1951 Offseason

1951 NAAF League & Owner Meetings:

The annual meetings in Ottawa occur just a few weeks after the McCallister Cup and they end with an announcement of changes coming to the league.

Worcester Athletics:
The league officially introduced Athletics owner Richard Paul and the Worcester Athletics as a member club of the NAAF. The Worcester Athletic Club has been around since the late 1800s and has competed in football since the early 1900s. They were a founding member of the NEFC and have been able to win 6 McCallister Cups and were the last team to actually beat Boston in the title game in 1927. The team had spent the past few seasons in a regional amateur league as they never returned to the NEFC after WW2. With this opportunity, Paul wants to bring the team back into professional football. Now the team will play the first season out of the Worcester Athletic Club Grandstands which hosts 20,230 people but has a new stadium under construction closer to downtown. 

Richard Paul was debating rebranding the club (much like the Independents from Boston Football Club), but he decided to keep the Athletics name. They still updated the look of the team. The new logo is an updated crest that they used to wear (Worcester has some soccer like feel). The W.A.C. (Worcester Athletic Club) is on the top of the crest and in the wordmark. W-A is the centerpiece of the brand and has been for a while. The newest part of the logo is the red heart which is a symbol for the city of Worcester. The heart is on the city flag and comes from the nickname ``The Heart of the Commonwealth``. The colours of cream and black are classic colours for the Athletics. They also will be the second team to wear light jerseys at home (Boston being the other). The stripes on the sleeves have changed to be angled now coming to a point on the sides, which is an attempt at a modern look. The team`s crest used to be on the left side of their chest but is now been updated to just the W-A logo. 

League Structure Changes:
With the new team, it's obvious the league will need to adjust the schedule and other implications. As previously announced the league will be split into two divisions: The North Division (Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto) and the New England Division (Boston, Hartford, Providence, and Worcester). The schedule will be expanded to 10 games from 8 games. There will be no bye weeks so the same 10 weeks + 2 playoff weekends will remain the same. Each team will play their division rivals 2 times (2x3=6) plus a single game against each opposite division team (1x4=4) (6+4 = 10 games). Finally, the playoff format will only change with the top two teams from each division making it into the playoffs. The change is so the McCallister Cup will have a New England team versus a non-New England team in the game. 

As for the Athletics roster the league will host a small expansion draft. Each team will be able to protect 22 of 32 players and that will leave the remaining 10 players available. Worcester will be able to grab up to 3 players per team for 21 total players to start with. (rules still may change as I have yet to see how that would work out but I`ll update that if I need to)

EXPANSION DRAFT
The Athletics got the chance to pick 21 players from the 7 other teams. The teams were able to protect 20 of their players leaving around 12 players available. If a player had a contract and was picked they would be on the team, but other players without contracts would still have to negotiate a new contract with the Athletics.

DRAFT
1 - RB Jacque Montier MTL
2 - TE Baudouin Renaud MTL
3 - DL Harvey Franklin OTT
4 - WR Dewey Doyle TOR
5 - DB Ray Dickerson BUF
6 - S Alfred Watts PRO
7 - QB Adrian Little PRO
8 - LB Lewis Whitfield PRO
9 - WR Jean-Yves Vallotton MTL
10 - RB Clayton Owen BOS
11 - OL Kwanzaa Graves BOS
12 - OL Phillip Wells BUF
13 - LB Reginald Rhodes OTT
14 - OL Roger Brewer HAR
15 - WR Jay Baxter HAR
16 - LB Seth Pennington TOR
17 - OL Darryl Garrison TOR
18 - DB Gregory Briggs BOS
19 - LB Glen Cameron BUF
20 - S Lewis Benson OTT
21 - DB Adrian Madison HAR

The most notable of the selections for Worcester was Jean-Yves Vallatton from Montreal, taking what was their top receiver on a team that lacked a pass game. Jacque Montier will also be an interesting player after playing behind Élisée Marchal for the past few years. Montier has some potential as a starter but will be competing with RB Clayton Owen who saw the field a little more with the Independents. Worcester natives were sought after as well with Seth Pennington and Dewey Doyle (who was about to retire but decided to return for one last season with the Athletics).

LEAGUE ANNOUNCEMENT
Starting after the 1951 season the NAAF will be hosting an annual draft. The draft will be four rounds and will be in reverse order of final standings. Each team will be awarded picks for the next three years which are available to be traded to other teams. The implementation is to give a greater number of players an opportunity to be seen by all the teams as well as create greater parody between the 8 teams.  

1951 Schedule:
The Schedule for the 1951 season was released prior to the free agency opening up. The season remains at 10 weeks as mentioned before but every team plays throughout the whole season with no breaks. The biggest issue was Toronto was unable to get a 5th home game in the deal with the Toronto Municipal Stadium and they took the opportunity to schedule a game in Kitchener. The game will be played at the Kitchener-Waterloo City Field which holds 23,945 seats. This could be an opportunity for the Tigers to expand their reach out of Toronto where they are still not as popular as the Lakers. The game will happen in week 7 against Providence.

As for the rest of the schedule, Boston will raise their second NAAF banner at Richardson Stadium against the new look Rouge. Worcester will play their first game at home against Providence the next day. The final two weeks will feature all divisional games to make the hunt for the playoffs more intense. There may also be a tradition beginning with Buffalo and Toronto playing a mid-season home and home (much like Bombers and Riders in the CFL) which may also become a tradition for the rest of the league with other rivals.

OFFSEASON HEADLINES

FRESH COAT OF PAINT IN THE ROUGE OFFENSE
The offseason got off to a rocky start for Montreal. They lost several players to the Athletics draft trying to keep their defense together. The receiving core had lost its best player, they also lost their top TE in Baudouin Renaud, who in turn went to free agency and signed with division rival Ottawa. With everything in turmoil, it looked like Montreal might be a lot further from a McCallister Cup than last year, until they pulled off a blockbuster trade with Hartford acquiring their star WR John Rivera. There were rumblings that Montreal would target a WR from somewhere but Rivera was a bit of a surprise. The Hawks were willing to give up the 30-year old in entering their rebuilding process. Now not only did the Rouge pick up Rivera but they grabbed QB Oliver Callahan and TE Darrell Hubbard. However, there was still a lot going back to Hartford the other way in DB Eugene Christensen and QB Maurice Norris, as well as a 1952 1st Round Draft Pick, a 1953 2nd, and a 1952 4th. The Rouge paid a hefty price but they hope it will pay off in a championship as the team has possibly added an air attack to one of the best run games in the league. 

Montreal Rouge get:
WR John Rivera
QB Oliver Callahan
TE Darrell Hubbard 

Hartford Hawks get:
MTL 1952 1st Round Pick
DB Eugene Christensen
QB Maurice Norris
MTL 1953 2nd Round Pick
MTL 1952 4th Round Pick

BUFFALO STRENGTHENS THEIR O-LINE
The trade that came before the Rivera trade featured the Hawks and the Blue Wings. Buffalo had two young safeties in Marvin Tillman and Carl Dawson. Tillman had started all of last season and the Blue Wings liked his game so they decided that Carl Dawson could be sent elsewhere. The Hawks have a need for a young safety so they targeted Dawson. The discussion took some time but the Blue Wings would send Dawson to Hartford for 1949 All-Star OL Melvin Marshall. Marshall gives Buffalo help immediately while Dawson will provide a future strength for the Hawks in their rebuild. The Blue Wings also took back former Hawks' starting safety Vince Baker to have behind Tillman. 

Hartford Hawks get:
S Carl Dawson 

Buffalo Blue Wings get:
OL Melvin Marshall
S Vince Baker 

OFFSEASON RECAP/SEASON PREVIEW - POWER RANKINGS:

#1 - Boston Independents
The reigning champions kept things pretty safe in the offseason. They overall kept a similar crowd, however, they did lose a top OL in Malachi Knowles who went home to Worcester. They also lost TE Willard Morrison to retirement pushing back up Martin Newman into the starting role. Besides the losses the Independents were able to add some youth to the team with RB Rahil Boone who has the potential of being an elite back in the future, and DL Prevan Greer who should be a solid depth piece. With the weak depth at the WR position, Boston would go out and get Tigers WR Clifford Chapman who has been a top target for Toronto. 

Top Additions:
RB Rahil Boone (Boston, MA)
WR Clifford Chapman (TOR)
OL Andrew Bates (PRO) 

#2 - Montreal Rouge
Montreal made the biggest splash of the offseason with the John Rivera trade. It makes up a lot for the losses of WR Jean-Yves Vallatton and TE Baudouin Renaud. The trade is still a risk for the future in the draft picks they gave up but overall they keep most of the roster intact through it. QB Oliver Callahan will be starting a new chapter with the Rouge after an abysmal season with the Hawks in 1950. With Marchal and Rivera on the offense with a strong O-line, it will hopefully allow for Callahan to thrive. They also added a young Halifax native WR Ray Lopez who has the potential to be an elite pass-catcher for the Rouge. The Defense also doesn’t lose any major pieces which automatically throw Montreal into the favourites pool for the McCallister Cup. 

Top Additions:
WR John Rivera (HAR)
TE Darrell Hubbard (HAR)
WR Ray Lopez (Halifax, NS)
QB Oliver Callahan (HAR)

#3 - Buffalo Blue Wings
The Blue Wings showed lots of improvement in the second half of last season with a 4-1 record over the final five games, dropping them just short of the playoffs. They only get better with this season. The big addition being OL Melvin Marshall who will help give RB Arthur Conner room as well as protect QB Angelo Medina. They added a young WR in Clifford Church to a receiving core that is quickly becoming one of the most lethal in the league, maybe outside of Ottawa. They also get better on defense with the young players improving from last year. The biggest question will be at Kicker with a rookie in Donald Brewer, but he has the potential to be one of the best kickers the league has seen so the Blue Wings will hope for that.  

Top Additions:
OL Melvin Marshall (HAR)
WR Clifford Church (Buffalo, NY)
K Donald Brewer (Warwick, RI) 

#4 - Ottawa Royals
The Royals didn’t shake the world but were able to keep their defense growing which is finally catching up to their offense. Their young secondary helps with that, adding a rookie in S Lester Greer, as well as the reacquisition of LB Reginald Rhodes who didn’t sign in Worcester after the draft. The Royals also capitalized on the release of TE Baudouin Renaud from the Worcester draft class as well and gave them a piece they have been missing in that position. They also added Aaron Spears, an OL from the Toronto Lakers of the OFU who will be a big piece for the Royals future. The biggest story out of Ottawa this season will be at the QB position as they have of course Duane Logan, but a young star in Jean Matieau, who has shown flashes of skill greater than Logan’s. Matieau is in the final year of his contract while Logan has another year yet. The Royals might give both QB’s a shot this season, and one will likely be in another jersey next season.

Top Additions:
TE Baudouin Renaud (MTL (WOR))
OL Aaron Spears (Toronto Lakers OFU)
S Lester Greer (Markham, ON) 

#5 - Providence Gold Stars
The Gold Stars 1950 season came to a disappointing end with a couple of rough losses. Going into the offseason, they weren’t looking to change much, and they didn’t. Besides some depth pieces like backup QB Adrian Little going to Worcester and OL Andrew Bates moving down the road to Boston they didn’t lose a whole lot. They have a solid foundation right now where they have balance in most positions. This allows them to fly under the radar. However, considering the inconsistency at times there are some questions that maybe the Gold Stars should make more drastic moves. In terms of the additions, they have a solid QB prospect in Brian Meadows who will get to learn under Bruce Woodard, as well as Shovon Coleman on the OL that should be a solid starter in a year or two. The big-name was LB Leo Davenport who will fit in well beside LBs Samuel Grimes and Roger Morrow on the defense. 

Top Additions:
QB Brian Meadows (Manchester, NH)
OL Shovon Coleman (Syracuse, NY)
LB Leo Davenport (Rochester, NY)

#6 - Toronto Tigers
The Tigers are not projected to make the playoffs considering the very tough North division they are in, but the team will be interesting seeing the improvement after a much better 1950 season. They lost a lot in the pass game, losing Dewey Doyle and Clifford Chapman, but Wilbert Benjamin enters his second year as the top guy and has lots of potential. The other WRs are also young and could create a strong Tigers core for the future. They had major improvements on defense with the secondary growing and getting better. They did lose their top star in DB Clifford Jacobson who retired after 5 years with the Tigers. He has played for the Lakers for most of his career and will go down as one of the best DB’s to ever play the game. In terms of bringing in new players, the Tigers struggled to compete with the rest for landing players, but found success in grabbing young prospects with DB Marshall Allen, WR Marqués Gardner, and LB Benjamin Pittman.

Top Additions:
DB Marshall Allen (Detroit, MI)
WR Marqués Gardner (Buffalo, NY)
LB Benjamin Pittman (Kingston, ON) 

#7 - Hartford Hawks
The Hawks offseason started with the firing of head coach Jerry Moore. Moore’s termination was a last-ditch effort for GM Allen Grey to hold on to his spot, but just a month later he was let go as well causing Hartford to completely change all personnel. New GM Michael Stein started his tenure hiring Willie McLean as head coach. The two worked together to figure out the game plan for the team moving forward. Stein had a slightly more aggressive approach to managing and wanted to shift the Hawks into a complete overhaul. They started with a couple of young OL in Lewis David and Herold Paul and followed that up with grabbing possibly their future franchise QB in Scranton native Andrew Sexton. They kept up looking around and grabbed up several other top tier prospects in WR Robert Lang and LB Sharquay Bradford. Then it was about clearing out some of the value with the two trades. Getting rid of Rivera was a big risk for Stein but he believes the future will be brighter with the return they get. QB Maurice Norris will have a different challenge in Hartford having less stability and no MVP RB to bail him out.  

Top Additions:
QB Andrew Sexton (Scranton, PA)
WR Robert Lang (New Haven, CT)
LB Sharquay Bradford (Hartford, CT)

#8 - Worcester Athletics
The Athletics, unfortunately, start the year at the bottom of the power rankings, but since they haven’t played a game in the NAAF yet, we have no idea what to expect. They will have QB Adrian Little as their starter day one, who has backed up Bruce Woodard in Providence over the last 2 seasons. He has little experience so a complete wildcard. RB Jacque Montier will be given the biggest chance out of the backfield. Spending time with Élisée Marchal, he may have picked up some tricks from the back-to-back MVP winner. Their top prospect is WR Clyde McIntosh, who spent time with the Athletics in the amateur league the previous season. He has the potential to be the team’s top passing option. On defense, they also have DB Clifton Powers and DL Bayden Mills who will be good foundational pieces but are far from being difference makers at this point. The rest of the Athletics is made up of depth players from the rest of the league and will not likely be an immediate success. 

Top Additions:
RB Jacque Montier (MTL)
DL Bayden Mills (Worcester, MA)
DB Clifton Powers (Allentown, PA)