Tuesday, 5 May 2020

1953 Meetings and Changes


Calling All Scouts
The NAAF is looking for scouting reports on the latest prospects ready to enter the professional level. The biggest needs this season are
OFF:
1 - Offensive Line
2 - Wide Receiver
3 - Running Back

DEF
1 - Defensive Line
2 - Linebacker
3 - Defensive Back 
Kickers are welcome as well. There is a shortage. 

***SCOUTING REPORT***

Same form as last year and it will also be available in the first post for those to find it easier and I can move forward with the new things over the next couple days. 

1953 League Meetings and Updates 
The league is growing in popularity and it is clear to see in most if not all the NAAF markets and even a couple in between. The mass popularity has granted the league some deals that they have worked out with local stations as well as national. CBC and CBS will both begin hosting games throughout the season. They will be able to broadcast at least one of the four games each week to their respective countries. 

“The deal we have come to with these networks will help to expand the sport outside of the current markets. We want to be able to give those who live a distance away, a chance to enjoy our sport and style of football.” - Ryan Jameson, Commissioner of the NAAF. 

The 1953 season will be a test run for the networks and the sport. If it is successful they will look at expanding coverage in the future. The advantage for the NAAF is they play earlier in the year than most American leagues and will likely be able to attract football hungry fans all over the states. In Canada, there could still be issues with Canadian leagues that play at similar times, but with CBC coverage, it should provide a good audience still.  

In the rougher news, the league touched on its two more troubled franchises.
Toronto Tigers
It was good news for the Tigers who have officially worked out a deal to move into Kitchener-Waterloo City Field full time for the next few years. Owner Garry Duran is very happy with the support in Kitchener and wants to continue to build that with other communities around the smaller town.
 

Hartford Hawks
The Hawks, on the other hand, are in not so good shape. Any sort of deal for a new stadium to replace Arnold H. Bensen Park has not gone well. There is little desire for the city to invest, especially with the poor performance the Hawks have given the last 4 seasons. This has caused immense stress to the team's fairly young owner in Johnathan Sampson. The team has started to lose money and Sampson may be looking to sell the team in the near future unless the Hawks can start to turn things around.  

New Uniform Regulations
The NAAF has already been a league at the forefront of new technology in football. They went to plastic helmets before most other leagues had and other padding throughout. They continue to innovate with their new regulations this season. Helmets will now have the requirement of having facemask bars to help protect player's faces, which they have had multiple injuries over the last couple of years. Uniforms will be changing to a new material that will be lighter for players, especially during the summer months of play. They also will feature shorter sleeves to help with breathability. In terms of design, numbers will be made larger so they are easier to identify on TV. Oscar Patterson’s winged helmet design will be able to remain with the league encouraging teams to add designs to the helmets. With this overall announcement, they also noted most teams will be making adjustments to their uniforms for next season. Several teams that made limited adjustments unveiled their jerseys alongside the league's annual press release. 

Boston Independents
Even just two years after making minor adjustments, Boston adjusted their uniforms once again for the new template. On the home jersey, they removed two stripes from the usual six on each sleeve, matching it up with the Away’s four strip pattern. On the away, the golf never stood out too well and they adjusted to white numbers and changed the stripes from all gold to alternating white-gold. A classic look still with some minor updates. 




Hartford Hawks
The Hawks change nothing to their uniforms and logos. With the team in a rough spot they are not focused on jerseys at the moment and are relatively happy with their current look. 


Worcester Athletics
The Athletics join the Hawks in making zero changes, but considering the team has only played two seasons, it is understandable.  The remaining Clubs have decided to release their uniforms over the coming days as they have made more changes than the three teams here.  



Buffalo Blue Wings Uniform Release
The Champions unveiled their new uniforms next. They did so with the McCallister Cup and their banner in the building. 

"Soar to New Heights, Soar to Victory"

the new motto for the team following their championship win. They will symbolize this with the official winged helmet that will remain a part of the jersey from this point forward. the wing gets a bit of an update and is made a bit larger on the helmet, but follows closely with Patterson's design. The rest of the jerseys have only minor adjustments. The white collar and cuffs are removed from the home and the Road sees white socks instead of the usual blue.


Providence Gold Stars Uniform Update
The Gold Stars announced some minor changes to the overall logo and brand. The main difference is the darker and more saturated shade of blue. They also added strokes to the logo to give a bit more structure.

"A Gold Star Marks our Goal so we Stay Anchored to what we Fight for"

The 3 stars that symbolize the team's three McCallister Cups during the late 30s/early 40s, remain a key feature on the helmet while the shoulder stripe is made more prominent and now covers the collar. The rest remains the same just with the new blue. 



Introducing the Ontario Tigers
The Tigers will make their move to Kitchener-Waterloo this season and to mark that transition they have decided to rename the team the Ontario Tigers. While "Kitchener Tigers" was considered, Owner Garry Duran felt that marketing the team as more than just Kitchener or Toronto would attract more fans from other surrounding cities like Guelph and London. 

"Stronger Together"

The new motto will symbolize the bringing together of the communities in Southern Ontario that have not had many professional level teams in many years. They have updated their logo to just the tiger head. They have replaced the "T" with an "O" on the now secondary logo as well. The great reception of the jerseys when they were updated in 1951, leaves them unchanged heading into 1953.

Montreal Rouge Uniform Update
Montreal has had a classic red look for their entire history, and they don't change much, on the home at least. The Rouge on the road has had this white mess with very little red. They have decided to make a massive change and add a boatload of red to the away jersey. They have rid themselves of the white helmet they wore with the white and silver pants. They have also replaced the silver pants with red pants with white stripes. They have completely changed the striping pattern on the sleeves adding the red by the cuff and the triple stripe further up the arm. 
They also added the red stripe on the silver pants for their home jerseys. The Rouge did not feel like the Rouge on the road (outside of visiting Boston or Worcester), they hope that everyone will now truly know who they are and who beat them. 


Ottawa Royals Uniform Update
The Royals made the final and biggest uniform changes out of the whole league. They changed some of the logos, adding a new alternate crown logo while also adjusting the gold to be more vibrant and saturated. But now come the jerseys. The Royals will become the second team to have a more "out there" design on the helmet, as they add the crown to the front. The design is the same from the crown that is on the logo. Alongside the new crown design, the Royals made several adjustments to their uniform. The home has some minor changes with the stripes on the sleeves becoming bigger, while also changing the numbers from gold to white. On the Road, the Royals will look quite different. They introduce purple pants for the first time with the white jersey, which also has changes with the striping. The middle large stripe will remain gold while the other two will now be purple as they wanted to keep gold on the away jersey and not completely get rid of it. 


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