So, are the Wolves the Buffalo Bills of the NAAF yet?

Congrats Montreal! lol Vancouver

1973 NAAF Awards

Most Outstanding Player
QB Kevin Westwood - Vancouver Wolves
In just 4 seasons, Westwood has quickly established himself as one of the elite passers in the NAAF. This season, Westwood led the league’s #1 offence, throwing 31 touchdowns (tying Buck Murphy) and only 7 interceptions. He was consistent, dominant, and poised all year long, leading the Wolves to their first West Division title and best finish in the regular season since joining the NAAF in 1970. An outstanding performance, rightfully earning the league’s MOP for 1973.

Playoff Most Outstanding Player
WR Antonio Villanueva - Montreal Rouge
The Rouge had an excellent run in the postseason, but one of the standout stars was WR Antonio Villanueva. The 24-year-old has made a massive impact in his first few years, and during this playoff run, he scored 3 times during the first two games. While he didn’t get into the endzone in the McCallister Cup, he had a few key plays that set up scores in the big game.

Offensive Player of the Year
WR Casey Coleman - Louisville Thunder
Since his move to Louisville, Casey Coleman has continued to show again and again that he is the best WR in the league. He had 16 touchdowns this season, which was 5 more than the next receiver in the league. It was another dominant season for Coleman, which earned him his 2nd Offensive Player of the Year. 

Defensive Player of the Year
LB Reuben James - London Tigers
It was a close race between LB Reuben James, DL Johnathan Ellison, and DB Lamar Brown. In the end, it was the 26-year-old who earned the DPOY. James led the league in tackles this season, helping the Tigers to their best defensive performance in the past half-decade. James becomes the 2nd Tiger to win the Award, following his current head coach Aengus Lynch, who won the award in 1956. 

Special Teams Player of the Year
K Vic Greatwood - Long Island Raiders
One year ago, Greatwood was at home watching the league from his couch. One year later, and now Greatwood is a Special Teams Player of the Year winner, finishing with 147 points this season. Greatwood becomes the 3rd different Raiders’ kicker to win the Award, following K Thomas McFadden (4x) and K Henderson Schumacher (5x), joining a list of great kickers out of Long Island.

Offensive Lineman of the Year
OL Carlton Vanderbilt - Boston Independents
Vanderbilt became the 3rd unique winner of the OLOY award, leading the Boston O-line that was a part of one of the strongest run-games in the league. The former 5th Overall Pick has been the best part of a strong Boston front that has been great for the run game and protecting QB Nathaniel Braddock. 

Coach of the Year
Johnnie Dawson - Vancouver Wolves
It is tough to make an argument for anyone else to be Coach of the Year this season when Dawson coached the Wolves to a 1st place finish this season. He was able to help facilitate the league’s #1 offence and #1 defence, which is rare to do in one season. A feat that truly shows how well-rounded of a coach Dawson is.  

Rookie of the Year
DB Oliver Benson - London Tigers
There were several strong rookies this season, but it was Benson who stood above the rest, proving to be not only the strongest rookie but one of the best at the position in the league. He finished his rookie season with 8 interceptions, which is up there amongst the NAAF’s elite. Benson did this while also starting the season coming off the bench, just showing how dominant he was down the stretch. Along with DPOY LB Reuben James, the Tigers have a bright future on defence. 

Breakout of the Year
LB Lochlan Bourne - Vancouver Wolves
Bourne was a unique star this season, becoming a valuable part of Vancouver’s top defence. He had 4 interceptions which was the most among linebackers this season. His unique ability in coverage makes him a unique piece in the defence and at only 24 years of age, the Wolves have a young key player that should hopefully be a strong piece for the foreseeable future.

1973 All-Stars

West Division All-Stars
QB Kevin Westwood - VAN (4)
RB Tyler Kuhn - MIN (3)
OL Charles Hyland - REG (1)
OL Kenny Rudolph - VAN (1)
OL Claude Balderson - WPG (3)
OL David Biarski - MIN (1)
OL Charles Schwartz - CGY (3)
WR Akira Sakamoto - VAN (1)
WR Keshawn Johnston - VAN (4)
WR Sebastian Dassler - MIN (4)
TE Johnny Temple - VAN (4)
DL Butcher Callahan - REG (2)
DL Damian Battles - CGY (4)
DL Rashawn Sutherland - VAN (1)
DL Caleb Cologne - EDM (2)
LB Marcus McGhee - CGY (1)
LB Garrett Roberts - MIN (2)
LB Claude Clarke - WPG (4)
DB Austin Sherebernikoff - MIN (3)
DB Scott Summerhayes - CGY (1)
S Takuya Sasaki - VAN (1)
S Vernon Redgate - WPG (3)
K Ray Bough - MIN (2)

Central Division All-Stars
QB Buck Murphy - LOU (1)
RB Jeremy Royal - LDN (1)
OL Artem Sobakov - BUF (4)
OL Robert Pelletier - LOU (1)
OL Gordie Hammarstein - LOU (3)
OL Jean Baptiste Francois - PIT (4)
OL Jacob Szczepanski - LDN (1)
WR Casey Coleman - LOU (6)
WR Taylor Austin - PIT (3)
WR Jake Abbredezzi - IND (3)
TE Rex Williamson - LOU (3)
DL Aaron Henderson - LOU (5)
DL Arthur Bradshaw - PIT (5)
DL Ned Hedman - BUF (2)
DL Matthias Hartmann - PIT (2)
LB Reuben James - LDN (3)
LB Judge Barrett - TOR (3)
LB Ricky Wildgoose - LOU (1)
DB Zed McLaughlin - PIT (5)
DB Dwayne James - TOR (2)
S Charles Clerk - TOR (5)
S Marcus Harris - LDN (1)
K Nimrod Handsworth - LDN (7)

East Division All-Stars
QB Ivan Sanchez - LI (1)
RB Reggie Whitehead - BOS (4)
OL Carlton Vanderbilt - BOS (3)
OL Kane Warwick - HFX (5)
OL Elliot Barrett - MTL (5)
OL Dane Hodgeson - OTT (1)
OL Doyle MacInnis - LI (1)
WR Sterling Underhill - OTT (1)
WR Antonio Villanueva - MTL (2)
WR Justin Palmer - PRO (2)
TE Eric Peterson - LI (2)
DL Johnathan Ellison - LI (3)
DL Alan Franjkovic - MTL (1)
DL Bernhard Hartmann - OTT (4)
DL Bartolo Cruz - PRO (5)
LB Jean-Christophe Bain - MTL (2)
LB Kurt Warlock - PRO (5)
LB Byron Turner - BOS (6)
DB Lamar Brown - MTL (4)
DB Sergio Alvarez - OTT (6)
S Ernie Osborne - BOS (3)
S Mathieu Cazenave - MTL (3)
K Vic Greatwood - LI (1)

Hi everyone, I am back after a bit of a break following the last season. It was a much-needed break to take care of my mental health as well as take some time to plan out the next decade or so in the NAAF. I am excited about what is to come, so buckle up and get ready for the next era of NAAF football!



1974 NAAF League Meetings

*Starting with this season, I am looking to change up the way the League Meetings are presented. They will be broken up into 3 posts: Opening Statements, Proposals, Voting Results and Final Announcements
Opening Statements: Gives each organization an opportunity to mention new developments for the teams, typically regarding ownership, stadium, and brand. 
Proposals: The league operates in a system similar to parliament in Canada, with representatives from the League, Players, Coaches/GMs, and Owners. All parties are able to propose potential changes to the league that will be debated and voted on during the 2-week session of meetings. 
Final Announcements: There will be a final vote, and all things that pass through the vote will be announced, and the new league season will officially begin.

1974 NAAF League Meetings: Opening Statements

Ryan Jameson, NAAF Commissioner
The commissioner opened the meetings. He congratulated the Montreal Rouge on their 3rd McCallister Cup. He also went on to note that the NAAF had one of its more profitable seasons this past year, continuing to solidify itself as the top football league in North America, despite lacking some of the biggest markets in the continent. Jameson thanked everyone for being here and passed the mic to Boston to start the team statements.

*Note: every team has a statement. Generally, they just do a short introduction. I will only cover teams that have something additional to say.

Boston Independents
Owner Benjamin Harris stepped forward for his final address to the league. Over the past couple of seasons, Harris has been in search of a new owner for the Independents. The process has gone a bit longer than expected. After a couple of family members, namely his Daughter, Stefanie Anderson, and nephew, Gordon Crawford, either turned down the opportunity or were unsure, he had extended the search to external options. There was certainly no shortage of those interested in potentially taking over the historical franchise. Many offered significant sums to take over the team, but Harris took his time, desiring to make sure the team is handed to someone he trusts to take care of the organization that has been in his family for decades. 

As the 1973 season was in progress, the list of potential buyers had been narrowed down to a couple of serious contenders; however, that would be shaken up when Harris’ nephew, Gordon, would come around and express a serious interest in taking over his Uncle’s business. Benjamin and Gordon would take some time to discuss the details, and after some final convincing, Crawford committed to taking over control of the team. Benjamin was overjoyed to keep the team in the family and knew he could trust his nephew. The two would come to an agreement where Crawford would get a significant discount on the official sale of the team. 

Harris’ statement began with a thank you to Commissioner Ryan Jameson and the rest of the representatives attending the meeting for everything that they did together. He officially introduced his nephew as the new owner of the Boston Independents. Gordon Crawford now stepped forward and delivered his own statement about being welcomed into the position and being ready to get started. 

Edmonton Rangers
Norman McKenzie stepped forward and noted that his team would be acknowledging the 50-year anniversary of the formation of the Western Football Union. The team’s former league was founded in 1924 in large part due to his father, Greg McKenzie. The league competed for nearly 50 years before officially being merged into the NAAF in 1971. The team is likely to add a patch to the uniform for the 1974 season. McKenzie also encouraged the other 4 former WFU teams to join him in the celebration.

Montreal Rouge
Rouge owner, Alvon Martineau, stepped up and congratulated his own team on their first title in 20 years. After that, he noted that earlier this year, the City of Montreal had begun construction on their new Olympic Stadium ahead of the 1976 Summer Games. Mount Royal Stadium will be a part of the event, hosting Football (Soccer) matches and potentially other events. Down the road, the new Olympic Stadium could potentially be a future home of the Rouge; however, the plan is to remain at Mount Royal for the foreseeable future. 

Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
Owner William Braddock updated the league with the progress on the Blacksmiths’ new stadium. The building broke ground in the spring of 1973 after being officially announced last year. Thus far, the project has had no issues and should be ready to go ahead of the 1975 season as originally planned.

Regina Wheat Kings
Owner Bill Kingsley did show up to start the league meetings, but it was the President of Football Operations, Scott Hoffman, who took the lead as the team’s representative. Hoffman noted first that Regina managed to make a slim profit this season for the first time since joining the NAAF, showing progress with the team. Attendance was slightly up, and other promotions added revenues elsewhere. However, there are growing concerns about the team’s stadium. Broad Street Stadium is a very small and patchwork stadium. There have been growing safety concerns as well as complaints from visiting teams about the small locker rooms. The raised concerns are pushing the Wheat Kings to either get a new stadium or provide proper renovations and safety fixes to the current stadium. A new stadium seems far-fetched at this point since the team has struggled to sell out the 19,000-seat stadium, mostly due to fan apathy towards ownership. However, with Hoffman in charge, it has started to turn for the better. The most likely resolution is going to be a renovation, which likely would see the stadium expand a bit as well to get up to 25,000 seats or more. Potential hiccups in the plan is the cost as well as the Wheat Kings probably needing a temporary home for the season in which the renovations would be occurring. They could potentially play games at a smaller field at Royal Regina University or even Saskatchewan Provincial University in Saskatoon. The plan is currently in development as Hoffman stated his dedication to keep football in the prairie province.

Vancouver Wolves
Mark Livingston brought some exciting news from Vancouver. The team was working with the city to begin the process on a new Stadium for the Wolves. There are several sites that the team is looking at for the new building, which will far exceed the 35,200-seat Vancouver Exhibition Stadium. They are talking to the City of Vancouver about two potential spots. One option would keep the building near the current stadium location in Hastings Park. The 2nd, bolder option would move the team to downtown Vancouver along the waterfront. The team is also in discussions with the City of Burnaby, as well, being a potential backup option that would move the team slightly further from downtown Vancouver. The Vancouver city council will discuss the projects in the next month, and the team should have a plan in place to begin the process within the next year. 

Kansas City Expansion Team
Finally, Jacob Cross, the prospective owner for the Kansas City expansion bid, had bad news to deliver. However, he started with some good news that the Stadium did make some progress in the past year with some additional investment, which did include a bit of a rework of the original plan. Cutting some of the cost of making a slightly smaller stadium to start. That being said, the stadium could be ready to go by the 1975 season. As for the bad news, Cross announced that he was going to stop his pursuit of an expansion team, stepping down from the KC bid. Cross announced that the last year was very tough on him, losing his mother and having some personal family issues. He was tired and realized that his family was not worth losing over a football team. He said he hopes the NAAF can find a new man to take the lead, and thanked everyone for their hospitality during his time involved in the league.