Q2
The first two-thirds of the second quarter included almost everything except for either team scoring. Both teams had locked into a stalemate, and three punts had gone off before Boston had a chance to increase their lead with another field goal. Rasmussen lined up for a similar field goal, but the kick goal was blocked and recovered by the Lions. That would unfortunately lead nowhere for New York, and continued in the battle of the punters with their expansion rival. That punt pinned the Dragons deep within their own territory, and were unable to dig themselves out of it. Returnman William Beard finally brought some action back to the game, navigating his way to a hole in the Boston defense and just barely had enough gas to make it 93 yards to the endzone for the lead. Boston wanted to strike back after trailing New York for the first time all year, and did so in style. The Dragons maneuvered their way through the Lions defense, and they enacted their revenge on a 37 yard pass from Eagleburger to Lloyd to retake what was rightfully theirs. New York punted the ball back one last time, and Boston just bided their time to take a crucial lead once the second half began.
BOS 17, NY 14

Q3
Boston would not start out the hottest for the second half, but they did make some ground. They focused on the run game with RB Lee Cannon, but made minimal gains and their drive eventually stalled out at the 30 yard line. K Dan Rasmussen was able to hit the field goal, but a touchdown still separated the Dragons and the Lions. For the most part, the rest of the third quarter was back to both teams punting the ball back and forth with one another. New York QB Freddie Hughes would make the exchange more interesting, as he threw a pass directly to S Tom Meltzger for an interception. That ensuing drive for Boston didn’t amount to much and went back to business as usual for this game. The stalemate finally ended at the literal end of the quarter, as Boston needed to convert on a third down else they would have punted for the fourth time across both teams. QB Sam Eagleburger stepped back to pass, but DL Leroy Brockhaus came flying in unblocked and slammed Eagleburger to the ground. The ball popped out, and DL Clifford Dale scooped it up and ran untouched into the endzone. The Lions had retaken the lead, and now the Dragons were starting to get a bit worried about their chances at winning.
BOS 20, NY 21

Q4
While the Lions’ lead was only by a single point, Boston still believed they could close this game out with how both offenses were going. They began to milk the clock, taking away nearly half the time left in the game in the homes of stifling the dead Lions offense to get a pyrrhic victory. The Dragons slowly moved their way down field, and once again faced a third and short for one of their backs to handle. RB Lee Cannon took a handoff towards the outside, but was instantly met by DL Lothair Einhorn for no gain. The Dragons retook the lead on a short field goal, and now just had to shut down the Lions for the win. Boston’s defense did what they had to do, forcing the Lions to punt after wasting some time on what may have been their last drive. The Dragons got the ball back, and just had to run the ball out to win the game. Their run game was stuffed twice at the line, and now faced a third and long to clinch. Eagleburger looked to pass, and could not find anyone open initially. He rolled out a bit to escape the pressure and took a chance on a throw to TE Guy Horne. Eagleburger unfortunately did not see LB Duane Ackerman lurking to the side of Horne, and jumped in front of the ball for a game-changing interception. The Lions had little time to waste, and lucky for them they had only half a field to work with to boot. QB Freddie Hughes managed to outwork the Dragons secondary, only taking the short passes and gained enough ground to trust their ground game. RB Felix Philipow only needed a single carry, taking a handoff to the outside before darting through a hole and scurried his way towards the endzone. He was met by the Dragons secondary, but Philipow used all the strength he could to muscle his way into the endzone. The Lions found themselves ahead with little time to spare, and now Boston was in full panic mode. The Dragons got themselves another first down, but quickly ran out of time to pull off anything significant. The New York Lions, in their first ever playoff appearance, may have pulled off one of the biggest playoff upsets in the AFL’s short history by beating the potential championship contender Boston Dragons at home.
BOS 23, NY 28



West Division Final: (2) Detroit Knights @ (1) Cincinnati Rivermen
1957 H2H: W4 - DET 10-13 CIN, W12 - CIN 15-6 DET
Historic H2H: 10-1 CIN
Playoff H2H: 0-0

The Rivermen are especially glad that the Knights came out on top, as St Louis handed them their only two losses on the year. They’re especially lucky since Detroit has not been able to defeat them since 1950, with 10 straight wins over the Knights and counting against them. Detroit has proven they are able to hang with the top teams this year, so breaking that losing streak in just their first year of relevancy would be a big step in taking down the “old guard” of AFL teams. Their two played games this year were closed but not high scoring, and predictably it will be the same for this pivotal game. Cincinnati is the more complete team overall, and they’ll give this scrappy Detroit team a run for their money as they will head to their third straight title game.
My Pick: Cincinnati

East Division Finals: (3) New York Lions @ (1) Washington Federals
1957 H2H: W2 - NY 9-21 WAS, W4 - WAS 16-20 NY
Historic H2H: 2-2
Playoff H2H: 0-0

New York was able to take care of Boston after the latter made too many mistakes that caused their downfall. The Lions’ offense was still stifled by the Dragons’ defense, but was able to overcome that in the turnover margin. The underdog team now faces an even greater challenge: having to play the defending champions at home. The Federals have been consistently dominant since moving to the nation’s capital, and are looking to defend their title after a dominant championship performance. Their spirits are brighter now that the Dragons got eliminated, but the Lions proved that they are to be taken on a serious challenger instead of a pushover. The Lions did manage to split the series against the Federals this year, but both of their games came early in the year where both teams were still figuring things out. Washington’s talent should prevail over New York, and they’ll be heading to their third straight championship game as a result.
My Pick: Washington



C&C Appreciated!

Who could've predicted that the New York Lions would make the playoffs and win a playoff game in just their 3rd season as a franchise?