Well I'll let that vote continue, but for now, here's the 1955 season

1955 NFA Season Standings:
Chicago Zephyrs: 8-0
Philadelphia Hornets: 7-1
St. Louis Tigers: 6-1-1
Washington Pirates: 4-4
Detroit Bombers: 4-3-1
Pittsburgh Ironmen: 2-6
Boston Gaels: 1-7
New York Cannons: 1-7

 The MVP award went to Scott Hogg of the Chicago Zephyrs
The MOR award went to DE John Wickenstein of the St. Louis Tigers
The MOC award went to Coach Randolph Brunswick of the Chicago Zephyrs

 -Scott Hogg leads the Zephyrs to an undefeated record, leading them to their first Champions Bowl appearance.
-New York falls off due to injuries to key players, including former MVP Quentin Brookes.
-QB Houston Henderson of the Bombers put up a perfect passing performance, going 16 for 16 on passing attempts against the Pirates in week 2. Henderson led the Bombers to a 4-0 record before getting injured.
-Philadelphia continues their dynasty and goes to their 3rd straight Champions Bowl.

 -The 10th Champions Bowl took place in Cleveland, after the National Field was determined unfit. The Cleveland Coliseum was chosen since it’s the biggest stadium in the country. The competitors were the Zephyrs of Chicago and the Hornets of Philadelphia. A rematch of the week 7 matchup in Chicago, where we saw the Zephyrs have their closest game of the season. This game wasn’t much different. A back and forth battle. Both teams having a pick six in the second quarter. With both teams scoring in strides, we entered the quarter tied at 21. Philadelphia started off with the ball and took it to the 23 before a controversial call ruled what many thought was a dropped pass as an interception, that gave the Zephyrs the ball with 9 minutes to score. Hogg took the ball down the field and scored, giving them the lead with just under 4 to go. The Chicago defense stepped up too and secured the win; picking Addams off for the 3rd time in the game on a 4th down heave. Chicago clenches their first Champions Bowl victory, 28-21 over the Philadelphia Hornets.



C&C appreciated! How'd your team do? Make sure to vote on the tiebreaker!

Man, we fell hard. Good for Chicago.

After the expansion will we see a playoff model added?

On a sunny day in June, the Cleveland expansion franchise held a public brand unveiling at the Cleveland Coliseum. The curtain falls and the crowd cheers. “The new team that the residents of Cleveland will be cheering for will be…” Mr. Schmitt announces, “will be the Cleveland Rangers!” he explains that Rangers were chosen as a play on the City’s nickname; The Forest City. “Rangers are the protectors of the forest!” he says. He continues, explaining the decision behind the teams logo; a crude illustration of an Owl sitting on a branch, starting down at its prey. “What animal best stares fear into its prey and is the leader and protector of the forest, he asks? Well of course the Owl!” he tells. They chose a simple Forest Green and White color scheme. They also unveiled a simple uniform design. But with a twist, they put numbers on the helmet of the design. After the NFA announced they would be mandating both expansion teams to have TV numbers, as more and more people were watching the games on TV.Later that week, at the grand opening of the Starr Supercenter, Mr. Walt unveiled his team’s identity. The Blue Ox! Named after both the folk story of Paul Bunyan and his trusty Babe, and the roadside attraction in Bemidji. “After settling on two finalist names, the Lumberjacks and the Blue Ox, we heavily went back and forth on which we would pick. We knew we had to make the right choice, and that choice was the unique, and famously Minnesotan, Blue Ox!” Walt beamed. While the unveiling wasn’t quite public, invitation only, some press did get to see the uniforms. They used a unique double blue color scheme and had a unique striping pattern. They included a horn design on the helmet as well. “It’s quite stunning. Definitely something the fans will love!” a reporter from the Minnesota Daily Star exclaimed.

 
Now outside of the expansion unveilings, the NFA announced a TV deal with CBS to air the best game of the week, every Saturday Night. Therefore, to accommodate viewers watching from home, the NFA mandated that every team needed a second set of “TV” numbers to be placed on the sleeves or helmets (this idea proposed by the Cleveland Rangers) of the uniform. They also updated uniform restrictions and mandated every team update helmets to include facemasks. Some teams went ahead and made small tweaks along with the numbers and helmet rule changes. *the updates are in the following post. 

Then, with the addition of 2 more teams to the league. The NFA extended the regular season to 12 games in 13 weeks (excluding the postseason). Giving the teams a league wide bye week during week 7, in mid November. They also added a play off game. Separating the league into 2 conferences, the NFA West, and the NFA East. The winner and runner up of each conference will play in the West/East Championship, the higher seed housing that Championship. The winner of each game will meet in the Champions Bowl, which has been announced to be held in Boston, New York, and St. Louis in the next 3 years. The Conferences have been split up in the following way. The NFA East will be made up of; New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and Cleveland. The NFA West will be made up of; Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis.  

Finally Commissioner Wagner announced his plan to have expanded to 14 teams by the mid 60’s. Hopefully having 2 votes, one in either 1959 or 1960, and another in 1962. And within those 5-8 years having 4 more teams start to play. He emphasized expanding westward. Saying there is significant potential for big fanbases in the west coast.

C&C appreciated, what are your thoughts on everything? How do you like the new expansion teams, and league changes. Did I miss anything, let me know!

Lots of good things!

Rangers is an unusual choice for Cleveland but I like the backstory on it. I particularly like the owl. That is dope. Plenty of ways to go with that identity in the future. Nice work.

While I'm not particularly fond of "Blue Ox" as a team nickname, you hit a home run on the identity. The double blue is nice and the uniforms are excellent. Top look in the league IMO.

I think Cleveland should be in the west division while Pittsburgh is in the east divison. Makes sense that way.