1960 Season Preview

1960 Season Preview 

1960 Schedule

This season will kick off with the Ottawa Royals taking on the Boston Independents. It will be the second time the two teams will face off to start the season with the last being back in the league’s first season. Ottawa will also host Canada Day against the London Tigers, while Boston will host the Athletics for the 4th of July. The rest of the primetime/special games will be listed below, most teams have 4 primetime games, Long Island has the most with 6, and Louisville the least with 3 (they do have the later of the Labour Day games which could be considered primetime. 

Thursday Night Football:
W4 - BUF VS WOR
W8 - WOR VS IND 

Friday Night Football:
W1 - LOU VS LDN
W3 - IND VS MTL
W4 - PRO VS LI
W6 - IND VS LI
W7 - BOS VS LI
W8 - BUF VS LOU
W9 - WOR VS MTL
W10 - LDN VS IND 

Saturday Night Football:
W1 - MTL VS BUF
W2 - LI VS LOU
W3 - PRO VS BOS
W4 - LI VS LDN
W5 - BOS VS MTL
W7 - PRO VS OTT
W8 - LDN VS BOS
W9 - BUF VS PRO
W10 - LI VS OTT
W11 - OTT VS MTL
W12 - OTT VS WOR 

Special Games
W1 - Kickoff - OTT VS BOS
W2 - Canada Day - OTT VS LDN
W2 - 4th of July - BOS VS WOR
W11 - Labour Day - WOR VS BOS
W11 - Labour Day - IND VS LOU
W12 - Season Finale - LDN VS LI 

1960 Preseason Power Rankings 

1 - London Tigers
1959 Record: 10-2 (2nd West)
1959 Result: Lost McCallister Cup
The Tigers had their true breakout season in 1959 going from a team that could barely get above .500 to a McCallister Cup contender. Coming into the 1960 season there are high expectations for the team, but they are likely to meet them with the team that they have headed into the season. QB Riley Kiernan is coming off of an MVP season and will have his star weapons in RB Clifford Russell, WR Max Sutton, and WR Wilbert Benjamin to light up the field with. They also will have Dewey Doyle stepping into the Offensive Coordinator role who worked with Kiernan in Worcester. The defence was not as dominant last season, but with some of the younger players finding their feet, it could be a tougher team to score on this season. Expect the Tigers to be a front runner for the West Division and the McCallister Cup.  

Captains
C - LB Aengus Lynch
A - WR Wilbert Benjamin
A - QB Riley Kiernan 

2 - Long Island Raiders
1959 Record: 10-2 (1st West)
1959 Result: Lost West Division Final
The Raiders remain one of the top contenders for another championship. The defence remains their primary identity with the usual suspects like DL Vernon Spears, DB Slay Mitchell, LB Rusty McVee, and LB Elijah Goldwater. Even some of their younger players are catching up and will be key pieces this season. They also added DB Victor Bean from the Gold Stars to shore up the secondary for this season. The offence should still be strong behind the only improving RB Dareion Fields, but once again, if Long Island wants to get back to the top they will need to see a little more production out of their franchise QB, Lyle Painter. With the strong defence and run-game it is going to be tough to play the Raiders, and expect them to be neck-and-neck with the Tigers at the top.  

Captains
C - DL Vernon Spears
A - LB Elijah Goldwater
A - WR Robert Lang 

3 - Ottawa Royals
1959 Record: 10-2 (1st East)
1959 Result: Won McCallister Cup
While it would be natural to put the Royals squad that has won 4 of the last 6 McCallister Cups at the top of the power rankings, there is certainly some ageing that is taking place in the Royals lineup. The O-line is likely going to see a bit of a decline with the veterans getting older and some younger players stepping into the lineup for the first time like OL Jack Workman. QB Jean Matieau should still be able to lead the offence to loads of success, but it might come to an up and coming defence to carry a little more weight this season. The LB core led by LB Douglas MacDougall and LB Killian Reed could make some noise this season as the two begin to step into their prime. The secondary remains tough with DB Mingan Oliver and the younger S Randall Green. The Royals could have a very different feel this season, but they still remain a contender as long as HC Joseph Curry and QB Jean Matieau are in town. 

Captains
C - QB Jean Matieau
A - DL Olaf Viktorsson
A - DB Uzzia Hayes 

4 - Boston Independents
1959 Record: 8-4 (2nd East)
1959 Result: Lost East Division Final
Boston has had some strong seasons in the last few years, but for some reason, there is a feeling that they have not reached their full potential. They are hoping to change that this season with new Head Coach Ben McMillian. McMillian should provide Boston with a bit of a refreshed identity. They have relied a lot on defence in the last few years with Dean Reed in charge, but with the decline in some positions, it may be time for the team to put more reliance on QB Nathaniel Braddock and the offence. With a young RB in Kendall Morgan and a WR core with Ellis Lindholm and Clyde McIntosh, the Independents have the makings to be a great offence. McMillian will likely look to tap into the offensive potential alongside OC Malachi Knowles to get Boston to take the next step forward. 

Captains
C - LB Brent Harper
A - OL Andrew Furrson
A - WR Ellis Lindholm 

5 - Montreal Rouge
1959 Record: 4-8 (4th East)
1959 Result: Missed Playoffs
The Rouge were easily one of the biggest letdowns last season as they were expected to finally break through and get back to the playoffs. However, they fell apart and could not figure things out and ended their season worse off than 1958. The result was a wholesale change in the front office that brought on GM Virgil Gross and HC Dean Reed. In the end, GM Virgil Gross went all out and made many changes to Rouge team. He brought back DL Zakary Turbide and added DB Clayton Malone to help continue to improve the defence with the other young pieces. He also brought in RB Pierre LeStrange to give a bit more backup for RB Scott Mallard-White. Overall, the big question will be under center. QB Stanislav Ovechkin is likely to be the starter on day 1 even after the new staff decided to change up the captains of the team. His leash will not be very long with QB Lee Rogers returning to the NAAF and sitting in the backup spot. If the Rouge can figure out the QB spot, then they should have a good shot at being really competitive this season, but if not there could be more issues ahead.  

Captains
C - OL Eugésippe Chalifoux*
A - DB Quentin Xavier
A - LB Sam Fitzroy*

6 - Louisville Thunder
1959 Record: 4-8 (3rd West)
1959 Result: Lost West Division Semi-Final
The lethal secondary will remain the key to Louisville’s success this season. DB Alexander Bradley leads the way with the 3 youngsters in S Johnny Berger, DB Oliver Langstrom, and DB Jayden Mills. They will easily be the toughest team to throw the ball against, but their front 7 still has a few holes which might end up leading to running teams getting the best of them. Their offence will need to make up for some of that this season. QB Leonidas Dumont has shown his abilities, but he is going to have to continue to push himself to get to the next level. The younger talent on the offence is starting to take shape which is good news and hopefully, that will mean the Thunder can take another step forward and return to the playoffs this season.  

Captains
C - QB Leonidas Dumont
A - LB Silas O’Brien
A - DB Alexander Bradley 

7 - Providence Gold Stars
1959 Record: 5-7 (3rd East)
1959 Result: Lost East Division Semi-Final
Providence remains in a very interesting spot with an odd mix of vets, players in their prime, and developing prospects that puts them in a position of being competitive in the playoff race, but not good enough to get to the title. Their offence is strong and one of the better ones in the league especially after bringing in RB Marcus Devonshire to help out new team captain QB Connor O’Rourke. However, the defence is a complete question mark with a lot of new and young players taking over most of the starting roles, especially in the secondary with DB Denis Kirchner and DB Cameron Taylor. S Jumon Cobb, LB Daevion Shelton, and DL Calias McDonough do provide some leadership, but it could be a rough year for the defence in Providence. The Gold Stars can still be in the fight for the playoffs this season, but they will have to rely heavily on their offence to get them there.  

Captains
C - QB Connor O’Rourke*
A - DL Calias McDonough
A - LB Daevion Shelton* 

8 - Buffalo Blue Wings
1959 Record: 3-8-1 (4th West)
1959 Result: Missed Playoffs
The Blue Wings are not expected to have a great season in the West Division, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be an interesting team to pay attention to. QB Angelo Medina will likely start the season for the last time with the Blue Wings youthful QB pool looking ready to show the Blue Wings what they got. It is very likely the team sees both QB Randy Sellers and rookie QB Charles Lemieux get some action this season. The same will go for rookie RB Jimmy Golden and RB Cody Barnes behind RB Johnnie Stafford. Buffalo could be a bit of a dark horse even with some of the greater opportunities for the young players and could always still make the playoffs, but that certainly isn’t the first goal in mind this season with the Raiders and Tigers being great at the top of their division. It is likely a true rebuild season for the Blue Wings, but they may steal some interesting games this year.  

Captains
C - DL Sean Bowen
A - S Frazier Brooks
A - OL Jean Mathieu-Baptiste* 

9 - Indiana Victors
1959 Record: 2-10 (5th West)
1959 Result: Missed Playoffs
Indiana, on paper, still looks like the weakest team in the league, but the improvements that were made this offseason certainly has created some buzz around this younger team. The addition of WR Angus Stevenson, WR Alexei Dubois, and WR Ed Edwards will certainly give the Victors a more exciting offence. The one issue though could be the uncertainty at QB. It is likely QB Stanley Troyer is the starter out of the gate but both QB Caldwell Higgins III and QB Andrew Sexton might make a case for themselves to start at some point if the Victors struggle out of the gate. In the end, this team feels a little like the Thunder of a couple of years ago that just started to make moves in the right direction and could find themselves in a competitive spot in a year or two.  

Captains
C - DL Williams Sanderson
A - DB Kelly Kirkland
A - RB Rodney Clark 

10 - Worcester Athletics
1959 Record: 3-8-1 (5th East)
1959 Result: Missed Playoffs
With another key piece walking out the door in RB Marcus Devonshire, the Athletics continue to slip to one of the worst teams in the league. It is honestly shocking that the team has not fired GM Jack McKinnon at this point. Either way, the team’s success will hinder a lot on the development of QB Gene Bishop and the young WR core. WR Zachariah Pembroke will be the lead receiver this season in only his second year, which is a great opportunity but could be tough for the youngster to have that pressure. The defence was still able to keep LB Scotty Williams, but the rest of the defence remains a big question. Rookie DB Joe Robinson is likely the best they got in the secondary, the hope will be for him to show his skill, but it could be tough in a weak defence. Worcester just looks like a mess that can’t figure out their identity and are likely to be near the bottom of the league unless Bishop shows his potential. 

Captains
C - LB Scotty Williams
A - QB Gene Bishop
A - Cliff Strautzenberger* 

Wally Flowers' Season Predictions
WEST
LDN 10-2 -y
LI 8-4 -x
LOU 6-6 -x
BUF 4-8
IND 2-10

EAST
BOS 9-3 -y
OTT 7-5 -x
MTL 7-5 -x
PRO 5-7 
WOR 2-10

Playoffs
DSF
LI over LOU
MTL over OTT

DF
LDN over LI
BOS over MTL

42nd McCallister Cup - London
LDN over BOS

Would love to hear some predictions if others have some, otherwise, get ready for the 1960 season to kick off.