Early Offseason News

NAAF To Expand for the 1957 Season
In a press conference today regarding the future of the NAAF. Commissioner Ryan Jameson announced today that the league is looking to expand the league in time for the start of the 1957 season. The plan will start with the league taking in proposals from cities over the 1955 season. The announcement and selection of the cities will happen in the 1956 offseason, and then in the 1957 offseason, team brands will be released and will begin to compete. Nothing more will be confirmed this offseason as the league is in the preliminary process of this first major expansion. 

*Note I am NOT taking suggestions right now, I still have not decided if I will select my new cities or if I will have an expansion council*

Royals Stadium
The new building for the Royals has been given an official name and will be known as “Royals Stadium at Brewer Park”. The new 45,210 seat stadium will be open for the season opener and the team will be raising the championship banner in the new stadium. There was talk about the opening game being at Lansdowne, but the Royals ownership decided that the final game at the historic stadium would be the McCallister Cup win. 

Darknes wrote:

Exciting news! I'm sure we'd all be delighted to join an Expansion council but we also know you probably have a vision in your head of how the leagues should progress.

 
I second that! I’m sure all of us would like to give our opinions and what not on the expansion but we don’t want to step on your toes as we know you have a vision. However the expansion works I’m excited for it!

Last edited by Captain Mort 3D (7/02/2020 9:23 pm)

1955 Retirements 

QB Larry Larson - Brockton, MA - Boston Independents (1949-1954)**
Larson will go down as one of the greatest QB’s of all time and the best of his era. He was able to lead the Boston Football Club to many championships prior to joining the NAAF as well as winning the first 2 NAAF Championships. Larson had only one All-Star nod in 1949 but still was a top tier player through all 6 seasons he played in the NAAF. He also took home the 1949 Playoff and McCallister Cup MVP awards. Larson has earned respect from around the league and from his teammates. Many of the Boston vets are also retiring alongside Larson. The list includes LB Carlos Bennett, DB Clinton Benton, and DL Joel Jackson. The team has also mentioned that they don’t see anyone wearing #12 in Boston anytime soon or possibly ever at all. 

WR Eugene Burns - Fall River, MA - Providence Gold Stars (1949-1952), Ottawa Royals (1953-1954)*
Through 1949-’52, Burns was one of the top targets for the Gold Stars, he would lead the Gold Stars through the air in the early part of the time period which would earn him an All-Star spot in 1950. Burns was a fan favourite as well, but in the 1953 offseason, Burns would be dealt to Ottawa in a surprise trade. Burns would go on to be a big part of the Royals offense earning him his second All-Star spot in 1953 and eventually helping the Royals to their first McCallister Cup.  

LB Carlos Bennett - Boston, MA - Boston Independents (1949-1954)**
Many Boston players called it a career along with Larry Larson, but Bennett is the most notable one with 4 straight All-Star appearances from 1949-1952. Bennett was the top LB for Boston throughout the height of their success. 

TE Darrell Hubbard - Windsor Locks, CT - Hartford Hawks (1949-1950), Montreal Rouge (1951-1954)**, Boston Independents (1954)
Hubbard is one of the better TE to play in the NAAF. certainly a notable one. The TE played the first two NAAF seasons with the Hartford Hawks before he was sent to Montreal in the massive WR John Rivera trade. Hubbard would earn an All-Star nod in 1951 and helped Montreal to their two McCallister Cups. Hubbard would finish his career in Boston after being dealt a second time during the 1954 season.  

QB Evan Morrow - Rochester, NY - Buffalo Blue Wings (1949), Toronto Tigers (1950-1951), Ottawa Royals (1952-1954)*
Morrow had a long career in the NAAF as a traveling starter. He came into the league as the starter for the Blue Wings but would be replaced in 1950 by QB Angelo Medina which would land him in Toronto for a pair of seasons. He was able to get the winless Tigers a handful of wins before they acquired QB Duane Logan. That would mark the end of Morrow’s starting career as he would end up backing up QB Jean Matieau in Ottawa for the final few seasons of his career. He did start a pair of games for the Royals to rest Matieau and did quite well. He will walk away as a champion with the Royals win this season. 

S Ralph Maynard - Providence, RI - Providence Gold Stars (1949-1954)
Maynard was a career Gold Star and a solid piece in the team’s defense. He would be often overshadowed by the other safeties in the NAAF, but he will leave as one of the best leaving a hole on the back end for the Gold Stars.  

Other Notable Retirements
DB Clinton Benton - Boston, MA - BOS (1949-1954)**
S Victor Webb - Montreal, QC - OTT (1949-1951), BOS (1952-1954)
DL Joel Jackson - Boston, MA - BOS (1949-1954)**
LB Ralph Maynard - Boston, MA - BOS (1949-1954)**
OL Dmitri Lortie - Saint-Jerome, QC - MTL (1949-1954)**
DB Jean-Luc Paget - Montreal, QC - MTL (1949-1954)**
DB Guy Logan - Peterborough, ON - OTT (1949-1951), MTL (1952-1954)*
DL Grégory St Martin - Quebec City, QC - MTL (1949-1954)**
RB Ellis Love - Pawtucket, RI - PRO (1949), HAR (1950-1951), OTT (1952-1954)*
DL Jose McDaniel - Bridgewater, MA - PRO (1949-1954)
DL Harvey Franklin - Ottawa, ON - OTT (1949-1950), WOR (1951), PRO (1952-1954)

Staff Changes
Providence Gold Stars
Not any major changes but the Gold Stars have let go to Defensive Coordinator Kerry Miles and have brought former Athletics DC, Patrick Taylor, on to replace him. Miles struggled this past year with the usually strong Gold Star defense. There was also some speculation of whether or not the team would let go of Head Coach Perry Powell but with one year left on his deal, the Gold Stars will give him one more shot. 

Long Island
With Kerry Miles being let go from Providence, Long Island brought him on to replace DC George Mitchell after just one season. Many were surprised by the lack of changes coming from the winless Long Island squad, but GM/Owner Wayne Tillman understands that it is a process and may take some patience to get the team to a competitive place.  

Overall some big names in this batch of retirements, I was struggling with which players to actually talk about. Ellis Love and Jean-Luc Paget both were going to get deeper dives, but I felt that was a bit much.

Captain Mort 3D wrote:

With so many players retiring Boston is going to look a lot different next year. I wonder if the new core of the franchise can keep them competitive.

Boston will look very different for sure, they still do have several key pieces in place especially with RB Joel Bonner, and the deadly receiving core with Ethan Walters, Samuel Floyd, and Ellis Lindholm, but their defense will take a major hit with most of the main pieces gone. LB Brent Harper will officially be the leader on defense for this season. 

Long Island looks great, the name change was a good call IMO. I also am a big fan of the burgundy and green, not a very common color scheme but you pulled it off great.