Whoohoo! The Lions have won! As a New Yorker, that is just flat out awesome in my book! I mean, Detroit’s day will come, but I am so happy to see the championship come to the Big Apple!

Also, if you don’t mind, I have a little prediction for the story: the PAFC will fold in a few seasons after Virgil Bradshaw goes through some sort of downfall, and the other owners will fail to come to a compromise on a replacement, so that league basically crumbles from the inside. This is just speculation on my behalf, so don’t take this as a fact.

Anyway, keep up the good work! Looking forward to the offseason!

The Wide World of American Football: 1958-59 Edition

A RIFT IN PROGRESS?
The PAFC suffered its first tragedy not of its own accord, as New Orleans Pirates owner Rudolph Branthwaite Sr. died just before the beginning of the season. His son, Rudy, took over ownership of the team, and immediately became a thorn in the side of the “old guard” of PAFC owners. He saw the obvious signs that the league was in a tailspin and sought out any way to get the league out of it. While the league was in talks of expansion, Branthwaite lobbied for a team in either Milwaukee or Minneapolis/St. Paul, as he knew that the AFL would pounce on either of the options if the PAFC had left them idle. The AFL had done the same with the St Louis market, where the Stallions became one of the league’s most attended teams within just a few years. A few owners had supported this plan, but President Bradshaw refused to expand to either market after both of their former team’s involvement in the game-fixing scandal just a few years prior. An expansion team in Oakland had already been approved by the owners for the 1960 season to compete with the AFL’s upcoming San Francisco team, but the expansion in Dallas has been shifted away after the AFL confirmed they would be putting a team there. There were no other suitors for another team in the PAFC, and Bradshaw unceremoniously put expansion on hold while they shopped around for anyone who would own a team in a floundering league. Branthwaite, furious that this proposal had essentially fallen on deaf ears, convinced the Baltimore and Omaha owners to privately help search for expansion teams. Even if he were to convince someone that owning a team in the PAFC is worth it, the countless number of scandals and the man running the show openly picking and choosing who gets in proves to be a massive deterrent. 

Despite continuing to endure controversy off of the field nearly every season, there was actually little on-field drama for the 1958 season. The Omaha Bulls proved that last season was not a fluke, putting together a competitive team once and stayed in the top half of the standings for the entire season. Even though they finished in 4th, it was still considered a success for a team that regularly frequented the crowded basement that is the PAFC. The new expansion teams took up that place in the basement, with Jacksonville only managing 3 wins and Oklahoma City failing to win a single game all season. Out of all of the recent expansion teams, only New Orleans could put together a record over .500 in any of their seasons, with Houston also finishing near the bottom. The championship would be a three-horse race between Chicago, Indianapolis, and Richmond, each taking turns at the top. Chicago and Indianapolis played in the final game of the year as a de facto playoff game, with the winner taking on Richmond in the title game. Out for revenge from last year, the Stars dominated the Flames and were heavy favorites to win their 14th World Series of Football title over the Patriots. Thankfully for the few people that were able to watch the game outside of Chicago, the game was a lot closer for a majority of the game. Richmond, however, was able to capitalize on the few mistakes Chicago made in the second half to take a two possession lead that they managed to keep for the rest of the game, completing the upset and winning their second PAFC title. After the game, Stars Owner/Coach Virgil Bradshaw was furious that his so-called “best team ever assembled” was unable to steamroll their way to another championship, and vowed that the Stars would win next year’s title “no matter what”. 

FAILED NETWORK DEAL FORCES VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE FOR BRADSHAW
Part of Branthwaite’s plan to get the PAFC out from its inevitable collapse was to secure a television deal with any network willing to negotiate. He figured that the massive audience that saw the 1958 AFL championship game could draw in fans to watch the older league instead of the new kid on the block that had already managed to surpass them. Branthwaite had found a network that was willing to broadcast the struggling league, Sports Network Incorporated (SNI), that already was broadcasting several NBL games over the radio and television in just its first few years of operation. The deal would share revenue with all clubs equally, which could allow teams to not rely on Bradshaw just to stay afloat. When the proposal was brought to his desk, Bradshaw refused the potential deal, stating that he (and only he) would lose money on the deal and used his power as league president to turn single-handedly down the SNI contract, even though it would most likely be approved by all of the other owners if brought to a vote. That move already angered some of the owners, but further angered when Bradshaw came back with his alternative plan. The PAFC would expand to Las Vegas with the help of real estate and casino developer Dominick Capps. Las Vegas hadn’t even been considered as an expansion city, and now owners were concerned over Capps’s connections to the mob within the city, as he was summoned to the Kefauver Committee hearing several years prior, where he was questioned under oath over his connections to the Chicago Outfit, which he denied any involvement in. Infuriated with how Bradshaw had been operating the league over the past few years and now potentially being implicated with mob, Branthwaite  opened a vote of no confidence to oust Bradshaw as president and force a new vote. Branthwaite had been lobbying behind the scenes with other owners to get Bradshaw out due to his age and questionable decision-making, but the “old guard” of owners were reluctant to change. A majority of them relied on the money that Bradshaw gave to them to keep their teams afloat, and feared retaliation if they voted no. Branthwaite was successful in convincing both Jacksonville and Oklahoma City to the “no” side, but the league’s voting process prevented him from gaining enough votes to out Bradshaw. Because Bradshaw had appointed his son, Julian, as the owner of his team and gave the president the tiebreaking vote, the motion failed. Branthwaite was seen storming out of the meeting room when all of the “old guard” owners and all other teams Bradshaw directly funded all voted “yes”, effectively ending any chance of change in the PAFC. The fact the vote was this close was a massive surprise, and could spell the beginning of the end for the league if Bradshaw takes any retaliatory action to any of the teams that voted for his removal. 

CONCORD WILDCATS CLAIM FIRST ASPFL TITLE SINCE 1924
Once again, the Long Island Lancers seemed like they would be the favorites to win the ASPFL despite floundering the latter half of last season. They started out well again, going undefeated through the first 6 games but were only a few games ahead of the rest of the pack. Injuries derailed them yet again, losing 4 out of their last 6 to finish 3rd for another disappointing outcome. Once again, that left the top two spots wide open for any team that wished to get into the title game. Finishing in the second spot were the defending champion Newark Tigers, who weren’t as dominant as they were the year before, but they found a good replacement playcaller in QB Jehoshaphat Murphy and a solid secondary led by S Dale Neal. The team who finished first was a complete surprise, having not made a title game in over 30 years and not  having a winning season since the Second World War - the Concord Wildcats. The Wildcats had been acquiring essentially cast-offs with what little spending power they had, but these reinforcements from the Crows, including league MVP QB Christopher Wilke, shot them directly to the top of the league. Their rise to the top was reminiscent of Omaha’s dramatic title win in the PAFC just a year ago, with a team many had cast off and mired in the basement for what seemed like forever suddenly rising to the top with a well-meshed team and had the right timing. Concord would play their first postseason game in nearly 2 decades, and Newark would be playing their first postseason game in nearly 1 year. Despite their absence from postseason play, the Wildcats would dominate the entire game behind what may be the defensive unit the ASPFL has seen. The once high-flying Tigers were held scoreless through the first half while the Concord secondary forced three interceptions out of QB Jehoshaphat Murphy, one being returned for a touchdown. The game had essentially wrapped up by the 4th quarter, but Newark put some points on the board for the illusion of a close game. In a dominant 27-17 win, the Concord Wildcats would win their first professional title since 1924. Cleveland’s “hand-me-downs”, as they were frequently called, were now getting significant attention from AFL teams who would want to fill a roster slot, and the Crows’ rebuilding attempts seem to be off to the right start if these players can make it up to the AFL.

DOME FRENZY CAPTURING THE NATION?
The world’s first “domed stadium” is set to open its doors in Brooklyn in 1960 after years of relocation woes for the NBL’s Brooklyn Canaries. Their old stadium had been deteriorating for the past decade, and owner E. Joseph Brosnahan was looking for a way to move into a larger, more modern facility. He first looked out west for a place to go, but the NBL began negotiations for a partial merger with the PPL and essentially ended that plan. Brosnahan instead sought Buckminster Fuller to construct a new stadium in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, beating out a potential bid that would have moved them to Flushing Meadows in Queens. The completed dome, tentatively named the Brooklyn Sports Center, has inspired a few other projects across the country to both modernize baseball stadiums and potentially lure football teams to play in their shiny new domes. Houston is deep in the works in building a domed stadium of their own, with former mayor Roy Hofheinz backing a new stadium after the NBL approved expansion to Houston. Construction is already underway on the new stadium and is set to be completed a year or two after the Houston team joins the NBL in 1962. Hofheinz believes that his stadium could also possibly accommodate a football team, and was negotiating with the PAFC’s Houston Indians to see if they wanted to move from Buffalo Stadium to this state-of-the-art facility. The other prominent place should be expected at this point: Portland. After being denied entry into the NBL due to concerns with their current stadium and now effectively relegated to AAA ball with the restructuring of the PPL, the ownership behind the Portland Rosebuds petitioned the Oregon legislature for a new stadium. They had chosen the site of the destroyed Vanport City for a brand-new stadium for the Rosebuds and potentially even a pro football team. The measure was put to a vote for the approval of funds to build this domed stadium, and the vote narrowly passed with a 52% “yes” vote to approve construction of the site. Ground is expected to be broken on the site within the next year, with the “Delta Dome” project expected to be completed by 1964 if the plan stays on schedule. A dome frenzy has captured the country, and it will be a matter of time if any of these projects attract either a baseball franchise, a football franchise, or perhaps both.

C&C Appreciated! Now's a good time to send some prospects in if you haven't sent in any in a while or are sending them in for the first time, since we're about halfway to forming a draft class. .

some fascinating stuff out of "the other league". cool to see richmond winning the title, but that feels like a footnote to all the ownership drama going on. I feel like bradshaw's goose is cooked but I have no idea how long it's gonna take him to realize it. I do love the idea of a las vegas team in the early 60s; that's so stupid and it'll be a glorious disaster but at the same time it could totally change the landscape of sports if vegas becomes a sports town half a century ahead of schedule

AFL Spring Meetings 1959

LEAGUE STILL PONDERING 16TH TEAM LOCATION
The AFL seems to still be deliberating over where their 16th franchise will be located, even though at a similar point in their last expansion process that city was already decided by now. The setback on Denver’s stadium threw a wrench into the AFL’s expansion plans, and now the owners are scrambling to find the right person to take their spot. Ownership groups from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Miami, and Seattle were all vying for that spot, and at least on paper the Twin Cities bid has the most legs to it. The AFL had been looking at putting a team in Minnesota when the Federals were moving out of Columbus, and could have been included in the first round of expansion if Philadelphia and St. Louis did not fall into the league’s lap. The league should be expected to make a decision within the next year or so, though they are not doing any expansion teams any favors by delaying the time they need to set up operations like they had with other expansion teams. However, with the influx of promising bids the league has received, commissioner Donovan Hasenkamp has not ruled out the possibility of expanding beyond 16 teams in the future, especially with putting the Denver franchise on hold. He did emphasize that the league would not reach that size unless this additional round of expansion was also successful. The league has doubled in size in just a couple of years, so it will only be a matter of time if expanding to 16 teams within 10 years will be a success for the league. Given that the league has reached new heights from the audience of the 1958 championship game, expanding to 20 and beyond may be likely.

One interesting rumor that is circulating could explain why the AFL is taking so long to decide on a city: they’re trying to poach from the PAFC. With the ever-increasing divide of their owners amongst one another, some say that the AFL could drive the final nail in the coffin for the league that has somehow survived nearly a decade without its most successful teams. However, there would only be a few options that the AFL could consider. Most would consider the Omaha Bulls the most likely to leave the PAFC, as the Bulls’ ownership group and PAFC president Virgil Bradshaw are on less-than-favorable terms. They seem fairly eager to leave the league, but they would run into two primary issues if they were to join. Firstly is their stadium, which is much smaller than the smallest stadium currently in the league, as the Hawks’ LeClair Field only holds 22,500 fans while the Bulls’ stadium is about half of that capacity. Their ownership also is a major problem if they were to join, as even though they’ve won a PAFC title they’re struggling to keep the money rolling in, and a move to the AFL wouldn’t exactly solve their financial problem. Omaha would more likely go to the ASPFL, though the travel costs would certainly prevent them from lasting long in that league. Two other teams that are starting to both defy Bradshaw and could reasonably leave to the AFL are Baltimore and New Orleans, though the latter seems a bit more likely. The AFL has maintained its stance on only having 1 team per metropolitan area, which could prevent Baltimore from joining unless both Washington owner Bernard McCullough waives his right to the area and the owners vote to accept them into the league despite the exclusion rule. New Orleans has more solid ties to the AFL, with new owner Rudy Branthwaite failing to persuade his father to join the AFL instead of the PAFC but successfully persuaded his friend, Dallas owner J.B. Gilchrist, to ditch the PAFC and join the AFL instead. He’s gained more sway amongst the PAFC owners who aren’t directly financed by Bradshaw, and taking away an owner like him would almost certainly bring the PAFC to an end. That scenario is seemingly too good to pass up for those around the AFL’s owners, but the legal ramifications for “poaching” a team away from another league are likely to be higher than they were for Buffalo and Pittsburgh. The two teams formerly of the NYPL had already announced their departure from the dying league before joining the AFL, so taking away a team while they are still competing in another league will likely face a significant legal battle if Bradshaw is willing to divert his funds.

NBC INKS HISTORIC TV DEAL
Seeing the success of its coverage of the championship games, the AFL and NBC reached an agreement for the network to televise a majority of the regular season games and every playoff game and the championship through the 1964 season. The new deal guarantees that every team in the AFL, current and future, will play on national television, though the deal favors the current most popular teams in getting the most screentime. The AFL had heard the news of the PAFC attempting a revenue-sharing system from the TV deal that was rejected by league president Bradshaw, and figured it would be good enough to implement for themselves. The AFL would then become the first professional football league to have such a cooperative plan with a single network, but this deal could potentially be seen as violating anti-trust laws. Football, due to its scattered history, does not have the same protections as the NBL, which unified several decades ago, and thus lawsuits from other suitor networks should be expected in the near future. The AFL would like to gain its own anti-trust exception to potentially put the final nail in the coffin for the PAFC, but that will be a battle that the AFL’s lawyers will likely have to solve.

AFL MAKE RULE CHANGES IN PREPARATION FOR EXPANSION
Since the AFL had split from the PAFC nearly a decade ago, the two leagues had practically played the same game rules-wise, with the only difference being the teams that played in each league. With the league’s ensuing popularity from the 1958 championship, the AFL owners were willing to make some changes to make their game more entertaining and easier to watch from home. The league did make several changes to be put in play for the 1960 season, the most impactful of which will be the introduction of the two point conversion. The college game had implemented the rule within the past year, and the owners were impressed with its implementation enough to add it to the AFL. The owners had discussed changing the specifications of the ball that they used to open up the passing game more, but the resulting vote didn’t get enough traction to join the two point conversion. Because of the new network deal with NBC, the league has also decided to go through with adding names on the back of players’ jerseys to aid the commentators in identifying players. Both the radio and TV announcers for NBC had struggled to identify players solely on their number during the championship game, and it will likely make it easier for the viewer at home to identify players as well.

The majority of the new rules come with the upcoming expansion to 16 teams. The league will expand from 12 to 14 game schedules starting in 1960, and another division realignment will take place to accommodate the 4 new teams. The league is planning on dividing itself into two conferences of 2 divisions apiece, with 4 teams in each division. They would have announced how the divisions would be aligned at this point, but the lack of where the 16th team will be makes that decision nearly impossible at this point. The belief is that the AFL will divide itself geographically into an eastern and western conference, with Cleveland and Detroit likely moving back East to accommodate the amount of new western teams. The playoffs will also see an expansion, going up from 3 teams per division/conference to 4 beginning in the 1961 season. The division winners and the division runners-up will make the playoffs, with the division winner hosting the other division’s runner-up in the first round of the playoffs. There had been a proposal brought up by both Boston and Detroit for a “crossover” rule, where if there was a team that finished third in its division that was better than the other division’s runner-up they would take their spot. Both the Dragons and Knights had missed the playoffs even though they finished better than a team in the other division, and thought that a better record should triumph over divisional placement. The two teams, Buffalo and St. Louis, split their games in the playoffs, and so a consensus could not be reached to add it as a rule. Some owners were still willing to leave it on the table for later discussion if their occurrences become more frequent. 

TRI-CITIES RUNNING INTO FINANCIAL WOES
In what was a complete surprise to everyone not named Bob Hester, the Tri-Cities Hawks were in a rough spot financially. They have gone downhill since his father, Bert, died three years ago, having their last winning season and playoff appearance in 1955. The Hawks were already the weakest team financially after the Buckeyes were bought out and moved to Washington, D.C., but that problem has been exacerbated by Hester's tenure. The team had seen some promise with a surprise playoff appearance, but Hester essentially gave away the younger players to other teams and did nothing to bring fans back into LeClair Field. The future TV deal with NBC should get the Hawks some of the money needed to make improvements to their stadium and increase their payroll, but Hester needs to stop cheaping out when things matter in the eyes of the other owners. Bob’s antics in his short time as owner have not put him in the best light, especially coming after how highly his father was viewed among the elder AFL owners. Donovan Hasenkamp, who was a close friend with Bert Hester, was especially irate at the younger Hester, who was rumored to have insulted Bob by claiming he was ruining one of the most historic clubs in American football. Whether that made Hester realize his situation is yet to be seen, though with how he is treated by Hawks fans it might be the wake-up call they need to get out of the spiral Tri-Cities has been falling into. 

C&C Appreciated as always! I'll be compiling the next draft class relatively soon so if you got prospects then send them over!

Nice update per usual. This expansion drama sounds interesting, though I think Seattle would probably be the best fit, would reduce travel for LA and SF while forming a natural Western Division with the California teams and Dallas, though poaching New Orleans from the PAFC would sure be one heck of a twist.
I like the idea of a crossover playoff rule, similar to what the CFL has IRL, hopefully that come back at some point down the line. 
Sadly, I think this might be the end of the Hawks in the Tri-Cities, as I feel like Hester is intentinally tanking the team so fans won't come, and then he can move them somewhere else. Also, this isn't a Green Bay situation, where the town(s) own the team, so yeah, the Hawks might be flying away. 

Last edited by MitchSwanson94 (5/25/2026 6:51 pm)