1961 Week 1
1st Q
7-0 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
7-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
2nd Q
7-6 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
10-6 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
3rd Q
17-6 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
4th Q
17-12 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
20-12 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
A close and defensive game between the Tigers and Raiders kicked off the season.
The Tigers' offence was strong as a whole finding the endzone twice, while the Raiders struggled to get the ball moving.
RB Dareion Fields was getting back into action and new OC Levi Bray was still working on some of his strategies so it seems understandable that the team would not come out with an explosion of offence.
Ottawa Royals - 10, Boston Independents - 23 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - June 23, 1961 - FNF - 7 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
7-3 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> TE Jervonte Howell
2nd Q
7-10 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
3rd Q
10-10 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
10-13 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
4th Q
10-20 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Paul Franklin
10-23 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
The Independents came out to a strong start to their season with a huge win over the Royals.
The Boston defence came up with a big second half shutting down the Royals offence and coming up with a pair of turnovers.
LB Brent Harper had a forced fumble and then DB Lawrence Ralph had his first career pick.
The Royals looked a bit flat and will need to work on some things ahead of their week 2 match against the Rouge
Louisville Thunder - 35, Buffalo Blue Wings - 22 - Thunder Stadium - June 24, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
7-7 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
7-10 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
14-10 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
14-13 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
21-13 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
3rd Q
21-19 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
28-19 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
4th Q
28-22 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
35-22 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
The Thunder came out with a hot start led by both QB Leonidas Dumont and WR Piers Key who combined for 3 touchdowns.
Both Stavros Black and Rodney Clark made an impact as well, each rushing for a touchdown in the game.
RB Jimmy Golden had a strong start with a pair of touchdowns in the loss.
DB Alexander Bradley did have a pick along with DB Jayden Mills, while Buffalo was not able to get anything on defence.
Worcester Athletics - 24, Montreal Rouge - 30 - Worcester Stadium - June 24, 1961 - SNF - 7 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
2nd Q
3-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
10-3 WOR - DTD INT DB Joe Robinson
10-6 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
3rd Q
10-13 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
10-16 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
17-16 WOR - PTD QB Terry Bourbon -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
4th Q
17-23 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Robert Lang
24-23 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
24-30 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
It was a scary game in Worcester for the Rouge who would not be able to stay ahead of the Athletics squad.
QB Gene Bishop struggled in the first half, but he was able to get going and toss a pair of touchdowns to give Montreal the win.
DB Joe Robinson helped the Athletics a lot with the win, picking up an interception and taking it back to the house.
QB Terry Bourbon was alright in his first start with the Athletics throwing a touchdown, but he made his own mistakes throwing a pair of interceptions to DB Quentin Xavier and S Garet deVale.
Indiana Victors - 15, Providence Gold Stars - 28 - Victory Stadium - June 25, 1961 - 2 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-7 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> TE Michael Bowman III
1-7 IND - Single K Ross Poindexter
4-7 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
2nd Q
4-14 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
11-14 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
3rd Q
12-14 IND - Single Ross Poindexter
12-21 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
4th Q
15-21 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
15-28 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Christian Venegas
The Gold Stars opened up by matching their win total from last season with a win over the Victors on the road.QB Connor O’Rourke had a strong performance with 3 touchdown passes and 275 Passing Yards.
RB Johnnie Stafford was able to do something for the Victors' offence scoring a touchdown.
DB Neville Falkner did make an impact with his first career pickoff of QB Stanley Troyer, and DL Calias McDonough grabbed a forced fumble as well.
Injury Report
DL Fred Webster IND - Day-to-Day
DL Tyrone Affalo LOU - 4 Weeks
TE Oliver Chandler WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
Louisville 1-0
London 1-0
Long Island 0-1
Buffalo 0-1
Indiana 0-1
EAST
Boston 1-0
Providence 1-0
Montreal 1-0
Worcester 0-1
Ottawa 0-1
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Boston -
3 - Louisville +1
4 - Montreal -1
5 - Providence -
6 - Ottawa -
7 - Long Island -
8 - Buffalo -
9 - Worcester +1
10 - Indiana -1
Week 2 Games
LOU (1-0) @ LI (0-1) - JUN 30 - Friday Night Football - 7 PM ET
MTL (1-0) @ OTT (0-1) - JUL 1 - Canada Day - 5 PM ET
LDN (1-0) @ IND (0-1) - JUL 2 - 1 PM ET
WOR (0-1) @ PRO (1-0) - JUL 2 - 4 PM ET
BUF (0-1) @ BOS (1-0) - JUL 4 - 4th of July - 5 PM ET
1961 Week 2
Long Island Raiders - 10, Louisville Thunder - 21 - Long Island Stadium - June 31, 1961 - FNF - 7 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3-7 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
2nd Q
3-14 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
3rd Q
10-14 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
10-21 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
4th Q
The Thunder came through with their second win of the season with Dumont throwing another two touchdowns in the win.
Long Island still struggled on offence outside of a Dareion Fields touchdown, with QB Lyle Painter throwing a pick to S Johnny Berger.
The Thunder defence played really well and pretty much shut down all offensive attacks from the Raiders.
The Raiders' defence was able to help a bit with DL Vernon Spears getting a forced fumble.
Ottawa Royals - 13, Montreal Rouge - 17 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - July 1, 1961 - Canada Day - 5 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
3-7 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
3rd Q
10-7 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
10-14 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Ray Lopez
4th Q
13-14 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
13-17 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
A shockingly defensive game between the Royals and the Rouge ended with the Rouge narrowly escaping with a win.
QB Gene Bishop has been struggling in his new system, so the ball was in the hands of Scott Mallard-White for the most part, which did work in the end.
S Garet deVale had a big day for the Rouge bringing in a pick along with 5 tackles.
Ottawa has lacked their offensive might in the first couple of games and seems to be struggling to get going in this season; the loss marks their first 0-2 start since the 1949 season.
*Also that 0-2 start was at the hands of the Independents and the Rouge with both games also in Ottawa*
Indiana Victors - 23, London Tigers - 29 - Victory Stadium - July 2, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
3-7 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
2nd Q
3-10 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
10-10 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
10-11 LDN - Single K Nimrod Handsworth
3rd Q
16-11 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Alexei Dubois
16-17 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
16-19 LDN - 2PT RB Clifford Russell
4th Q
23-19 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Silas Peyton
23-26 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
23-29 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The Indiana Victors gave the Tigers a run for their money with a strong 2-touchdown performance from QB Stanley Troyer.
QB Riley Kiernan would match Troyer’s performance with 2-touchdowns himself.
As for defence, London had a pick from DB Jackson Miles and a forced fumble from LB Aengus Lynch, and the Victors would have help from DB Kelly Kirkland and DL William Sanderson.
Kirkland’s interception would help lead to WR Silas Peyton’s touchdown which shows the defence getting a bit of a rhythm.
Providence Gold Stars - 44, Worcester Athletics - 13 - New Providence Stadium - July 2, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
14-0 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Sammy Moss
2nd Q
14-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin21-3 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
3rd Q
21-6 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
28-6 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
34-6 PRO - DTD INT DB Neville Falkner
4th Q
37-6 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
37-13 WOR - PTD QB Terry Bourbon -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
44-13 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Cedric Peterson
The Gold Stars had a tough pill to swallow early in the second quarter with QB Connor O’Rourke getting knocked out of the game, however, the rest of the team was able to step up and help crush the Athletics 44-13.
DB Neville Falkner came through with his first career pick-6 which pretty much ended any ounce of hope the Athletics had.
St-Hilaire was solid in replacing O’Rourke, throwing a touchdown last in the game, and only having one interception to DB Joe Robinson.
LB Rusty McVee and DL Craig White also came up with forced fumbles as well.
Boston Independents - 25, Buffalo Blue Wings - 20 - Richardson Stadium - July 4, 1961 - 4th of July - 5 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
7-3 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
7-10 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR LeRoy Krueger
8-10 BOS - Single K Johnnie Berg
8-17 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
3rd Q
11-17 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
11-20 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
18-20 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
4th Q
25-20 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
The Blue Wings put up a strong fight against the Independents to close out week 2 of the NAAF season.
Ovechkin was able to get to the endzone through the air this week finding WR LeRoy Krueger.
Boston struggled a bit against the Blue Wings, but after falling behind 11-20, Braddock would lead the team back on top for a win.
S Frazier Brooks would have a pick for the Blue Wings while DB Carson Scott and LB Konrad Aust would get turnovers as well for the Independents.
Injury Report
OL Pete Brackenridge BOS - 4 Weeks
OL Sal Valcano BOS - 3 Weeks
DL Vic Harper BOS - Day-to-Day
OL Sun Guanyu BUF - Day-to-Day
DL Richard Blunt LDN - Day-to-Day
DB Herb Covington LI - 1 Week
LB Silas O’Brien LOU - Day-to-Day
QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 5 Weeks
TE Oliver Chandler WOR - 5 Weeks
LB Harrison Bennett WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
OFF: RB Marcus Devonshire PRO - 3 Rushing Touchdowns, 126 Rushing Yards
DEF: S Garet deVale MTL - 1 Interception, 5 Tackles, 3 Plays Defended
Standings
WEST
Louisville 2-0
London 2-0
Buffalo 0-2
Long Island 0-2
Indiana 0-2
EAST
Providence 2-0
Boston 2-0
Montreal 2-0
Ottawa 0-2
Worcester 0-2
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Boston -
3 - Louisville -
4 - Providence +1
5 - Montreal -1
6 - Buffalo +2
7 - Ottawa -1
8 - Long Island -1
9 - Indiana +1
10 - Worcester -1
Week 3 Games
PRO (2-0) @ MTL (2-0) - JUL 7 - Friday Night Football - 7 PM ET
IND (0-2) @ LI (2-0) - JUL 8 - 3 PM ET
WOR (0-2) @ LDN (2-0) - JUL 8 - Saturday Night Football - 7 PM ET
OTT (0-2) @ BUF (0-2) - JUL 9 - 1 PM ET
BOS (2-0) @ LOU (2-0) - JUL 9 - 4 PM ET
1st Q
3-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3-7 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
2nd Q
3-14 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
3rd Q
10-14 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
10-21 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
4th Q
The Thunder came through with their second win of the season with Dumont throwing another two touchdowns in the win.
Long Island still struggled on offence outside of a Dareion Fields touchdown, with QB Lyle Painter throwing a pick to S Johnny Berger.
The Thunder defence played really well and pretty much shut down all offensive attacks from the Raiders.
The Raiders' defence was able to help a bit with DL Vernon Spears getting a forced fumble.
Ottawa Royals - 13, Montreal Rouge - 17 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - July 1, 1961 - Canada Day - 5 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
3-7 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
3rd Q
10-7 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
10-14 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Ray Lopez
4th Q
13-14 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
13-17 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
A shockingly defensive game between the Royals and the Rouge ended with the Rouge narrowly escaping with a win.
QB Gene Bishop has been struggling in his new system, so the ball was in the hands of Scott Mallard-White for the most part, which did work in the end.
S Garet deVale had a big day for the Rouge bringing in a pick along with 5 tackles.
Ottawa has lacked their offensive might in the first couple of games and seems to be struggling to get going in this season; the loss marks their first 0-2 start since the 1949 season.
*Also that 0-2 start was at the hands of the Independents and the Rouge with both games also in Ottawa*
Indiana Victors - 23, London Tigers - 29 - Victory Stadium - July 2, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
3-7 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
2nd Q
3-10 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
10-10 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
10-11 LDN - Single K Nimrod Handsworth
3rd Q
16-11 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Alexei Dubois
16-17 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
16-19 LDN - 2PT RB Clifford Russell
4th Q
23-19 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Silas Peyton
23-26 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
23-29 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The Indiana Victors gave the Tigers a run for their money with a strong 2-touchdown performance from QB Stanley Troyer.
QB Riley Kiernan would match Troyer’s performance with 2-touchdowns himself.
As for defence, London had a pick from DB Jackson Miles and a forced fumble from LB Aengus Lynch, and the Victors would have help from DB Kelly Kirkland and DL William Sanderson.
Kirkland’s interception would help lead to WR Silas Peyton’s touchdown which shows the defence getting a bit of a rhythm.
Providence Gold Stars - 44, Worcester Athletics - 13 - New Providence Stadium - July 2, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
14-0 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Sammy Moss
2nd Q
14-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin21-3 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
3rd Q
21-6 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
28-6 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
34-6 PRO - DTD INT DB Neville Falkner
4th Q
37-6 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
37-13 WOR - PTD QB Terry Bourbon -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
44-13 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Cedric Peterson
The Gold Stars had a tough pill to swallow early in the second quarter with QB Connor O’Rourke getting knocked out of the game, however, the rest of the team was able to step up and help crush the Athletics 44-13.
DB Neville Falkner came through with his first career pick-6 which pretty much ended any ounce of hope the Athletics had.
St-Hilaire was solid in replacing O’Rourke, throwing a touchdown last in the game, and only having one interception to DB Joe Robinson.
LB Rusty McVee and DL Craig White also came up with forced fumbles as well.
Boston Independents - 25, Buffalo Blue Wings - 20 - Richardson Stadium - July 4, 1961 - 4th of July - 5 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
7-3 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
7-10 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR LeRoy Krueger
8-10 BOS - Single K Johnnie Berg
8-17 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
3rd Q
11-17 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
11-20 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
18-20 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
4th Q
25-20 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
The Blue Wings put up a strong fight against the Independents to close out week 2 of the NAAF season.
Ovechkin was able to get to the endzone through the air this week finding WR LeRoy Krueger.
Boston struggled a bit against the Blue Wings, but after falling behind 11-20, Braddock would lead the team back on top for a win.
S Frazier Brooks would have a pick for the Blue Wings while DB Carson Scott and LB Konrad Aust would get turnovers as well for the Independents.
Injury Report
OL Pete Brackenridge BOS - 4 Weeks
OL Sal Valcano BOS - 3 Weeks
DL Vic Harper BOS - Day-to-Day
OL Sun Guanyu BUF - Day-to-Day
DL Richard Blunt LDN - Day-to-Day
DB Herb Covington LI - 1 Week
LB Silas O’Brien LOU - Day-to-Day
QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 5 Weeks
TE Oliver Chandler WOR - 5 Weeks
LB Harrison Bennett WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
Louisville 2-0
London 2-0
Buffalo 0-2
Long Island 0-2
Indiana 0-2
EAST
Providence 2-0
Boston 2-0
Montreal 2-0
Ottawa 0-2
Worcester 0-2
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Boston -
3 - Louisville -
4 - Providence +1
5 - Montreal -1
6 - Buffalo +2
7 - Ottawa -1
8 - Long Island -1
9 - Indiana +1
10 - Worcester -1
Week 3 Games
PRO (2-0) @ MTL (2-0) - JUL 7 - Friday Night Football - 7 PM ET
IND (0-2) @ LI (2-0) - JUL 8 - 3 PM ET
WOR (0-2) @ LDN (2-0) - JUL 8 - Saturday Night Football - 7 PM ET
OTT (0-2) @ BUF (0-2) - JUL 9 - 1 PM ET
BOS (2-0) @ LOU (2-0) - JUL 9 - 4 PM ET
1961 Week 3
Montreal Rouge - 27, Providence Gold Stars - 17 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 7, 1961 - FNF - 7 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
2nd Q
10-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
10-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
17-3 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Robert Lang
3rd Q
17-10 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
24-10 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
4th Q
27-10 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
27-17 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Sammy Moss
QB Gene Bishop was able to get comfortable in the Montreal offence for their home opener against the Gold Stars, throwing 2 touchdowns in the win.
QB Rigobert St-Hilaire did okay in the starting role for the Gold Stars and was able to get a couple of touchdowns in the second half.
DB Quentin Xavier came up with an interception for the Rouge, and S Shawn Jensen had one for the Gold Stars.
Both teams also had some fumbles with LB Sam Fitzroy and DL Dexter Barbarcos grabbed one each for Montreal and DL Calias McDonough had one for Providence.
Long Island Raiders - 16, Indiana Victors - 19 - Long Island Stadium - July 8, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Rain
1st Q
3-0 LI - FG Henderson Schumacher
3-3 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
2nd Q
3-9 IND - RTD RB Don Gregson
3rd Q
6-9 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
13-9 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
13-12 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
16-12 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
16-17 IND - RTD QB Stanley Troyer
16-19 IND - 2PT RB Don Gregson
The Victors came away with a huge upset on the road in Long Island, after the rain messed with the Raiders.
QB Lyle Painter lost grip on the ball as he turned to give the ball off to RB Dareion Fields.
The ball dropped and bounced off of Fields’ knees and then the back of OL Bruce Wesley.
DB Malik Davenport would pick up the ball and would take it back to the Raiders 16-yard-line.
The Victors would score on a QB sneak with QB Stanley Troyer a couple of plays later to win their first game of the season.
London Tigers - 41, Worcester Athletics - 3 - Western Fair Stadium - July 8. 1961 - SNF - 7 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
10-0 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
17-0 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
2nd Q
24-0 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
31-0 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
3rd Q
34-0 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
4th Q
34-3 WOR - FG Elvis Franklin
41-3 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
The Tigers torched the Athletics defence on Saturday Night Football, Kiernan passed for a pair of TDs and Clifford Russel took in the other two.
Their defence also played their part with 3 interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles.
S Neil Graham, DB Richardo Salvador, and DB Jackson Miles had the picks, and DL Olympus Heights and LB Wilson Rockwood-Barnes had the forced fumbles.
QB Terry Bourbon was terrible for the Athletics and was eventually benched in the 4th for QB Caldwell Higgins III who was able to get the team into field goal range late.
The Tigers also gave their backups a shot late in the game with QB Ollie Rogers taking over for QB Riley Kiernan.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 13, Ottawa Royals - 25 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 9, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
2nd Q
7-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Chester Bennett
10-7 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
3rd Q
13-7 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
13-14 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Angus Stevenson
4th Q
13-20 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
13-22 OTT - 2PT QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
13-25 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
The Royals finally got a marker in the win column in a tough game in Buffalo.
QB Jean Matieau, who had a career-low 1 passing touchdowns heading into the week, was able to cash in 3 times into the endzone finding all 3 of his WRs.
Buffalo had a strong first half but ran into some trouble in the second half with the Royals' defence picking it up a notch.
DB Mingan Oliver brought in a pick and LB Killian Reed had a forced fumble for the Royals.
Louisville Thunder - 34, Boston Independents - 22 - Thunder Stadium - July 9, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 LOU - DTD INT DB Alexander Bradley
7-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
14-3 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
2nd Q
14-6 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
21-6 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
21-13 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
3rd Q
24-13 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
24-19 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
31-19 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
4th Q
31-22 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
34-22 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
The Thunder continued their hot start with another convincing win over the Boston Independents.
Louisville got the upper hand early with DB Alexander Bradley taking back a pick-6 on Boston’s opening drive.
WR Piers Key continued his hot start as well catching his 5th touchdown of the season and Dumont’s league-leading 6th TD pass.
Boston was able to get going late in the 2nd and early in the third, but it wasn’t long until the Thunder pulled away again.
Injury Report
TE Paul McDowell LDN - Day-to-Day
WR Ben Roland LOU - 5 Weeks
LB Leonardo Puig WOR - 4 Weeks
DB Wesley Scott WOR - 2 Weeks
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Jean Matieau OTT - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 223 Passing Yards
DEF: DB Alexander Bradley LOU - 1 Interception, 1 Defensive Touchdown, 4 Tackles, 2 Passes Defended
Standings
WEST
London 3-0
Louisville 3-0
Indiana 1-2
Long Island 0-3
Buffalo 0-3
EAST
Montreal 3-0
Providence 2-1
Boston 2-1
Ottawa 1-2
Worcester 0-3
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville +1
3 - Boston -1
4 - Montreal +1
5 - Providence -1
6 - Ottawa +1
7 - Indiana +2
8 - Buffalo -2
9 - Long Island -1
10 - Worcester -
Week 4 Games
BUF (0-3) @ IND (1-2) - JUL 14 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
WOR (0-3) @ BOS (2-1) - JUL 15 - 3 PM ET
LOU (3-0) @ LDN (3-0) - JUL 15 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
MTL (3-0) @ LI (0-3) - JUL 16 - 1 PM ET
OTT (1-2) @ PRO (2-1) - JUL 16 - 4 PM ET
1st Q
7-0 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
2nd Q
10-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
10-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
17-3 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Robert Lang
3rd Q
17-10 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
24-10 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
4th Q
27-10 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
27-17 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Sammy Moss
QB Gene Bishop was able to get comfortable in the Montreal offence for their home opener against the Gold Stars, throwing 2 touchdowns in the win.
QB Rigobert St-Hilaire did okay in the starting role for the Gold Stars and was able to get a couple of touchdowns in the second half.
DB Quentin Xavier came up with an interception for the Rouge, and S Shawn Jensen had one for the Gold Stars.
Both teams also had some fumbles with LB Sam Fitzroy and DL Dexter Barbarcos grabbed one each for Montreal and DL Calias McDonough had one for Providence.
Long Island Raiders - 16, Indiana Victors - 19 - Long Island Stadium - July 8, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Rain
1st Q
3-0 LI - FG Henderson Schumacher
3-3 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
2nd Q
3-9 IND - RTD RB Don Gregson
3rd Q
6-9 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
13-9 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
13-12 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
16-12 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
16-17 IND - RTD QB Stanley Troyer
16-19 IND - 2PT RB Don Gregson
The Victors came away with a huge upset on the road in Long Island, after the rain messed with the Raiders.
QB Lyle Painter lost grip on the ball as he turned to give the ball off to RB Dareion Fields.
The ball dropped and bounced off of Fields’ knees and then the back of OL Bruce Wesley.
DB Malik Davenport would pick up the ball and would take it back to the Raiders 16-yard-line.
The Victors would score on a QB sneak with QB Stanley Troyer a couple of plays later to win their first game of the season.
London Tigers - 41, Worcester Athletics - 3 - Western Fair Stadium - July 8. 1961 - SNF - 7 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
10-0 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
17-0 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
2nd Q
24-0 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
31-0 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
3rd Q
34-0 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
4th Q
34-3 WOR - FG Elvis Franklin
41-3 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
The Tigers torched the Athletics defence on Saturday Night Football, Kiernan passed for a pair of TDs and Clifford Russel took in the other two.
Their defence also played their part with 3 interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles.
S Neil Graham, DB Richardo Salvador, and DB Jackson Miles had the picks, and DL Olympus Heights and LB Wilson Rockwood-Barnes had the forced fumbles.
QB Terry Bourbon was terrible for the Athletics and was eventually benched in the 4th for QB Caldwell Higgins III who was able to get the team into field goal range late.
The Tigers also gave their backups a shot late in the game with QB Ollie Rogers taking over for QB Riley Kiernan.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 13, Ottawa Royals - 25 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 9, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
2nd Q
7-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Chester Bennett
10-7 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
3rd Q
13-7 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
13-14 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Angus Stevenson
4th Q
13-20 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
13-22 OTT - 2PT QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
13-25 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
The Royals finally got a marker in the win column in a tough game in Buffalo.
QB Jean Matieau, who had a career-low 1 passing touchdowns heading into the week, was able to cash in 3 times into the endzone finding all 3 of his WRs.
Buffalo had a strong first half but ran into some trouble in the second half with the Royals' defence picking it up a notch.
DB Mingan Oliver brought in a pick and LB Killian Reed had a forced fumble for the Royals.
Louisville Thunder - 34, Boston Independents - 22 - Thunder Stadium - July 9, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 LOU - DTD INT DB Alexander Bradley
7-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
14-3 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
2nd Q
14-6 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
21-6 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
21-13 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
3rd Q
24-13 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
24-19 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
31-19 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
4th Q
31-22 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
34-22 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
The Thunder continued their hot start with another convincing win over the Boston Independents.
Louisville got the upper hand early with DB Alexander Bradley taking back a pick-6 on Boston’s opening drive.
WR Piers Key continued his hot start as well catching his 5th touchdown of the season and Dumont’s league-leading 6th TD pass.
Boston was able to get going late in the 2nd and early in the third, but it wasn’t long until the Thunder pulled away again.
Injury Report
TE Paul McDowell LDN - Day-to-Day
WR Ben Roland LOU - 5 Weeks
LB Leonardo Puig WOR - 4 Weeks
DB Wesley Scott WOR - 2 Weeks
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 3-0
Louisville 3-0
Indiana 1-2
Long Island 0-3
Buffalo 0-3
EAST
Montreal 3-0
Providence 2-1
Boston 2-1
Ottawa 1-2
Worcester 0-3
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville +1
3 - Boston -1
4 - Montreal +1
5 - Providence -1
6 - Ottawa +1
7 - Indiana +2
8 - Buffalo -2
9 - Long Island -1
10 - Worcester -
Week 4 Games
BUF (0-3) @ IND (1-2) - JUL 14 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
WOR (0-3) @ BOS (2-1) - JUL 15 - 3 PM ET
LOU (3-0) @ LDN (3-0) - JUL 15 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
MTL (3-0) @ LI (0-3) - JUL 16 - 1 PM ET
OTT (1-2) @ PRO (2-1) - JUL 16 - 4 PM ET
1961 Week 4
1st Q
3-0 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
3-3 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
6-3 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
6-10 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
6-13 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
3rd Q
6-16 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
4th Q
13-16 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
13-23 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR Ronald Vernon
The Blue Wings got into the win column on the road to open up week 4 of the NAAF season.
QB Stanislav Ovechkin had a strong performance with a passing touchdown late in the game and no turnovers.
The Victors were solid but made a couple of big mistakes (a fumble lost to DL Lonnie Vincent and an interception to DB Lou Lake), which cost them a lot.QB Stanley Troyer was able to get back into the game early in the fourth, which was in response to some fans calling for Lee Rogers.
Boston Independents - 30, Worcester Athletics - 10 - Richardson Stadium - July 15, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Clyde McIntosh
10-0 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
2nd Q
13-0 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
13-7 WOR - PTD QB Terry Bourbon -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
3rd Q
20-7 BOS - RTD RB Eddie Thompson
20-10 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
4th Q
27-10 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Paul Franklin
30-10 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
The Independents would get back on track with a solid 30-10 win over the Worcester Athletics.
The defence would give the Athletics plenty of trouble with LB Brent Harper and LB Konrad Aust both bringing in turnovers, and DL Dennis Hughes grabbing a fumble off of the DL.
Worcester continued to have their struggles with Bourbon under centre and most likely will be shifting to Caldwell Higgins III in the rematch next week.
London Tigers - 28, Louisville Thunder - 20 - Wester Fair Stadium - July 15, 1961 - SNF - 7 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
1-3 LDN - Single K Nimrod Hansworth
2nd Q
8-3 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
8-6 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
11-6 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
2nd Q
18-6 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
18-13 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
4th Q
25-13 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
25-20 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
28-20 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The Tigers got the upper hand in the West Division battle with a strong win over the red hot Thunder.
Kiernan was able to find a way through the elite secondary to find the endzone twice en route to the win.
Leonidas Dumont was right in the fight as well, tossing yet another touchdown, but it was just not enough against the tough Tiger squad.
DB Oliver Langstrom was still able to get the best of Kiernan on one pass, only for DL Dee Floyd to get the ball back on the ensuing drive for the Tigers.
Long Island Raiders - 23, Montreal Rouge - 34 - Long Island Stadium - July 16, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-7 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
7-7 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
2nd Q
10-7 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
10-14 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
10-17 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
3rd Q
17-17 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
17-24 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
4th Q
20-24 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
20-31 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
23-31 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
23-34 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
The Rouge remained unbeaten with another strong win over the struggling Raiders.QB Gene Bishop continues to get comfortable within the offence and with the help of RB Scott Mallard-White, they were able to put up 34 against a still fairly strong defence. Long Island’s offence had a bit more life this week but still needed to work on finishing drives with a couple of drives coming up just short of the endzone.
Providence Gold Stars - 34, Ottawa Royals - 37 - New Providence Stadium - July 16, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
7-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Angus Stevenson
14-7 PRO - RTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire
14-14 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
2nd Q
14-17 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
21-17 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Cedric Peterson
3rd Q
21-20 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
24-20 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
24-26 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
27-26 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
4th Q
34-26 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
34-32 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
34-34 OTT - 2PT QB Jean Matieau -> TE Jervonte Howell
34-37 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafeyette
The week ended with an epic shootout between the Gold Stars and the Royals, where the Royals defence came up big late with an interception from DB Uzzia Hayes to give them a shot at a field goal late.
St-Hilaire kept the Gold Stars in the fight as much as he could but the late mistake cost the team which made many fans miss O’Rourke on the field. DB Neville Falkner was able to keep his strong start going with another pick on the season.
DL Olaf Viktorsson had a good game for the Royals as well with 2 Sacks and a forced fumble.
Injury Report
OL Christopher Søndergaard IND - 4 Weeks
OL Ulysses Fairgrove LDN - 4 Weeks
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 4-0
Louisville 3-1
Buffalo 1-3
Indiana 1-3
Long Island 0-4
EAST
Montreal 4-0
Boston 3-1
Ottawa 2-2
Providence 2-2
Worcester 0-4
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Boston -
4 - Montreal -
5 - Ottawa +1
6 - Providence -1
7 - Buffalo +1
8 - Indiana -1
9 - Long Island -
10 - Worcester -
Week 5 Games
LOU (3-1) @ BUF (1-3) - JUL 20 - 7 PM ET - Thursday Night Football
LI (0-4) @ OTT (2-2) - JUL 21 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
IND (1-3) @ MTL (4-0) - JUL 22 - 3 PM ET
WOR (0-4) @ BOS (3-1) - JUL 22 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
LDN (4-0) @ PRO (2-2) - JUL 23 - 2 PM ET
1961 Week 5
Buffalo Blue Wings - 21, Louisville Thunder - 24 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 20, 1961 - 7 PM ET - TNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
3-7 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
2nd Q
10-7 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR Daniel Irons
10-14 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
3rd Q
13-14 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
13-21 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
4th Q
19-21 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR LeRoy Krueger
21-21 BUF - 2PT RB Jimmy Golden
21-24 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
Another tight game ends with Louisville narrowly escaping with a win on the road in Buffalo.
QBs Leonidas Dumont and Stanislav Ovechkin both had a pair of TD passes providing an exciting duel.
Ovechkin still struggled a bit with the Thunder secondary throwing a pair of interceptions to S Johnny Berger and DB Jayden Mills, but his own defence, mainly S Frazier Brooks was able to get some plays back (Brooks had a pick).
WR Truman Harry has been a welcome sight in Louisville catching a pair of TDs in the game, the chemistry he had built with Dumont a couple of years ago is still very present.
DL Bjorn Sigmarsson also had his first career forced fumble in the game for Louisville.
Ottawa Royals - 19, Long Island Raiders - 27 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - July 21, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
3-7 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
2nd Q
3-14 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
3-17 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
10-17 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
3rd Q
13-17 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
13-24 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Wilson Queensgate
4th Q
19-24 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> TE Jervonte Howell
19-27 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
It was a wake-up call for the Long Island Raiders leading up to their week 5 game in Ottawa.
QB Lyle Painter and Head Coach Jimmy Sargent faced the most criticism over the week and they, Painter mainly, took it to heart and put it all on the field.
Painter would throw for 2 touchdowns, after not having a single passing TD in the first 4 games, and 268 Yards.
The Royals would still stay in the fight, but the Raiders' defence was able to hold them off enough to secure the win.
Montreal Rouge - 23, Indiana Victors - 10 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 22, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
2nd Q
10-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
17-0 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
3rd Q
17-7 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
20-7 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
4th Q
20-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
23-10 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
The Rouge continued their unbeaten campaign with another strong win at home over the Indiana Victors.
Indiana had a strong performance on defence keeping the Rouge at bay during the second half, DL William Sanderson led the way with a sack and a forced fumble in the second half.
Montreal had some success on defence as well with DB Jontray Cox and DB Quentin Xavier both grabbing interceptions.
Worcester Athletics - 16, Boston Independents - 24 - Worcester Stadium - July 23, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Windy
1st Q
3-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
3-7 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
2nd Q
6-7 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
6-14 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Paul Franklin
3rd Q
9-14 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
9-17 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
4th Q
9-24 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
16-24 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
Boston held off the Athletics for the second straight game to improve to 4-1. However, the story of the game was on the Athletics side with QB Caldwell Higgins III getting his first start as an Athletic.
Unfortunately, the QB wouldn’t make it to halftime before getting nailed with a big hit from DL Robin Hill and would be replaced by QB Terry Bourbon.
Bourbon was able to get Worcester some points in the second half playing some of his best football so far this season.
Providence Gold Stars - 18, London Tigers - 30 - New Providence Stadium - July 23, 1961 - 2 PM ET - Weather: Rain
1st Q
0-7 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
0-10 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
2nd Q
3-10 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
3-17 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
3rd Q
4-17 PRO - Single K Ira Foster
4-20 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
10-20 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Sammy Moss
12-20 PRO - 2PT QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Marqués Gardner
4th Q
12-27 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
18-27 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
18-30 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The Tigers were able to maintain their unbeaten record while fending off the Gold Stars. St-Hilaire continued to do what he could for the team with a passing touchdown and only 1 interception. DB Neville Falkner grabbed a pick for the Gold Stars while DB Jackson Miles had the pick for the Tigers.
Injury Report
LB Brent Harper BOS - Day-to-Day
S Cal Clemmons IND - Season
LB Felix Bender IND - 2 Weeks
DB Herb Covington LI - 2 Weeks
DL Hubert Tessier MTL - 6 Weeks
S Garet deVale MTL - Day-to-Day
WR Cedric Peterson PRO - 1 Week
QB Caldwell Higgins III WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
OFF: WR Truman Harry LOU - 2 Receiving Touchdowns, 98 Receiving Yards
DEF: DB Quentin Xavier MTL - 1 Interception, 5 Tackles, 3 Passes Defended
Standings
WEST
London 5-0
Louisville 4-1
Buffalo 1-4
Indiana 1-4
Long Island 1-4
EAST
Montreal 5-0
Boston 4-1
Ottawa 2-3
Providence 2-3
Worcester 0-5
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Boston -1
5 - Providence +1
6 - Ottawa -1
7 - Buffalo -
8 - Long Island +1
9 - Indiana -1
10 - Worcester -
Week 6 Games - RIVALRY WEEK
WOR (0-5) @ LI (1-4) - JUL 28 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
IND (1-4) @ LOU (4-1) - JUL 29 - 1 PM ET
PRO (2-3) @ BOS (4-1) - JUL 29 - 4 PM ET
OTT (2-3) @ MTL (5-0) - JUL 30 - 1 PM ET
LDN (5-0) @ BUF (1-4) - JUL 30 - 4 PM ET
1st Q
3-0 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
3-7 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
2nd Q
10-7 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR Daniel Irons
10-14 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
3rd Q
13-14 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
13-21 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
4th Q
19-21 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR LeRoy Krueger
21-21 BUF - 2PT RB Jimmy Golden
21-24 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
Another tight game ends with Louisville narrowly escaping with a win on the road in Buffalo.
QBs Leonidas Dumont and Stanislav Ovechkin both had a pair of TD passes providing an exciting duel.
Ovechkin still struggled a bit with the Thunder secondary throwing a pair of interceptions to S Johnny Berger and DB Jayden Mills, but his own defence, mainly S Frazier Brooks was able to get some plays back (Brooks had a pick).
WR Truman Harry has been a welcome sight in Louisville catching a pair of TDs in the game, the chemistry he had built with Dumont a couple of years ago is still very present.
DL Bjorn Sigmarsson also had his first career forced fumble in the game for Louisville.
Ottawa Royals - 19, Long Island Raiders - 27 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - July 21, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
3-7 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
2nd Q
3-14 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
3-17 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
10-17 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
3rd Q
13-17 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
13-24 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Wilson Queensgate
4th Q
19-24 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> TE Jervonte Howell
19-27 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
It was a wake-up call for the Long Island Raiders leading up to their week 5 game in Ottawa.
QB Lyle Painter and Head Coach Jimmy Sargent faced the most criticism over the week and they, Painter mainly, took it to heart and put it all on the field.
Painter would throw for 2 touchdowns, after not having a single passing TD in the first 4 games, and 268 Yards.
The Royals would still stay in the fight, but the Raiders' defence was able to hold them off enough to secure the win.
Montreal Rouge - 23, Indiana Victors - 10 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 22, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
2nd Q
10-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
17-0 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
3rd Q
17-7 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
20-7 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
4th Q
20-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
23-10 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
The Rouge continued their unbeaten campaign with another strong win at home over the Indiana Victors.
Indiana had a strong performance on defence keeping the Rouge at bay during the second half, DL William Sanderson led the way with a sack and a forced fumble in the second half.
Montreal had some success on defence as well with DB Jontray Cox and DB Quentin Xavier both grabbing interceptions.
Worcester Athletics - 16, Boston Independents - 24 - Worcester Stadium - July 23, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Windy
1st Q
3-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
3-7 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
2nd Q
6-7 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
6-14 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Paul Franklin
3rd Q
9-14 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
9-17 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
4th Q
9-24 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
16-24 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
Boston held off the Athletics for the second straight game to improve to 4-1. However, the story of the game was on the Athletics side with QB Caldwell Higgins III getting his first start as an Athletic.
Unfortunately, the QB wouldn’t make it to halftime before getting nailed with a big hit from DL Robin Hill and would be replaced by QB Terry Bourbon.
Bourbon was able to get Worcester some points in the second half playing some of his best football so far this season.
Providence Gold Stars - 18, London Tigers - 30 - New Providence Stadium - July 23, 1961 - 2 PM ET - Weather: Rain
1st Q
0-7 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
0-10 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
2nd Q
3-10 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
3-17 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
3rd Q
4-17 PRO - Single K Ira Foster
4-20 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
10-20 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Sammy Moss
12-20 PRO - 2PT QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Marqués Gardner
4th Q
12-27 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
18-27 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
18-30 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The Tigers were able to maintain their unbeaten record while fending off the Gold Stars. St-Hilaire continued to do what he could for the team with a passing touchdown and only 1 interception. DB Neville Falkner grabbed a pick for the Gold Stars while DB Jackson Miles had the pick for the Tigers.
Injury Report
LB Brent Harper BOS - Day-to-Day
S Cal Clemmons IND - Season
LB Felix Bender IND - 2 Weeks
DB Herb Covington LI - 2 Weeks
DL Hubert Tessier MTL - 6 Weeks
S Garet deVale MTL - Day-to-Day
WR Cedric Peterson PRO - 1 Week
QB Caldwell Higgins III WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 5-0
Louisville 4-1
Buffalo 1-4
Indiana 1-4
Long Island 1-4
EAST
Montreal 5-0
Boston 4-1
Ottawa 2-3
Providence 2-3
Worcester 0-5
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Boston -1
5 - Providence +1
6 - Ottawa -1
7 - Buffalo -
8 - Long Island +1
9 - Indiana -1
10 - Worcester -
Week 6 Games - RIVALRY WEEK
WOR (0-5) @ LI (1-4) - JUL 28 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
IND (1-4) @ LOU (4-1) - JUL 29 - 1 PM ET
PRO (2-3) @ BOS (4-1) - JUL 29 - 4 PM ET
OTT (2-3) @ MTL (5-0) - JUL 30 - 1 PM ET
LDN (5-0) @ BUF (1-4) - JUL 30 - 4 PM ET
1961 Week 6
Long Island Raiders - 38, Worcester Athletics - 16 - Long Island Stadium - July 28, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
14-0 LI - DTD FUM DL Vernon Spears
2nd Q
14-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
21-3 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
3rd Q
24-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
24-10 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
31-10 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
4th Q
31-16 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Ronald Macquire
38-16 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
The Raiders continued their rampage back out of their 0-4 start, setting the Athletics secondary ablaze in their second straight win.
Lyle Painter and OC Levi Bray seem to have simplified the offence and allowed Painter to do a little more improvising which seems to have ignited the offence.
QB Terry Bourbon would get the start but would struggle in the first half leading to Calwell Higgins III taking over in the second half and leading the team to a pair of touchdowns.
The Raiders' defence also made a big impact with DL Vernon Spears getting a touchdown after stripping Terry Bourbon of the ball on his own 3-yard line.
Louisville Thunder - 32, Indiana Victors - 23 - Thunder Stadium - July 29, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-7 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
7-7 LOU - QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Marty Jay
10-7 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
2nd Q
10-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
17-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
17-17 IND - PTD QB Lee Rogers -> WR Ed Edwards
3rd Q
17-20 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
24-20 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
24-23 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
30-23 LOU - DTD INT - S Johnny Berger
32-23 LOU - 2PT RB Stavros Black
The Thunder and Victors had a back-and-forth battle with the Thunder clinching the game with an S Johnny Berger pick-6.
Dumont had a pair of touchdowns once again, but it was QB Lee Rogers who threw a TD for the Victors on a last-ditch shot at the end of the half, replacing Stanley Troyer on the play because of his superior arm strength.
Both teams showed a lot of heart and many were saying the matchup was finally starting to become a bigger rivalry.
DL Fred Webster was able to make an impact with his first career forced fumble for the Victors.
Boston Independents - 22, Providence Gold Stars - 17 - Richardson Stadium - July 29, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3-7 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
2nd Q
10-7 BOS - DTD FUM LB Konrad Aust
13-7 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3rd Q
13-10 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
20-10 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
4th Q
20-17 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Christian Venegas
22-17 BOS - Safety DL Dennis Hughes
The latest entry in the Boston-Providence rivalry was a lot closer than expected with QB Connor O’Rourke still out of the lineup.
Boston had a comfortable 20-10 lead in the third, but the Gold Stars defence stepped up to stall out the Independents offence for the rest of the game.
LB Rusty McVee had a forced fumble and DB Neville Falkner had a pick.
St-Hilaire would lead the Gold Stars to a late score before the defence would stall the Independents at mid-field. Boston would punt it down to the Providence 6, where St-Hilaire would get forced to 3rd and 8. The QB would try to get away from the attack, but couldn’t find a receiver and was brought down in the endzone for a safety, after losing sight of DL Dennis Hughes who snuck up on him from his blindside.
Montreal Rouge - 37, Ottawa Royals - 7 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 30, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
10-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
2nd Q
13-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
13-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
20-7 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
3rd Q
23-7 MTL- FG K Arthur Kettinger
30-7 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
4th Q
37-7 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Robert Lang
It was a bloodbath in Montreal with the Rouge smacking around the struggling Royals 37-7.
Jean Matieau played one of his worst games in a long time with 2 interceptions and a fumble on the day.
S Garet deVale and DB Clayton Malone had the picks with DL Zakary Turbide having the fumble.
The Royals defence did get one turnover with an S Randall Green interception, but could not capitalize.
QB Gene Bishop seems to have gotten completely comfortable within the Rouge offence throwing a pair of TDs in the game.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 17, London Tigers - 34 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 30, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
0-10 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
2nd Q
7-10 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
7-17 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
3rd Q
7-24 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
10-24 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
4th Q
10-31 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
17-31 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR Daniel Irons
17-34 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The London Tigers came out with another strong performance against the Blue Wings with QB Riley Kiernan throwing for 4 touchdowns in the win.
Stanislav Ovechkin struggled at times in the loss, and the Blue Wings threw 2nd year QB Charles Lemieux onto the field for the last drive of the game after London scored another field goal.
DB Ricardo Salvador grabbed a pick in the win with LB Aengus Lynch grabbing a forced fumble as well.
Injury Report
DL Olympus Heights LDN - Day-to-Day
DL Tyrone Affalo LOU - 2 Weeks
DL Dexter Barbarcos MTL - Day-to-Day
TE Bob Friesen WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Riley Kiernan LDN - 4 Passing Touchdowns, 352 Passing Yards
DEF: DL Vernon Spears LI - 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Touchdown, 7 Tackles, 2 Sacks
Standings
WEST
London 6-0
Louisville 5-1
Long Island 2-4
Buffalo 1-5
Indiana 1-5
EAST
Montreal 6-0
Boston 5-1
Ottawa 2-4
Providence 2-4
Worcester 0-6
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Montreal +1
3 - Louisville -1
4 - Boston -
5 - Providence -
6 - Long Island +2
7 - Ottawa -1
8 - Buffalo -1
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
Week 7 Games
PRO (2-4) @ WOR (0-6) - AUG 4 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
OTT (2-4) @ LOU (5-1) - AUG 5 - 3 PM ET
MTL (6-0) @ BOS (5-1) - AUG 5 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
LI (2-4) @ IND (1-5) - AUG 6 - 1 PM ET
BUF (1-5) @ LDN (6-0) - AUG 6 - 4 PM ET
1st Q
7-0 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
14-0 LI - DTD FUM DL Vernon Spears
2nd Q
14-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
21-3 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
3rd Q
24-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
24-10 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
31-10 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
4th Q
31-16 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Ronald Macquire
38-16 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
The Raiders continued their rampage back out of their 0-4 start, setting the Athletics secondary ablaze in their second straight win.
Lyle Painter and OC Levi Bray seem to have simplified the offence and allowed Painter to do a little more improvising which seems to have ignited the offence.
QB Terry Bourbon would get the start but would struggle in the first half leading to Calwell Higgins III taking over in the second half and leading the team to a pair of touchdowns.
The Raiders' defence also made a big impact with DL Vernon Spears getting a touchdown after stripping Terry Bourbon of the ball on his own 3-yard line.
Louisville Thunder - 32, Indiana Victors - 23 - Thunder Stadium - July 29, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-7 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
7-7 LOU - QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Marty Jay
10-7 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
2nd Q
10-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
17-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
17-17 IND - PTD QB Lee Rogers -> WR Ed Edwards
3rd Q
17-20 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
24-20 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
24-23 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
30-23 LOU - DTD INT - S Johnny Berger
32-23 LOU - 2PT RB Stavros Black
The Thunder and Victors had a back-and-forth battle with the Thunder clinching the game with an S Johnny Berger pick-6.
Dumont had a pair of touchdowns once again, but it was QB Lee Rogers who threw a TD for the Victors on a last-ditch shot at the end of the half, replacing Stanley Troyer on the play because of his superior arm strength.
Both teams showed a lot of heart and many were saying the matchup was finally starting to become a bigger rivalry.
DL Fred Webster was able to make an impact with his first career forced fumble for the Victors.
Boston Independents - 22, Providence Gold Stars - 17 - Richardson Stadium - July 29, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3-7 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
2nd Q
10-7 BOS - DTD FUM LB Konrad Aust
13-7 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3rd Q
13-10 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
20-10 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
4th Q
20-17 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Christian Venegas
22-17 BOS - Safety DL Dennis Hughes
The latest entry in the Boston-Providence rivalry was a lot closer than expected with QB Connor O’Rourke still out of the lineup.
Boston had a comfortable 20-10 lead in the third, but the Gold Stars defence stepped up to stall out the Independents offence for the rest of the game.
LB Rusty McVee had a forced fumble and DB Neville Falkner had a pick.
St-Hilaire would lead the Gold Stars to a late score before the defence would stall the Independents at mid-field. Boston would punt it down to the Providence 6, where St-Hilaire would get forced to 3rd and 8. The QB would try to get away from the attack, but couldn’t find a receiver and was brought down in the endzone for a safety, after losing sight of DL Dennis Hughes who snuck up on him from his blindside.
Montreal Rouge - 37, Ottawa Royals - 7 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 30, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
10-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
2nd Q
13-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
13-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
20-7 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
3rd Q
23-7 MTL- FG K Arthur Kettinger
30-7 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
4th Q
37-7 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Robert Lang
It was a bloodbath in Montreal with the Rouge smacking around the struggling Royals 37-7.
Jean Matieau played one of his worst games in a long time with 2 interceptions and a fumble on the day.
S Garet deVale and DB Clayton Malone had the picks with DL Zakary Turbide having the fumble.
The Royals defence did get one turnover with an S Randall Green interception, but could not capitalize.
QB Gene Bishop seems to have gotten completely comfortable within the Rouge offence throwing a pair of TDs in the game.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 17, London Tigers - 34 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 30, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
0-10 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
2nd Q
7-10 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
7-17 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
3rd Q
7-24 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
10-24 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
4th Q
10-31 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
17-31 BUF - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR Daniel Irons
17-34 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The London Tigers came out with another strong performance against the Blue Wings with QB Riley Kiernan throwing for 4 touchdowns in the win.
Stanislav Ovechkin struggled at times in the loss, and the Blue Wings threw 2nd year QB Charles Lemieux onto the field for the last drive of the game after London scored another field goal.
DB Ricardo Salvador grabbed a pick in the win with LB Aengus Lynch grabbing a forced fumble as well.
Injury Report
DL Olympus Heights LDN - Day-to-Day
DL Tyrone Affalo LOU - 2 Weeks
DL Dexter Barbarcos MTL - Day-to-Day
TE Bob Friesen WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 6-0
Louisville 5-1
Long Island 2-4
Buffalo 1-5
Indiana 1-5
EAST
Montreal 6-0
Boston 5-1
Ottawa 2-4
Providence 2-4
Worcester 0-6
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Montreal +1
3 - Louisville -1
4 - Boston -
5 - Providence -
6 - Long Island +2
7 - Ottawa -1
8 - Buffalo -1
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
Week 7 Games
PRO (2-4) @ WOR (0-6) - AUG 4 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
OTT (2-4) @ LOU (5-1) - AUG 5 - 3 PM ET
MTL (6-0) @ BOS (5-1) - AUG 5 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
LI (2-4) @ IND (1-5) - AUG 6 - 1 PM ET
BUF (1-5) @ LDN (6-0) - AUG 6 - 4 PM ET
1961 Week 7
Worcester Athletics - 29, Providence Gold Stars - 32 - Worcester Stadium - August 4, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
7-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
14-3 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
2nd Q
17-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
17-6 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
17-12 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Cedric Peterson
3rd Q
17-18 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
20-18 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
20-21 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
26-21 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
4th Q
29-21 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
29-27 PRO - RTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire
29-29 PRO - 2PT RB Marcus Devonshire
29-32 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
The Worcester Athletics seemed to get a boost behind QB Caldwell Higgins III as they held onto a lead for the majority of their game against the Providence Gold Stars.
However, S Shawn Jensen came up big to burn his old team with a pick late in the fourth that would set up the game-winning field goal and melt away the last of their hopes.
Rigobert St-Hilaire only had one interception in the game, and after a slow first half took off getting the team back into the game and even taking in the game-tying touchdown himself.
The Gold Stars also were the first team to attempt 2-point converts following all of their touchdowns in a game.
Louisville Thunder - 31, Ottawa Royals - 24 - Thunder Stadium - August 5, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
2nd Q
14-0 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
14-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Chester Bennett
3rd Q
14-10 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafeyette
21-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Marty Jay
24-10 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
4th Q
24-17 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Angus Stevenson
24-24 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
31-24 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
The Royals got off to a rocky start against the Thunder, but Jean Matieau was able to lead the team back into the game and tie it late, but the Thunder would score late with Rodney Clark to seal another win.
DB Jayden Mills and DB Alexander Bradley would each have a pick in the first half.
DB Mingan Oliver and DL Olaf Viktorsson would get turnovers for the Royals.
The Royals’ 5th loss of the season is the most that they have lost in a single season since joining the NAAF.
Boston Independents - 27, Montreal Rouge - 14 - Richardson Stadium - August 5, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Rain
1st Q
0-3 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
7-3 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
2nd Q
14-3 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> TE Tanner Tint
14-6 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
3rd Q
17-6 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
17-12 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
17-14 MTL - 2PT RB Scott Mallard-White
4th Q
20-14 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
27-14 BOS - RTD RB Eddie Thompson
The Independents ended the Rouge’s unbeaten campaign with a strong win at home in the rain.
Boston has typically struggled in the rain, but Nathaniel Braddock was able to lead the team to another win with a passing touchdown to Tint.
Montreal was able to stay in the game into the 3rd, but the Boston defence seemed to have figured them out and stalled them.
LB Brent Harper and LB Marco Price each had a forced fumble, and DB Petr Westerburg had a pick.LB Sam Fitzroy would have a forced fumble for Montreal as well, but they were unable to capitalize.
Indiana Victors - 13, Long Island Raiders - 20 - Victory Stadium - August 6, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
3-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
2nd Q
3-10 LI- PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
10-10 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Ed Edwards
10-17 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
3rd Q
13-17 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
13-20 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
The Raider got their revenge on the Victors to clinch their third straight win.
The 2nd quarter was an explosive shootout with 3 touchdowns being scored through the air.
Painter continued to show his strengths in the now revitalized offence finding WR Darryl Duke for a pair of TDs.
The second half was quiet, but a big reason for that was the Raiders’ defence coming through with a strong performance.
DB Slay Mitchell and DB Clinton Gates each had a pick with LB Gene Benson getting a forced fumble.
Indiana had some help from DL William Sanderson grabbing another sack and a forced fumble of his own.
London Tigers - 27, Buffalo Blue Wings - 28 - Western Fair Stadium - August 6, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-7 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR LeRoy Krueger
7-7 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
2nd Q
14-7 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell17-7 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
3rd Q
20-7 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth20-14 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
4th Q
27-14 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
27-21 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR LeRoy Krueger
27-28 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
The rematch between the Tigers and Blue Wings was the breakout game for a young QB in Charles Lemieux.
The Blue Wings gave the second-year QB a chance to start in the second part of the Buffalo-London rivalry and he put on a show, throwing 3 touchdowns in a come-from-behind win over the league’s top team; the performance put him on the map as a potential future star.
The Tigers certainly were not lacking in the battle, keeping ahead up until the final few minutes of the game, which ultimately is not going to sit well with the squad.
S Frazier Brooks came through with a pick for the Blue Wings while DL Lonnie Vincent grabbed a fumble.
The Tigers had their own share with DL Olympus Heights and DB Bob Ellis getting their own turnovers.
Injury Report
OL Harrison Ward MTL - Season
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Charles Lemieux BUF - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 312 Passing Yards
DEF: LB Brent Harper BOS - 1 Forced Fumble, 9 Tackles
Standings
WEST
London 6-1
Louisville 6-1
Long Island 3-4
Buffalo 2-5
Indiana 1-6
EAST
Boston 6-1
Montreal 6-1
Providence 3-4
Ottawa 2-5
Worcester 0-7
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Boston +2
3 - Louisville -
4 - Montreal -
5 - Long Island +1
6 - Providence -1
7 - Buffalo +1
8 - Ottawa -1
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
TRADE DEADLINE NEXT WEEK
Week 8 Games
BOS (6-1) @ IND (1-6) - AUG 10 - 7 PM ET - Thursday Night Football
LOU (6-1) @ PRO (3-4) - AUG 11 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
WOR (0-7) @ MTL (6-1) - AUG 12 - 3 PM ET
LDN (6-1) @ OTT (2-5) - AUG 12 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
BUF (2-5) @ LI (3-4) - AUG 13 - 2 PM ET
1st Q
7-0 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
7-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
14-3 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
2nd Q
17-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
17-6 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
17-12 PRO - PTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire -> WR Cedric Peterson
3rd Q
17-18 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
20-18 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
20-21 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
26-21 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
4th Q
29-21 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
29-27 PRO - RTD QB Rigobert St-Hilaire
29-29 PRO - 2PT RB Marcus Devonshire
29-32 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
The Worcester Athletics seemed to get a boost behind QB Caldwell Higgins III as they held onto a lead for the majority of their game against the Providence Gold Stars.
However, S Shawn Jensen came up big to burn his old team with a pick late in the fourth that would set up the game-winning field goal and melt away the last of their hopes.
Rigobert St-Hilaire only had one interception in the game, and after a slow first half took off getting the team back into the game and even taking in the game-tying touchdown himself.
The Gold Stars also were the first team to attempt 2-point converts following all of their touchdowns in a game.
Louisville Thunder - 31, Ottawa Royals - 24 - Thunder Stadium - August 5, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
2nd Q
14-0 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
14-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Chester Bennett
3rd Q
14-10 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafeyette
21-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Marty Jay
24-10 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
4th Q
24-17 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Angus Stevenson
24-24 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
31-24 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
The Royals got off to a rocky start against the Thunder, but Jean Matieau was able to lead the team back into the game and tie it late, but the Thunder would score late with Rodney Clark to seal another win.
DB Jayden Mills and DB Alexander Bradley would each have a pick in the first half.
DB Mingan Oliver and DL Olaf Viktorsson would get turnovers for the Royals.
The Royals’ 5th loss of the season is the most that they have lost in a single season since joining the NAAF.
Boston Independents - 27, Montreal Rouge - 14 - Richardson Stadium - August 5, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Rain
1st Q
0-3 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
7-3 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
2nd Q
14-3 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> TE Tanner Tint
14-6 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
3rd Q
17-6 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
17-12 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
17-14 MTL - 2PT RB Scott Mallard-White
4th Q
20-14 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
27-14 BOS - RTD RB Eddie Thompson
The Independents ended the Rouge’s unbeaten campaign with a strong win at home in the rain.
Boston has typically struggled in the rain, but Nathaniel Braddock was able to lead the team to another win with a passing touchdown to Tint.
Montreal was able to stay in the game into the 3rd, but the Boston defence seemed to have figured them out and stalled them.
LB Brent Harper and LB Marco Price each had a forced fumble, and DB Petr Westerburg had a pick.LB Sam Fitzroy would have a forced fumble for Montreal as well, but they were unable to capitalize.
Indiana Victors - 13, Long Island Raiders - 20 - Victory Stadium - August 6, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
3-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
2nd Q
3-10 LI- PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
10-10 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Ed Edwards
10-17 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
3rd Q
13-17 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
13-20 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
The Raider got their revenge on the Victors to clinch their third straight win.
The 2nd quarter was an explosive shootout with 3 touchdowns being scored through the air.
Painter continued to show his strengths in the now revitalized offence finding WR Darryl Duke for a pair of TDs.
The second half was quiet, but a big reason for that was the Raiders’ defence coming through with a strong performance.
DB Slay Mitchell and DB Clinton Gates each had a pick with LB Gene Benson getting a forced fumble.
Indiana had some help from DL William Sanderson grabbing another sack and a forced fumble of his own.
London Tigers - 27, Buffalo Blue Wings - 28 - Western Fair Stadium - August 6, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-7 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR LeRoy Krueger
7-7 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
2nd Q
14-7 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell17-7 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
3rd Q
20-7 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth20-14 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
4th Q
27-14 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
27-21 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR LeRoy Krueger
27-28 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
The rematch between the Tigers and Blue Wings was the breakout game for a young QB in Charles Lemieux.
The Blue Wings gave the second-year QB a chance to start in the second part of the Buffalo-London rivalry and he put on a show, throwing 3 touchdowns in a come-from-behind win over the league’s top team; the performance put him on the map as a potential future star.
The Tigers certainly were not lacking in the battle, keeping ahead up until the final few minutes of the game, which ultimately is not going to sit well with the squad.
S Frazier Brooks came through with a pick for the Blue Wings while DL Lonnie Vincent grabbed a fumble.
The Tigers had their own share with DL Olympus Heights and DB Bob Ellis getting their own turnovers.
Injury Report
OL Harrison Ward MTL - Season
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 6-1
Louisville 6-1
Long Island 3-4
Buffalo 2-5
Indiana 1-6
EAST
Boston 6-1
Montreal 6-1
Providence 3-4
Ottawa 2-5
Worcester 0-7
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Boston +2
3 - Louisville -
4 - Montreal -
5 - Long Island +1
6 - Providence -1
7 - Buffalo +1
8 - Ottawa -1
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
TRADE DEADLINE NEXT WEEK
Week 8 Games
BOS (6-1) @ IND (1-6) - AUG 10 - 7 PM ET - Thursday Night Football
LOU (6-1) @ PRO (3-4) - AUG 11 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
WOR (0-7) @ MTL (6-1) - AUG 12 - 3 PM ET
LDN (6-1) @ OTT (2-5) - AUG 12 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
BUF (2-5) @ LI (3-4) - AUG 13 - 2 PM ET
1961 TRADE DEADLINE
With the league’s first trade deadline approaching, there was chatter across the league about potential trades, who might be moving if there were a move to be made. Worcester seemed to be at the centre of the talks after their 0-7 start, especially about their veteran players. LB Scotty Williams was probably the most talked-about player there with his age getting up there and the team’s lack of success. Both Providence and Louisville made pushes for the LB, but no deals would be made with GM Jack McKinnon’s asking price of up to 3 1st rounders and more. However, there still seemed to be pressure for Worcester to unload and GM Virgil Gross of the Montreal Rouge came through with some fireworks.
With the season-ending injury to young OL Harrison Ward, Gross was looking for a strong OL to replace him. So he targeted and acquired OL Cliff Strauztenberger. The 6-time All-star and former 2nd overall pick would be sent to Montreal along with long-time Athletics and Worcester native DL Brayden Mills in exchange for OL Kurt Booker, a 1962 1st Rounder, a 1963 3rd Rounder, and DL Angus MacTavish.
Montreal will now have two solid pieces to replace injuries for the time being and the Athletics aim to head into the rebuild with a lot more pieces. Kurt Booker was a first-round pick from 1960 and should be a good piece for the future OL and MacTavish helps keep the teams balanced.
With the league’s first trade deadline approaching, there was chatter across the league about potential trades, who might be moving if there were a move to be made. Worcester seemed to be at the centre of the talks after their 0-7 start, especially about their veteran players. LB Scotty Williams was probably the most talked-about player there with his age getting up there and the team’s lack of success. Both Providence and Louisville made pushes for the LB, but no deals would be made with GM Jack McKinnon’s asking price of up to 3 1st rounders and more. However, there still seemed to be pressure for Worcester to unload and GM Virgil Gross of the Montreal Rouge came through with some fireworks.
With the season-ending injury to young OL Harrison Ward, Gross was looking for a strong OL to replace him. So he targeted and acquired OL Cliff Strauztenberger. The 6-time All-star and former 2nd overall pick would be sent to Montreal along with long-time Athletics and Worcester native DL Brayden Mills in exchange for OL Kurt Booker, a 1962 1st Rounder, a 1963 3rd Rounder, and DL Angus MacTavish.
Montreal will now have two solid pieces to replace injuries for the time being and the Athletics aim to head into the rebuild with a lot more pieces. Kurt Booker was a first-round pick from 1960 and should be a good piece for the future OL and MacTavish helps keep the teams balanced.
With Worcester traded both of their assistant captains, the team would name RB Lawrence Sharp and DL Vinny Brown as the new assistant captains for the remainder of the season.
1961 Week 8
Indiana Victors - 9, Boston Independents - 10 - Victory Stadium - August 10, 1961 - 7 PM ET - TNF - Weather: Rain
1st Q
0-7 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
2nd Q
3rd Q
3-7 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
9-7 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
4th Q
9-10 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
A game in the rain led to quite a defensive duel with Boston narrowly escaping a potential loss to the Victors.
Fumbles were all over the place in the game with a combined 7 fumbles in the game.
It ended up being a fumble that would lead to the game-winning field goal caused by DL Konrad Aust.
Providence Gold Stars - 35, Louisville Thunder - 31 - New Providence Stadium - August 11, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
7-7 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
2nd Q
14-7 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
14-14 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
21-14 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
3rd Q
21-21 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
21-28 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
4th Q
28-28 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
28-31 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
35-31 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Christian Venegas
QB Connor O’Rourke returned to the Gold Stars lineup to put on a show, throwing 3 touchdowns in the team’s upset over the Louisville Thunder.
The Thunder kept up with the rejuvenated Gold Stars offence, but after S Shawn Jensen broke up a potential touchdown pass to WR Piers Key to force a field goal, the Gold Stars were able to get the upper hand.DB Neville Falkner had a pick in the game and DL Calias McDonough grabbed a fumble for the Gold Stars. DB Alexander Bradley had a pick for the Thunder, but that was the only turnover from their side.
Montreal Rouge - 26, Worcester Athletics - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 12, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
10-0 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
2nd Q
10-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
17-3 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
3rd Q
17-9 WOR - RTD RB Bernard Alston
20-9 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
4th Q
20-15 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins -> WR Ronald Macquire
26-15 MTL - RTD QB Gene Bishop
The Rouge got back in the win column over the lowly Athletics.
The recent trade between the teams made an immediate impact with Strauztenberger shutting down the Worcester D-line not allowing a hit on Bishop throughout the whole game.
Worcester showed some fight near the end with Caldwell Higgins lighting a fire in the offence, but Gene Bishop countered with a touchdown of his own.
DB Quenton Xavier had a pick for the Rouge as well as DB Jontray Cox.
Ottawa Royals - 13, London Tigers - 16 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - August 12, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-3 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
3-3 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
3-10 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
3rd Q
6-10 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
13-10 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
4th Q
13-13 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
13-16 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The Royals-Tigers had quite a slow and defensive battle in their rematch of the McCallister.
RB Alexei Volkov had the Royals up late, but the Tigers behind the leg of K Nimrod Handsworth would be able to grab a pair of field goals to give the Tigers the win.
DB Jackson Miles had a pick for the Tigers while LB Aengus Lynch had a forced fumble.
DL Troy Hunt had a forced fumble while DB Uzzia Hayes had a pick.
Long Island Raiders - 24, Buffalo Blue Wings - 18 - Long Island Stadium - August 13, 1961 - 2 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
7-3 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
10-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3rd Q
10-10 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
17-10 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
17-11 BUF - Single K Donald Brewer
4th Q
17-18 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> TE Johann Traeger
24-18 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
The Raiders claimed their 4th straight win over the Blue Wings.
Charles Lemieux was solid in his second straight start, but the defence was unable to maintain another 1 point lead late. S Johan Eckhart had a pick for the Raiders as the lone turnover of the game. *With Ottawa and Buffalo losing, London, Montreal, and Boston all clinch playoff spots*
Injury Report
DB Malik Davenport IND - Day-to-Day
DB Cameron Taylor PRO - 2 Weeks
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 301 Passing Yards
DEF: DL Konrad Aust BOS - 1 Forced Fumble, 7 Tackles, 1 Passes Defended
Standings
WEST
London 7-1 -x
Louisville 6-2
Long Island 4-4
Buffalo 2-6
Indiana 1-7
EAST
Boston 7-1 -x
Montreal 7-1 -x
Providence 4-4
Ottawa 2-6
Worcester 0-8
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Boston -
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Louisville -1
5 - Providence +1
6 - Long Island -1
7 - Buffalo -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
Week 9 Games
MTL (7-1) @ LDN (7-1) - AUG 18 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
OTT (2-6) @ WOR (0-8) - AUG 19 - 3 PM ET
BOS (7-1) @ PRO (4-4) - AUG 19 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
LI (4-4) @ LOU (7-1) - AUG 20 - 1 PM ET
*LOU clinches playoff spot with win or BUF Loss
IND (1-7) @ BUF (2-6) - AUG 20 - 4 PM ET
1961 Week 8
1st Q
0-7 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
2nd Q
3rd Q
3-7 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
9-7 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
4th Q
9-10 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
A game in the rain led to quite a defensive duel with Boston narrowly escaping a potential loss to the Victors.
Fumbles were all over the place in the game with a combined 7 fumbles in the game.
It ended up being a fumble that would lead to the game-winning field goal caused by DL Konrad Aust.
Providence Gold Stars - 35, Louisville Thunder - 31 - New Providence Stadium - August 11, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
7-7 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
2nd Q
14-7 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
14-14 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
21-14 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
3rd Q
21-21 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
21-28 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
4th Q
28-28 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
28-31 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
35-31 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Christian Venegas
QB Connor O’Rourke returned to the Gold Stars lineup to put on a show, throwing 3 touchdowns in the team’s upset over the Louisville Thunder.
The Thunder kept up with the rejuvenated Gold Stars offence, but after S Shawn Jensen broke up a potential touchdown pass to WR Piers Key to force a field goal, the Gold Stars were able to get the upper hand.DB Neville Falkner had a pick in the game and DL Calias McDonough grabbed a fumble for the Gold Stars. DB Alexander Bradley had a pick for the Thunder, but that was the only turnover from their side.
Montreal Rouge - 26, Worcester Athletics - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 12, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
10-0 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
2nd Q
10-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
17-3 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
3rd Q
17-9 WOR - RTD RB Bernard Alston
20-9 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
4th Q
20-15 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins -> WR Ronald Macquire
26-15 MTL - RTD QB Gene Bishop
The Rouge got back in the win column over the lowly Athletics.
The recent trade between the teams made an immediate impact with Strauztenberger shutting down the Worcester D-line not allowing a hit on Bishop throughout the whole game.
Worcester showed some fight near the end with Caldwell Higgins lighting a fire in the offence, but Gene Bishop countered with a touchdown of his own.
DB Quenton Xavier had a pick for the Rouge as well as DB Jontray Cox.
Ottawa Royals - 13, London Tigers - 16 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - August 12, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-3 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
3-3 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
3-10 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
3rd Q
6-10 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
13-10 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
4th Q
13-13 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
13-16 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
The Royals-Tigers had quite a slow and defensive battle in their rematch of the McCallister.
RB Alexei Volkov had the Royals up late, but the Tigers behind the leg of K Nimrod Handsworth would be able to grab a pair of field goals to give the Tigers the win.
DB Jackson Miles had a pick for the Tigers while LB Aengus Lynch had a forced fumble.
DL Troy Hunt had a forced fumble while DB Uzzia Hayes had a pick.
Long Island Raiders - 24, Buffalo Blue Wings - 18 - Long Island Stadium - August 13, 1961 - 2 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
7-3 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
10-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3rd Q
10-10 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
17-10 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
17-11 BUF - Single K Donald Brewer
4th Q
17-18 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> TE Johann Traeger
24-18 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
The Raiders claimed their 4th straight win over the Blue Wings.
Charles Lemieux was solid in his second straight start, but the defence was unable to maintain another 1 point lead late. S Johan Eckhart had a pick for the Raiders as the lone turnover of the game. *With Ottawa and Buffalo losing, London, Montreal, and Boston all clinch playoff spots*
Injury Report
DB Malik Davenport IND - Day-to-Day
DB Cameron Taylor PRO - 2 Weeks
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 7-1 -x
Louisville 6-2
Long Island 4-4
Buffalo 2-6
Indiana 1-7
EAST
Boston 7-1 -x
Montreal 7-1 -x
Providence 4-4
Ottawa 2-6
Worcester 0-8
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Boston -
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Louisville -1
5 - Providence +1
6 - Long Island -1
7 - Buffalo -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
Week 9 Games
MTL (7-1) @ LDN (7-1) - AUG 18 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
OTT (2-6) @ WOR (0-8) - AUG 19 - 3 PM ET
BOS (7-1) @ PRO (4-4) - AUG 19 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
LI (4-4) @ LOU (7-1) - AUG 20 - 1 PM ET
*LOU clinches playoff spot with win or BUF Loss
IND (1-7) @ BUF (2-6) - AUG 20 - 4 PM ET
BREAKING NEWS
WORCESTER STADIUM AT CENTER OF DOWNTOWN BLAZE IN WORCESTER
Thursday, August 17, 1961 - Downtown Worcester was rudely awakened to a blazing fire and many sirens. A pillar of smoke rose from the heart of downtown with Worcester Stadium at the centre of the blaze. Several buildings were also caught up in the blaze. It took several hours for the fire to be contained and put out.
The damage to Worcester Stadium was significant. The field was heavily damaged, the stands barely stood, and the locker rooms and offices were nothing but ashes. The main structure was still there, but there was no way for the stadium to still be used for the remainder of the NAAF season. The league was swift in making the decision to postpone their game against the Royals on Saturday afternoon.
WORCESTER STADIUM AT CENTER OF DOWNTOWN BLAZE IN WORCESTER
Thursday, August 17, 1961 - Downtown Worcester was rudely awakened to a blazing fire and many sirens. A pillar of smoke rose from the heart of downtown with Worcester Stadium at the centre of the blaze. Several buildings were also caught up in the blaze. It took several hours for the fire to be contained and put out.
The damage to Worcester Stadium was significant. The field was heavily damaged, the stands barely stood, and the locker rooms and offices were nothing but ashes. The main structure was still there, but there was no way for the stadium to still be used for the remainder of the NAAF season. The league was swift in making the decision to postpone their game against the Royals on Saturday afternoon.
1961 Week 9
London Tigers - 38, Montreal Rouge - 11 - Western Fair Stadium - August 18, 1961 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
14-0 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
2nd Q
14-1 MTL - Single K Arthur Kettinger
17-1 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
24-1 LDN - DTD INT DB Jackson Miles
3rd Q
24-8 MTL- RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
31-8 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
4th Q
31-11 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
38-11 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
The Tigers' defence shut down the Montreal offence while piling it on via QB Riley Kiernan’s air raid. DB Jackson Miles would have a big pick at the end of the first half to make it 24-1.
LB Aengus Lynch and DL Richard Blunt would have forced fumbles each.
Montreal would struggle to move the ball all game, especially with WR Robert Lang getting hurt.
WR Taylor Karis would get into the game catching 2 passes for 21 yards, but also dropped a couple.
Providence Gold Stars - 19, Boston Independents - 6 - New Providence Stadium - August 19, 1961 - 7 PM ET- Weather: Rain
1st Q
7-0 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
9-0 PRO - Safety DL Calias McDonough
2nd Q
9-3 BOS - FG Johnnie Berg
16-3 PRO - KRTD RB Tommy Kerr
3rd Q
4th Q19-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
19-6 BOS - FG K Johnie Berg
The Gold Stars continued to roll with Connor O’Rourke back in the line-up and their defence taking it to the Independents.
The defence made the biggest impact with DL Calias McDonough with a pair of sacks which included a safety.
DB Jared Francis and LB Rusty McVee would both get forced fumbles as well to help the team.
Boston had some solid plays, but they were never able to finish with the Gold Stars defence playing on another level.
Louisville Thunder - 28, Long Island Raiders - 16 - Thunder Stadium - August 20, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 LI - FG Henderson Schumacher
7-3 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
2nd Q
7-10 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
14-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> TE Christopher Gist
3rd Q
21-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
4th Q
21-16 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Wilson Queensgate
28-16 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
The Thunder got back to winning this week putting an end to the Raiders’ winning streak. Dumont was solid with a pair of touchdowns in the win and both his running backs scoring as well. Long Island’s more pass-heavy attack was thwarted by a rebounding secondary after a bad week in Providence. S Johnny Berger, DB Oliver Langstrom had picks with LB George Yokoi grabbing a fumble for the Thunder.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 21, Indiana Victors - 14 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 20, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
3-7 IND - RTD RB Don Gregson
6-7 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
3rd Q
6-14 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
12-14 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Ronald Vernon
14-14 BUF - 2PT RB Jimmy Golden
4th Q
21-14 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
The Blue Wings got another win over the Indiana Victors off of a late touchdown drive from the young QB Charles Lemieux. Indiana put up a solid fight, but they fell apart in the 4th being unable to stop the Blue Wings offence. S Frazier Brooks would get a pick and DL Harrison Fink had a fumble for the Blue Wings, and then Indiana would get a turnover from DB David Jones.
Injury Report
DL Timmy Kerr LI - 1 Week
WR Robert Lang MTL - 3 Weeks
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Riley Kiernan LDN - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 289 Passing Yards
DEF: DL Calias McDonough PRO - 1 Safety, 2 Sacks, 8 Tackles
Standings
WEST
London 8-1 -x
Louisville 7-2 -x
Long Island 4-5
Buffalo 3-6
Indiana 1-8
EAST
Boston 7-2 -x
Montreal 7-2 -x
Providence 5-4
Ottawa 2-6
Worcester 0-8
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville +2
3 - Boston -1
4 - Montreal -1
5 - Providence -
6 - Long Island -
7 - Buffalo -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
LEAGUE CHANGES SCHEDULE
The NAAF announced the schedule changes to accommodate the Athletics for their remaining home games. Firstly, all 3 of Worcester’s remaining home games would be relocated to Boston’s Richardson Stadium. However, that resulted in several changes around the other games that still need to be played.
For Week 10, Worcester and Buffalo would be moved to Sunday afternoon at 4 PM ET and London and Indiana would be moved from Sunday at 2 PM ET to the 3 PM ET Saturday slot. For Week 11, Worcester’s game against Ottawa would be scheduled for an additional Thursday Night Football, and then their rematch scheduled for Sunday in Ottawa would be moved to Labour Day at 8 PM ET. This means there will be 6 games played during week 11.
Week 10 Games
PRO (5-4) @ OTT (2-6) - AUG 24 - 7 PM ET - Thursday Night Football
*PRO clinches playoffs with a win
LOU (7-2) @ MTL (7-2) - AUG 25 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
IND (1-8) @ LDN (8-1) - AUG 26 - 3 PM ET
LI (4-5) @ BOS (7-2) - AUG 26 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
BUF (3-6) @ WOR (0-8) - AUG 27 - 4 PM ET @ Richardson Stadium
1st Q
7-0 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
14-0 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
2nd Q
14-1 MTL - Single K Arthur Kettinger
17-1 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
24-1 LDN - DTD INT DB Jackson Miles
3rd Q
24-8 MTL- RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
31-8 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
4th Q
31-11 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
38-11 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
The Tigers' defence shut down the Montreal offence while piling it on via QB Riley Kiernan’s air raid. DB Jackson Miles would have a big pick at the end of the first half to make it 24-1.
LB Aengus Lynch and DL Richard Blunt would have forced fumbles each.
Montreal would struggle to move the ball all game, especially with WR Robert Lang getting hurt.
WR Taylor Karis would get into the game catching 2 passes for 21 yards, but also dropped a couple.
Providence Gold Stars - 19, Boston Independents - 6 - New Providence Stadium - August 19, 1961 - 7 PM ET- Weather: Rain
1st Q
7-0 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
9-0 PRO - Safety DL Calias McDonough
2nd Q
9-3 BOS - FG Johnnie Berg
16-3 PRO - KRTD RB Tommy Kerr
3rd Q
4th Q19-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
19-6 BOS - FG K Johnie Berg
The Gold Stars continued to roll with Connor O’Rourke back in the line-up and their defence taking it to the Independents.
The defence made the biggest impact with DL Calias McDonough with a pair of sacks which included a safety.
DB Jared Francis and LB Rusty McVee would both get forced fumbles as well to help the team.
Boston had some solid plays, but they were never able to finish with the Gold Stars defence playing on another level.
Louisville Thunder - 28, Long Island Raiders - 16 - Thunder Stadium - August 20, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 LI - FG Henderson Schumacher
7-3 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
2nd Q
7-10 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
14-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> TE Christopher Gist
3rd Q
21-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Truman Harry
4th Q
21-16 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Wilson Queensgate
28-16 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
The Thunder got back to winning this week putting an end to the Raiders’ winning streak. Dumont was solid with a pair of touchdowns in the win and both his running backs scoring as well. Long Island’s more pass-heavy attack was thwarted by a rebounding secondary after a bad week in Providence. S Johnny Berger, DB Oliver Langstrom had picks with LB George Yokoi grabbing a fumble for the Thunder.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 21, Indiana Victors - 14 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 20, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
3-7 IND - RTD RB Don Gregson
6-7 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
3rd Q
6-14 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
12-14 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Ronald Vernon
14-14 BUF - 2PT RB Jimmy Golden
4th Q
21-14 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
The Blue Wings got another win over the Indiana Victors off of a late touchdown drive from the young QB Charles Lemieux. Indiana put up a solid fight, but they fell apart in the 4th being unable to stop the Blue Wings offence. S Frazier Brooks would get a pick and DL Harrison Fink had a fumble for the Blue Wings, and then Indiana would get a turnover from DB David Jones.
Injury Report
DL Timmy Kerr LI - 1 Week
WR Robert Lang MTL - 3 Weeks
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 8-1 -x
Louisville 7-2 -x
Long Island 4-5
Buffalo 3-6
Indiana 1-8
EAST
Boston 7-2 -x
Montreal 7-2 -x
Providence 5-4
Ottawa 2-6
Worcester 0-8
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville +2
3 - Boston -1
4 - Montreal -1
5 - Providence -
6 - Long Island -
7 - Buffalo -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
LEAGUE CHANGES SCHEDULE
The NAAF announced the schedule changes to accommodate the Athletics for their remaining home games. Firstly, all 3 of Worcester’s remaining home games would be relocated to Boston’s Richardson Stadium. However, that resulted in several changes around the other games that still need to be played.
For Week 10, Worcester and Buffalo would be moved to Sunday afternoon at 4 PM ET and London and Indiana would be moved from Sunday at 2 PM ET to the 3 PM ET Saturday slot. For Week 11, Worcester’s game against Ottawa would be scheduled for an additional Thursday Night Football, and then their rematch scheduled for Sunday in Ottawa would be moved to Labour Day at 8 PM ET. This means there will be 6 games played during week 11.
Week 10 Games
PRO (5-4) @ OTT (2-6) - AUG 24 - 7 PM ET - Thursday Night Football
*PRO clinches playoffs with a win
LOU (7-2) @ MTL (7-2) - AUG 25 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
IND (1-8) @ LDN (8-1) - AUG 26 - 3 PM ET
LI (4-5) @ BOS (7-2) - AUG 26 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
BUF (3-6) @ WOR (0-8) - AUG 27 - 4 PM ET @ Richardson Stadium
1961 Week 10
Ottawa Royals - 24, Providence Gold Stars - 25 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - August 24, 1961 - 7 PM ET - TNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-7 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
7-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Chester Bennett
2nd Q
7-10 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
7-13 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
14-13 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
3rd Q
14-19 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
17-19 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
4th Q
24-19 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
24-25 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Sammy Moss
The Gold Stars pulled off their third straight win narrowly topping the Ottawa Royals on a late touchdown from Connor O’Rourke.
DB Jared Francis grabbed a pick and LB Daevion Shelton and DL Craig White had a forced fumble in the win.
Ottawa had some help from DL Olaf Viktorsson on a forced fumble as well, but it is clear they have just not been themselves this season at all.
The win would clinch the Gold Stars a return to the playoffs.
Montreal Rouge - 26, Louisville Thunder - 29 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 25, 1961 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
3-7 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
10-7 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Ray Lopez
2nd Q
10-13 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
17-13 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
3rd Q
18-13 MTL - Single K Arthur Kettinger
18-16 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
4th Q
18-23 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Ben Roland
18-26 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
24-26 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
26-26 MTL - 2PT QB Gene Bishop -> WR Taylor Karis
26-29 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
A final quarter filled with fireworks ended with the Thunder narrowly coming out on top to stick in the race with the Tigers in the West division.
Leonidas Dumont continued his super-strong season with another 2-touchdown performance.
Gene Bishop matched Dumont’s 2 TDs including one that pulled the team back into a tie with just over a minute left in the game.
Louisville’s secondary still showed up with S Johnny Berger grabbing a pick on Bishop, which should be matched by Montreal's S, Garet deVale, who had the lone pick for the Rouge.
London Tigers - 24, Indiana Victors - 20 - Western Fair Stadium - August 26, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-7 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
2nd Q
3-7 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
3-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
10-10 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
3rd Q
17-10 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
17-17 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Alexei Dubois
4th Q
17-20 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
24-20 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
The Victors seemed to be able to find the Tigers’ weaknesses in both games this season against them, but it wasn’t enough to stop them.
The Tigers lost RB Clifford Russell for what looks to be a long-term injury and that affected their ability to move the ball consistently.
They would get some help from the defence with DB Ricardo Salvador getting a pick and a DL Olympus Heights forced fumble.
The win keeps the Tigers ahead of the Thunder in the divisional race.
Boston Independents - 23, Long Island Raiders - 20 - Richardson Stadium - August 26, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
2nd Q
10-3 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
10-6 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3rd Q
10-13 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
13-13 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
20-13 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
4th Q
23-13 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
23-20 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
The Independents grabbed a close win over the Raiders who have now dropped back-to-back games as the season is coming to a close opening the door for Buffalo and Ottawa to be able to make late pushes for the playoffs.
QB Nathaniel Braddock was able to get back to the endzone through the air after being shutout in the last two games.
Worcester Athletics - 13, Buffalo Blue Wings - 33 - Richardson Stadium - August 27, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-3 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
3-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
3-9 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
3-16 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR LeRoy Krueger
3rd Q
10-16 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
10-23 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
10-26 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
4th Q
13-26 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
13-33 BUF - RTD RB Cody Barnes
It was not a pretty game for the Athletics in their first pseudo-home-game in Richardson Stadium. The Charles Lemieux-led Blue Wings steamrolled the Athletics defence with a consistently strong offensive attack.
Buffalo, seeing the Raiders lose the day before, seemed to have a little more fight in them and were able to turn that into their 4th win of the season.DB Lou Lake and S Frazier Brooks both had a pick in the game after QB Terry Bourbon took over for the injured Caldwell Higgins III in the second.
Injury Report
TE Paul McDowell LDN - 12 Weeks
RB Clifford Russell LDN - 6 Weeks
OL Bruce Wesley LI - 1 Week
LB Sam Fitzroy MTL - 7 Weeks
OL Bravon Covington OTT - 11 Weeks
LB Douglas MacDougall OTT - 3 Weeks
QB Caldwell Higgins III WOR - Day-to-Day
Player of the Week
OFF: WR Cedric Peterson PRO - 2 Receiving Touchdowns, 114 Receiving Yards
DEF: S Frazier Brooks BUF - 1 Interception, 1 Forced Fumble, 6 Tackles, 2 Passes Defended
Standings
WEST
London 9-1 -x
Louisville 8-2 -x
Long Island 4-6
Buffalo 4-6
Indiana 1-9
EAST
Boston 8-2 -x
Montreal 7-3 -x
Providence 6-4 -x
Ottawa 2-7
Worcester 0-9
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Boston -
4 - Providence +1
5 - Montreal -1
6 - Buffalo -
7 - Long Island -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
Week 11 Games
OTT (2-7) @ WOR (0-9) - AUG 31 - 7 PM ET - Thursday Night Football @ Richardson Stadium
BOS (8-2) @ MTL (7-3) - SEP 1 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
*BOS clinches East Division with Win or Tie + PRO Loss
LDN (9-1) @ LI (4-6) - SEP 2 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
*LDN Clinches West Division with Win + LOU Loss
PRO (6-4) @ BUF (4-6) - SEP 4 - 2 PM ET - Labour Day
LOU (8-2) @ IND (1-9) - SEP 4 - 5 PM ET - Labour Day
WOR (0-9*) @ OTT (2-7*) - SEP 4 - 8 PM ET - Labour Day
*Both records will change with their first game.
1st Q
0-7 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
7-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Chester Bennett
2nd Q
7-10 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
7-13 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
14-13 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
3rd Q
14-19 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
17-19 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
4th Q
24-19 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
24-25 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Sammy Moss
The Gold Stars pulled off their third straight win narrowly topping the Ottawa Royals on a late touchdown from Connor O’Rourke.
DB Jared Francis grabbed a pick and LB Daevion Shelton and DL Craig White had a forced fumble in the win.
Ottawa had some help from DL Olaf Viktorsson on a forced fumble as well, but it is clear they have just not been themselves this season at all.
The win would clinch the Gold Stars a return to the playoffs.
Montreal Rouge - 26, Louisville Thunder - 29 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 25, 1961 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
3-7 LOU - RTD RB Stavros Black
10-7 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Ray Lopez
2nd Q
10-13 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
17-13 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
3rd Q
18-13 MTL - Single K Arthur Kettinger
18-16 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
4th Q
18-23 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Ben Roland
18-26 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
24-26 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Derek Cross
26-26 MTL - 2PT QB Gene Bishop -> WR Taylor Karis
26-29 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
A final quarter filled with fireworks ended with the Thunder narrowly coming out on top to stick in the race with the Tigers in the West division.
Leonidas Dumont continued his super-strong season with another 2-touchdown performance.
Gene Bishop matched Dumont’s 2 TDs including one that pulled the team back into a tie with just over a minute left in the game.
Louisville’s secondary still showed up with S Johnny Berger grabbing a pick on Bishop, which should be matched by Montreal's S, Garet deVale, who had the lone pick for the Rouge.
London Tigers - 24, Indiana Victors - 20 - Western Fair Stadium - August 26, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-7 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
2nd Q
3-7 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
3-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
10-10 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
3rd Q
17-10 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
17-17 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Alexei Dubois
4th Q
17-20 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
24-20 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
The Victors seemed to be able to find the Tigers’ weaknesses in both games this season against them, but it wasn’t enough to stop them.
The Tigers lost RB Clifford Russell for what looks to be a long-term injury and that affected their ability to move the ball consistently.
They would get some help from the defence with DB Ricardo Salvador getting a pick and a DL Olympus Heights forced fumble.
The win keeps the Tigers ahead of the Thunder in the divisional race.
Boston Independents - 23, Long Island Raiders - 20 - Richardson Stadium - August 26, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
2nd Q
10-3 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
10-6 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3rd Q
10-13 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
13-13 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
20-13 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
4th Q
23-13 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
23-20 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Darryl Duke
The Independents grabbed a close win over the Raiders who have now dropped back-to-back games as the season is coming to a close opening the door for Buffalo and Ottawa to be able to make late pushes for the playoffs.
QB Nathaniel Braddock was able to get back to the endzone through the air after being shutout in the last two games.
Worcester Athletics - 13, Buffalo Blue Wings - 33 - Richardson Stadium - August 27, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-3 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
2nd Q
3-3 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
3-9 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
3-16 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR LeRoy Krueger
3rd Q
10-16 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
10-23 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
10-26 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
4th Q
13-26 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
13-33 BUF - RTD RB Cody Barnes
It was not a pretty game for the Athletics in their first pseudo-home-game in Richardson Stadium. The Charles Lemieux-led Blue Wings steamrolled the Athletics defence with a consistently strong offensive attack.
Buffalo, seeing the Raiders lose the day before, seemed to have a little more fight in them and were able to turn that into their 4th win of the season.DB Lou Lake and S Frazier Brooks both had a pick in the game after QB Terry Bourbon took over for the injured Caldwell Higgins III in the second.
Injury Report
TE Paul McDowell LDN - 12 Weeks
RB Clifford Russell LDN - 6 Weeks
OL Bruce Wesley LI - 1 Week
LB Sam Fitzroy MTL - 7 Weeks
OL Bravon Covington OTT - 11 Weeks
LB Douglas MacDougall OTT - 3 Weeks
QB Caldwell Higgins III WOR - Day-to-Day
Player of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 9-1 -x
Louisville 8-2 -x
Long Island 4-6
Buffalo 4-6
Indiana 1-9
EAST
Boston 8-2 -x
Montreal 7-3 -x
Providence 6-4 -x
Ottawa 2-7
Worcester 0-9
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Boston -
4 - Providence +1
5 - Montreal -1
6 - Buffalo -
7 - Long Island -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
Week 11 Games
OTT (2-7) @ WOR (0-9) - AUG 31 - 7 PM ET - Thursday Night Football @ Richardson Stadium
BOS (8-2) @ MTL (7-3) - SEP 1 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
*BOS clinches East Division with Win or Tie + PRO Loss
LDN (9-1) @ LI (4-6) - SEP 2 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
*LDN Clinches West Division with Win + LOU Loss
PRO (6-4) @ BUF (4-6) - SEP 4 - 2 PM ET - Labour Day
LOU (8-2) @ IND (1-9) - SEP 4 - 5 PM ET - Labour Day
WOR (0-9*) @ OTT (2-7*) - SEP 4 - 8 PM ET - Labour Day
*Both records will change with their first game.
1961 Week 11
Worcester Athletics - 12, Ottawa Royals - 13 - Richardson Stadium - August 31, 1961 - 7 PM ET - TNF - Weather: Heavy Rain
1st Q
3-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
3-3 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
3-10 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
3rd Q
6-10 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
4th Q
12-10 WOR - RTD RB Bernard Alston
12-13 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
A heavy storm rolled into Boston on Thursday night, which affected both teams heavily.
Worcester was shockingly up late on the Royals, but they would not stop the Royals' late drive that would lead to the game-winning field goal.
DL Olaf Viktorsson would grab a pair of fumbles, but they would end up going back the other way to LB Scotty Williams and DL Vinny Brown.
The ugly game still ended with the Royals keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.
Montreal Rouge - 23, Boston Independents - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 1, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> TE Eli Grant
2nd Q
7-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
14-3 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
14-6 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3rd Q
14-12 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Fredrick St.Pierre
17-12 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
4th Q
17-15 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
23-15 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
The Rouge got revenge on the Independents with a strong win at home.
Scott Mallard-White led the way with a pair of touchdowns and 132 rushing yards.
The Independents suffered several injuries in the game which hurt them in the game and prevented them from being able to slow down the Rouge.
DB Quentin Xavier had a strong performance with an interception and 2 deflected passes for the Rouge, while LB Brent Harper had a fumble for the Independents.
Long Island Raiders - 19, London Tigers - 22 - Long Island Stadium - September 2, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
10-0 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
2nd Q
13-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
13-7 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
3rd Q
16-7 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
16-14 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
4th Q
19-14 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
19-20 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
19-22 LDN - 2PT QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
The Raiders and Tigers went down to the wire in Long Island, but it was the division leaders that snuck out their 10th win of the season.
The Raiders dropped their 3rd straight continuing their streaky season and continuing to open the door for both the Blue Wings and Royals.
The Raiders did have the lead for the whole game up until the Kiernan found Jack Duncan for the win.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 32, Providence Gold Stars - 37 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 4, 1961 - 2 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
2nd Q
7-3 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
7-10 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
14-10 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
3rd Q
14-17 PRO - DTD INT DB Neville Falkner
20-17 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> TE Johann Traeger
20-24 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
23-24 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
4th Q
23-31 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> TE Micheal Bowman III
29-31 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
32-31 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
32-37 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
The Blue Wings and Gold Stars duked it out with both teams trying to climb back into contention whether it be the playoffs or for the division.
The veteran in O’Rourke and the youngster in Lemieux put up a combined 6 passing touchdowns.
WR Cedric Peterson and WR Daniel Irons both were the stars with 2 touchdowns each and both getting over 100 yards.
DB Neville Falkner had a big part in his pick-6 and then a pair of pass deflections as well.
Indiana Victors - 13, Louisville Thunder - 17 - Victory Stadium - September 4, 1961 - 5 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 IND - PTD QB Lee Rogers -> WR Silas Peyton
2nd Q
7-3 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
7-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Ben Roland
3rd Q
10-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
13-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
13-17 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
Leonidas Dumont would toss a pair of TDs in an important win over their main rivals.
It was an uglier game than expected with the Thunder having to rely on the defence more than usual in this one.
DB Jayden Mills had a pick and DL Tyrone Affalo and LB Silas O’Brien had forced fumbles.
QB Lee Rogers made his first start of the season for the Victors as they gave him a small audition for next year’s starting role.
Ottawa Royals - 20, Worcester Athletics - 14 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 4, 1961 - 8 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
10-0 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
10-7 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
3rd Q
13-7 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
4th Q
20-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
20-14 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
The Royals were able to grab wins in both of their games against the Athletics which keeps their extremely slim playoff hopes alive.
DB Mingan Oliver and DB Uzzia Hayes had interceptions for the Royals while LB Scotty Williams and DB Joe Robinson had interceptions for the Athletics.
Injury Report
LB Marco Price BOS - 2 Weeks
WR Paul Franklin BOS - Day-to-Day
DL Vic Harper BOS - Day-to-Day
WR Alexei Dubois IND - Day-to-Day
LB Deon Wiggins LI - Day-to-Day
RB Rodney Clark LOU - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
OFF: RB Scott Mallard-White MTL - 2 Rushing Touchdowns, 132 Rushing Yards
DEF: DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT - 2 Forced Fumbles, 5 Tackles, 1 Sack (Game 1 VS WOR)
Standings
WEST
London 10-1 -x
Louisville 9-2 -x
Long Island 4-7
Buffalo 4-7
Indiana 1-11
EAST
Boston 8-3 -x
Montreal 8-3 -x
Providence 7-4 -x
Ottawa 4-7
Worcester 0-11
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Providence +1
4 - Montreal +1
5 - Boston -2
6 - Buffalo -
7 - Long Island -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
Week 12 Games
IND (1-10) @ WOR (0-11) - SEP 9 - 3 PM ET @ Richardson Stadium
*TANK BOWL - Losing team will claim the 1st overall pick in the 1962 NAAF Draft
LI (4-7) @ BUF (4-7) - SEP 9 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
*LI clinches playoff spot with Win or Tie + OTT Loss
*BUF clinches playoff spot with Win
LDN (10-1) @ LOU (9-2) - SEP 10 - 1 PM ET
*LDN clinches West Division with Win or Loss by 8 points or less
*LOU clinches West Division with Win by more than 8 points
OTT (4-7) @ BOS (8-3) - SEP 10 - 4 PM ET
*OTT clinches playoff with Win + LI-BUF Tie
*BOS clinches East Division with Win
MTL (8-3) @ PRO (7-4) - SEP 10 - 7 PM ET - Regular Season Finale
*MTL clinches East Division with Win + BOS Loss
*PRO clinches East Division with Win by more than 1 + BOS Loss
1st Q
3-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
3-3 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
3-10 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
3rd Q
6-10 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
4th Q
12-10 WOR - RTD RB Bernard Alston
12-13 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
A heavy storm rolled into Boston on Thursday night, which affected both teams heavily.
Worcester was shockingly up late on the Royals, but they would not stop the Royals' late drive that would lead to the game-winning field goal.
DL Olaf Viktorsson would grab a pair of fumbles, but they would end up going back the other way to LB Scotty Williams and DL Vinny Brown.
The ugly game still ended with the Royals keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.
Montreal Rouge - 23, Boston Independents - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 1, 1961 - 7 PM ET - FNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> TE Eli Grant
2nd Q
7-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
14-3 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
14-6 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3rd Q
14-12 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Fredrick St.Pierre
17-12 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
4th Q
17-15 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
23-15 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
The Rouge got revenge on the Independents with a strong win at home.
Scott Mallard-White led the way with a pair of touchdowns and 132 rushing yards.
The Independents suffered several injuries in the game which hurt them in the game and prevented them from being able to slow down the Rouge.
DB Quentin Xavier had a strong performance with an interception and 2 deflected passes for the Rouge, while LB Brent Harper had a fumble for the Independents.
Long Island Raiders - 19, London Tigers - 22 - Long Island Stadium - September 2, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
10-0 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
2nd Q
13-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
13-7 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
3rd Q
16-7 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
16-14 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
4th Q
19-14 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
19-20 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Jack Duncan
19-22 LDN - 2PT QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
The Raiders and Tigers went down to the wire in Long Island, but it was the division leaders that snuck out their 10th win of the season.
The Raiders dropped their 3rd straight continuing their streaky season and continuing to open the door for both the Blue Wings and Royals.
The Raiders did have the lead for the whole game up until the Kiernan found Jack Duncan for the win.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 32, Providence Gold Stars - 37 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 4, 1961 - 2 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
2nd Q
7-3 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
7-10 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
14-10 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
3rd Q
14-17 PRO - DTD INT DB Neville Falkner
20-17 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> TE Johann Traeger
20-24 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
23-24 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
4th Q
23-31 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> TE Micheal Bowman III
29-31 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
32-31 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
32-37 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
The Blue Wings and Gold Stars duked it out with both teams trying to climb back into contention whether it be the playoffs or for the division.
The veteran in O’Rourke and the youngster in Lemieux put up a combined 6 passing touchdowns.
WR Cedric Peterson and WR Daniel Irons both were the stars with 2 touchdowns each and both getting over 100 yards.
DB Neville Falkner had a big part in his pick-6 and then a pair of pass deflections as well.
Indiana Victors - 13, Louisville Thunder - 17 - Victory Stadium - September 4, 1961 - 5 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 IND - PTD QB Lee Rogers -> WR Silas Peyton
2nd Q
7-3 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
7-10 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Ben Roland
3rd Q
10-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
4th Q
13-10 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
13-17 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Piers Key
Leonidas Dumont would toss a pair of TDs in an important win over their main rivals.
It was an uglier game than expected with the Thunder having to rely on the defence more than usual in this one.
DB Jayden Mills had a pick and DL Tyrone Affalo and LB Silas O’Brien had forced fumbles.
QB Lee Rogers made his first start of the season for the Victors as they gave him a small audition for next year’s starting role.
Ottawa Royals - 20, Worcester Athletics - 14 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 4, 1961 - 8 PM ET - Labour Day - Weather: Clear
1st Q
3-0 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
2nd Q
10-0 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
10-7 WOR - RTD RB Lawrence Sharp
3rd Q
13-7 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
4th Q
20-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
20-14 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
The Royals were able to grab wins in both of their games against the Athletics which keeps their extremely slim playoff hopes alive.
DB Mingan Oliver and DB Uzzia Hayes had interceptions for the Royals while LB Scotty Williams and DB Joe Robinson had interceptions for the Athletics.
Injury Report
LB Marco Price BOS - 2 Weeks
WR Paul Franklin BOS - Day-to-Day
DL Vic Harper BOS - Day-to-Day
WR Alexei Dubois IND - Day-to-Day
LB Deon Wiggins LI - Day-to-Day
RB Rodney Clark LOU - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
Standings
WEST
London 10-1 -x
Louisville 9-2 -x
Long Island 4-7
Buffalo 4-7
Indiana 1-11
EAST
Boston 8-3 -x
Montreal 8-3 -x
Providence 7-4 -x
Ottawa 4-7
Worcester 0-11
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Providence +1
4 - Montreal +1
5 - Boston -2
6 - Buffalo -
7 - Long Island -
8 - Ottawa -
9 - Indiana -
10 - Worcester -
Week 12 Games
IND (1-10) @ WOR (0-11) - SEP 9 - 3 PM ET @ Richardson Stadium
*TANK BOWL - Losing team will claim the 1st overall pick in the 1962 NAAF Draft
LI (4-7) @ BUF (4-7) - SEP 9 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
*LI clinches playoff spot with Win or Tie + OTT Loss
*BUF clinches playoff spot with Win
LDN (10-1) @ LOU (9-2) - SEP 10 - 1 PM ET
*LDN clinches West Division with Win or Loss by 8 points or less
*LOU clinches West Division with Win by more than 8 points
OTT (4-7) @ BOS (8-3) - SEP 10 - 4 PM ET
*OTT clinches playoff with Win + LI-BUF Tie
*BOS clinches East Division with Win
MTL (8-3) @ PRO (7-4) - SEP 10 - 7 PM ET - Regular Season Finale
*MTL clinches East Division with Win + BOS Loss
*PRO clinches East Division with Win by more than 1 + BOS Loss
BREAKING NEWS
WORCESTER ATHLETICS OWNER ARRESTED; ARSON AND INSURANCE FRAUD CHARGES
September 6, 1961 - Early this morning, Chester Paul, the owner of the Worcester Athletics, was arrested by Worcester Police. The investigation into the downtown fire from mid-August would reveal that the fire was started by the owner himself. The stadium conveniently had no one on staff that night, when there is typically staff working overnight, and some evidence was found in Chester Paul’s office at the stadium. Along with the arson charge, he will also be charged with insurance fraud as he was aiming to get money for compensation for the burnt stadium. Following the arrest, the NAAF will officially remove Chester Paul as the owner and will take full ownership of the franchise. The search for the team's new owner will fall into the league’s hands.
MORE INFORMATION REVEALED
It had been a rocky road since Chester Paul took control of the team’s operations after his father, Richard Paul, passed away in 1955. The one good year under Chester Paul was 1956 when the Athletics had made the McCallister Cup. Since then, the team has been dismantled piece-by-piece, going from championship contender to basement dweller. Chester’s low-cost, high-profit mentality is the main cause for the downfall. He has shown to have little care and knowledge about football but took the role because of the business side and potential for money. He would take any chance to cut payroll, even if that made his team worse. On top of that, he lacked much care for players, and that was reflected in his GM Jack McKinnon who would comply with Chester Paul and would make the moves happen without much of a care with what the players had to say. The issues continued to stack up every season with the decisions becoming more puzzling. Even after there was some promise of an improving team in 1960, the loss of young QB Gene Bishop would be the last straw.
After being asked to sell the team, Chester Paul tried to fight it but was unsuccessful. As the season was about to begin, Chester was looking for a new owner to buy the team from him. However, he ran into some issues. Firstly, he priced the team much higher than many perceived the franchise to be worth. The high price would certainly turn off many potential buyers, especially ones out of smaller markets and even Worcester itself. Secondly, the team’s lack of success throughout the season only made it tougher as the Athletics looked more and more like a major project. Many of the potential buyers outside of Worcester were more interested in pushing for future expansion teams than dealing with the aftermath of Chester’s time in Worcester. The team was almost bought in week 4 by people from the ACFL in an attempt to take a franchise away from the NAAF, but the NAAF was able to prevent the move which left Chester back where he started. To make matters worse, his own business which he built before taking over the Athletics, was in a lot of trouble and was getting closer to bankruptcy.
As the season went on, Chester got truly desperate. He came up with a plan that he thought might be able to get him out of the situation. What Chester didn’t think of, was how terrible a plan it was. He decided that trying to get insurance money from a burnt stadium would be the best way to handle things and then sell the team for a little less to get overall more money. The rest is history at this point with Chester's plan crashing and burning; getting caught and in a much worse position than before.
BACKLASH
While Chester Paul will head to the courts and deal with his issues separate from the NAAF, the league is getting some critical heat about the situation. New York City Football Club owner, Steven Van Fossen, was once again vocal in criticizing the league for its supposed lack of business understanding. He specifically revealed that the ACFL had a deal done to buy the team and that the league was too involved.
NAAF Commissioner Ryan Jameson would comment on what Van Fossen and other critics had to say by stating “The NAAF is a league that supports each other, from the ownership group to the players on the field. People make mistakes and we will give second chances, but if someone is out of line and hurting the rest of the “family” then we will make the decision to move on. Our choice to remove Chester Paul was exactly that, but our further involvement was for the future and to maintain the strong bond and “family” we have built within the NAAF.”
The statement was well received from the partners in the NAAF, but some were still not satisfied, specifically Mr. Van Fossen.
WORCESTER ATHLETICS OWNER ARRESTED; ARSON AND INSURANCE FRAUD CHARGES
September 6, 1961 - Early this morning, Chester Paul, the owner of the Worcester Athletics, was arrested by Worcester Police. The investigation into the downtown fire from mid-August would reveal that the fire was started by the owner himself. The stadium conveniently had no one on staff that night, when there is typically staff working overnight, and some evidence was found in Chester Paul’s office at the stadium. Along with the arson charge, he will also be charged with insurance fraud as he was aiming to get money for compensation for the burnt stadium. Following the arrest, the NAAF will officially remove Chester Paul as the owner and will take full ownership of the franchise. The search for the team's new owner will fall into the league’s hands.
MORE INFORMATION REVEALED
It had been a rocky road since Chester Paul took control of the team’s operations after his father, Richard Paul, passed away in 1955. The one good year under Chester Paul was 1956 when the Athletics had made the McCallister Cup. Since then, the team has been dismantled piece-by-piece, going from championship contender to basement dweller. Chester’s low-cost, high-profit mentality is the main cause for the downfall. He has shown to have little care and knowledge about football but took the role because of the business side and potential for money. He would take any chance to cut payroll, even if that made his team worse. On top of that, he lacked much care for players, and that was reflected in his GM Jack McKinnon who would comply with Chester Paul and would make the moves happen without much of a care with what the players had to say. The issues continued to stack up every season with the decisions becoming more puzzling. Even after there was some promise of an improving team in 1960, the loss of young QB Gene Bishop would be the last straw.
After being asked to sell the team, Chester Paul tried to fight it but was unsuccessful. As the season was about to begin, Chester was looking for a new owner to buy the team from him. However, he ran into some issues. Firstly, he priced the team much higher than many perceived the franchise to be worth. The high price would certainly turn off many potential buyers, especially ones out of smaller markets and even Worcester itself. Secondly, the team’s lack of success throughout the season only made it tougher as the Athletics looked more and more like a major project. Many of the potential buyers outside of Worcester were more interested in pushing for future expansion teams than dealing with the aftermath of Chester’s time in Worcester. The team was almost bought in week 4 by people from the ACFL in an attempt to take a franchise away from the NAAF, but the NAAF was able to prevent the move which left Chester back where he started. To make matters worse, his own business which he built before taking over the Athletics, was in a lot of trouble and was getting closer to bankruptcy.
As the season went on, Chester got truly desperate. He came up with a plan that he thought might be able to get him out of the situation. What Chester didn’t think of, was how terrible a plan it was. He decided that trying to get insurance money from a burnt stadium would be the best way to handle things and then sell the team for a little less to get overall more money. The rest is history at this point with Chester's plan crashing and burning; getting caught and in a much worse position than before.
BACKLASH
While Chester Paul will head to the courts and deal with his issues separate from the NAAF, the league is getting some critical heat about the situation. New York City Football Club owner, Steven Van Fossen, was once again vocal in criticizing the league for its supposed lack of business understanding. He specifically revealed that the ACFL had a deal done to buy the team and that the league was too involved.
NAAF Commissioner Ryan Jameson would comment on what Van Fossen and other critics had to say by stating “The NAAF is a league that supports each other, from the ownership group to the players on the field. People make mistakes and we will give second chances, but if someone is out of line and hurting the rest of the “family” then we will make the decision to move on. Our choice to remove Chester Paul was exactly that, but our further involvement was for the future and to maintain the strong bond and “family” we have built within the NAAF.”
The statement was well received from the partners in the NAAF, but some were still not satisfied, specifically Mr. Van Fossen.
1961 Week 12
Worcester Athletics - 19, Indiana Victors - 17 - Richardson Stadium - September 9, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
2nd Q
6-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
9-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
9-3 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
9-4 IND - Single K Ross Poindexter
3rd Q
16-4 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
16-11 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
4th Q
19-11 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
19-17 IND - PTD QB Lee Rogers -> WR Ed Edwards
The news of the owner’s arrest seemed to fire up the Athletics in their final game of the season.
LB Scotty Williams would light the match on defence in the first half which held the Victors to only 4 points; he grabbed a forced fumble and an interception to go with 13 Tackles on the day.
The Victors played rough until the end of the 3rd quarter, but their comeback came too late and they fell short.
LB Scotty Williams made sure that the Athletics got the win by deflecting the pass intended for WR Silas Peyton, on what would have been the game-tying 2-point convert.
On the bright side, the team will get the #1 overall pick in the draft.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 33, Long Island Raiders - 20 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 9, 1961 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-7 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
7-7 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
2nd Q
8-7 BUF - Single K Donald Brewer
8-14 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
3rd Q
8-17 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
15-17 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Ronald Vernon
21-17 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR LeRoy Krueger
23-17 BUF - 2PT RB Jimmy Golden
4th Q
23-20 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
26-20 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
33-20 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
The Blue Wings pulled off what would have been impossible at the midpoint of the season.
QB Charles Lemieux tossed a pair of TDs in the win putting the Blue Wings into the playoffs after starting 1-5 during this season.
DB Dean Hawkins had his first career pick in the final game as well.
The Long Island Raiders season was one to be split into three parts, and 0-4 start before a 4 game win-streak followed by losing their last 4 games.
It seems that there will be some big changes coming to the Raiders this offseason. *Buffalo clinches the final playoff spot
Louisville Thunder - 10, London Tigers - 30 - Thunder Stadium - September 10, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-7 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
0-10 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
2nd Q
3-10 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
3-17 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
3rd Q
10-17 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
10-20 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
10-27 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
4th Q
10-30 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
After the last 3 seasons of falling just short of the West Division title, the Tigers cruised past the Thunder to win the West Division title.
The Thunder didn’t look great in the game and it was not helped by several injuries to DL Tyrone Affalo and more importantly, DB Jayden Mills and DB Alexander Bradley.
Mills and Bradley will be done for the playoffs which means the team will certainly be shorthanded heading into the playoffs.
*London clinches West Division - 1st division title*
Boston Independents - 15, Ottawa Royals - 28 - Richardson Stadium - September 10, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
2nd Q
6-7 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
6-14 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
3rd Q
9-14 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
4th Q
15-14 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
15-21 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Angus Stevenson
15-28 OTT - DTD DB Mingan Oliver
Ahead of the final game of the season, QB Jean Matieau was fed up with the play and would give a pre-game speech that would inspire the team into a strong performance to close out the season.
He would lead the Royals in a 2 touchdown performance in the win, and then would let DB Mingan Oliver close out the win with a defensive touchdown.
Boston looked flat at home and was completely taken aback by the Royals who had flashed their old selves in the win.
The loss also means they will not be getting the division title this season.
Providence Gold Stars - 25, Montreal Rouge - 28 - New Providence Stadium - September 10, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
3-7 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
2nd Q
9-7 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
9-14 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Taylor Karis
3rd Q
12-14 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
12-17 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
18-17 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
4th Q
25-17 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
25-23 MTL - RTD QB Gene Bishop
25-25 MTL - 2PT RB Scott Mallard-White
25-28 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
The Gold Stars would fight back from a deficit to take an 8 point lead, but the Rouge were not out of it and would climb back to take a lead to win the game for the Rouge.
WR Taylor Karis would score his first career touchdown in the win giving the Rouge a lead in the 2nd.
S Shawn Jensen would get an interception and LB Rusty McVee would get a forced fumble and then S Garet deVale would have an interception for the Rouge.
*The Rouge clinch the East Division title - 1st since 1953*
Injury Report
OL Simeon Clarke LDN - 1 Week
OL Bernhard Altermann LOU - Day-to-Day
DB Jayden Mills LOU - 6 Weeks
DB Alexander Bradley LOU - 7 Weeks
DL Tyrone Affalo LOU - 1 Week
WR Chester Bennett OTT - Day-to-Day
DB Uzzia Hayes OTT - 2 Weeks
OL Fabrice Beaufort OTT - Day-to-Day
DL Xander Devereaux PRO - 1 Week
DL Billy Melton WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Gene Bishop MTL - 1 Passing Touchdown, 1 Rushing Touchdown, 214 Passing Yards, 38 Rushing Yards
DEF: LB Scotty Williams WOR - 1 Interception, 1 Forced Fumble, 13 Tackles
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Providence -1
5 - Boston -
6 - Buffalo -
7 - Ottawa +1
8 - Long Island -1
9 - Worcester +1
10 - Indiana -1
Regular Season Round-Up
1961 Division Semi-Finals Preview
East Division Semi-Final
Boston Independents VS. Providence Gold Stars - Richardson Stadium - September 17, 1961 - 3 PM ET
Head-to-Head: W6 BOS 22-17 PRO, W9 PRO 19-6 BOS
The 7th postseason meeting between the New England rivals will kick off the 1961 NAAF Playoffs. The two teams come into the playoffs heading in different directions. Boston started off really strong, but have dropped 3 of their last 4, while Providence had won 5 straight before this past week’s loss to the Rouge. Both teams have strong potential for both sides of the ball and should lead pretty much a tossup in this one. Boston is hoping they can finally get over the hump with QB Nathaniel Braddock, while Providence is looking to finally shake the choking storyline in the playoffs leaving a lot at stake in this one. I think the red-hot Gold Stars will manage to pull off the win in this one.
My Pick: Gold Stars
West Division Semi-Final
Louisville Thunder VS. Buffalo Blue Wings - Thunder Stadium - September 17, 1961 - 7 PM ET
Head-to-Head: W1 LOU 35-22 BUF, W5 BUF 21-24 LOU
Each team’s record certainly makes this game feel a lot less competitive than it seems. However, with the major injuries that the Thunder suffered this week and Buffalo being red-hot, this game could be really tight. Buffalo only lost to the Thunder by 3 in their week 5 matchup which was before the young sensation of Charles Lemieux had taken over for the team. The Thunder are going to have to rely on QB Leonidas Dumont and the offence to get them through this tough game, while the Blue Wings are going to have to work as a team to find the Thunder’s weaknesses. I still like the Thunder in the game, but won’t be surprised if the Blue Wings find a way to make it a tight game.
My Pick: Thunder
1st Q
3-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
2nd Q
6-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
9-0 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
9-3 IND - FG K Ross Poindexter
9-4 IND - Single K Ross Poindexter
3rd Q
16-4 WOR - PTD QB Caldwell Higgins III -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
16-11 IND - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
4th Q
19-11 WOR - FG K Elvis Franklin
19-17 IND - PTD QB Lee Rogers -> WR Ed Edwards
The news of the owner’s arrest seemed to fire up the Athletics in their final game of the season.
LB Scotty Williams would light the match on defence in the first half which held the Victors to only 4 points; he grabbed a forced fumble and an interception to go with 13 Tackles on the day.
The Victors played rough until the end of the 3rd quarter, but their comeback came too late and they fell short.
LB Scotty Williams made sure that the Athletics got the win by deflecting the pass intended for WR Silas Peyton, on what would have been the game-tying 2-point convert.
On the bright side, the team will get the #1 overall pick in the draft.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 33, Long Island Raiders - 20 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 9, 1961 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
0-7 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
7-7 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
2nd Q
8-7 BUF - Single K Donald Brewer
8-14 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
3rd Q
8-17 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
15-17 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Ronald Vernon
21-17 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR LeRoy Krueger
23-17 BUF - 2PT RB Jimmy Golden
4th Q
23-20 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
26-20 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
33-20 BUF - RTD RB Jimmy Golden
The Blue Wings pulled off what would have been impossible at the midpoint of the season.
QB Charles Lemieux tossed a pair of TDs in the win putting the Blue Wings into the playoffs after starting 1-5 during this season.
DB Dean Hawkins had his first career pick in the final game as well.
The Long Island Raiders season was one to be split into three parts, and 0-4 start before a 4 game win-streak followed by losing their last 4 games.
It seems that there will be some big changes coming to the Raiders this offseason. *Buffalo clinches the final playoff spot
Louisville Thunder - 10, London Tigers - 30 - Thunder Stadium - September 10, 1961 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-7 LDN - RTD RB Eric Sydney
0-10 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
2nd Q
3-10 LOU - FG K Theodore Provost
3-17 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
3rd Q
10-17 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
10-20 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
10-27 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton
4th Q
10-30 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
After the last 3 seasons of falling just short of the West Division title, the Tigers cruised past the Thunder to win the West Division title.
The Thunder didn’t look great in the game and it was not helped by several injuries to DL Tyrone Affalo and more importantly, DB Jayden Mills and DB Alexander Bradley.
Mills and Bradley will be done for the playoffs which means the team will certainly be shorthanded heading into the playoffs.
*London clinches West Division - 1st division title*
Boston Independents - 15, Ottawa Royals - 28 - Richardson Stadium - September 10, 1961 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Mackenzie Jones
2nd Q
6-7 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
6-14 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
3rd Q
9-14 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
4th Q
15-14 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Ellis Lindholm
15-21 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Angus Stevenson
15-28 OTT - DTD DB Mingan Oliver
Ahead of the final game of the season, QB Jean Matieau was fed up with the play and would give a pre-game speech that would inspire the team into a strong performance to close out the season.
He would lead the Royals in a 2 touchdown performance in the win, and then would let DB Mingan Oliver close out the win with a defensive touchdown.
Boston looked flat at home and was completely taken aback by the Royals who had flashed their old selves in the win.
The loss also means they will not be getting the division title this season.
Providence Gold Stars - 25, Montreal Rouge - 28 - New Providence Stadium - September 10, 1961 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
3-7 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
2nd Q
9-7 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
9-14 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Taylor Karis
3rd Q
12-14 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
12-17 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
18-17 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
4th Q
25-17 PRO - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
25-23 MTL - RTD QB Gene Bishop
25-25 MTL - 2PT RB Scott Mallard-White
25-28 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
The Gold Stars would fight back from a deficit to take an 8 point lead, but the Rouge were not out of it and would climb back to take a lead to win the game for the Rouge.
WR Taylor Karis would score his first career touchdown in the win giving the Rouge a lead in the 2nd.
S Shawn Jensen would get an interception and LB Rusty McVee would get a forced fumble and then S Garet deVale would have an interception for the Rouge.
*The Rouge clinch the East Division title - 1st since 1953*
Injury Report
OL Simeon Clarke LDN - 1 Week
OL Bernhard Altermann LOU - Day-to-Day
DB Jayden Mills LOU - 6 Weeks
DB Alexander Bradley LOU - 7 Weeks
DL Tyrone Affalo LOU - 1 Week
WR Chester Bennett OTT - Day-to-Day
DB Uzzia Hayes OTT - 2 Weeks
OL Fabrice Beaufort OTT - Day-to-Day
DL Xander Devereaux PRO - 1 Week
DL Billy Melton WOR - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
Power Rankings
1 - London -
2 - Louisville -
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Providence -1
5 - Boston -
6 - Buffalo -
7 - Ottawa +1
8 - Long Island -1
9 - Worcester +1
10 - Indiana -1
Regular Season Round-Up
1961 Division Semi-Finals Preview
East Division Semi-Final
Boston Independents VS. Providence Gold Stars - Richardson Stadium - September 17, 1961 - 3 PM ET
Head-to-Head: W6 BOS 22-17 PRO, W9 PRO 19-6 BOS
The 7th postseason meeting between the New England rivals will kick off the 1961 NAAF Playoffs. The two teams come into the playoffs heading in different directions. Boston started off really strong, but have dropped 3 of their last 4, while Providence had won 5 straight before this past week’s loss to the Rouge. Both teams have strong potential for both sides of the ball and should lead pretty much a tossup in this one. Boston is hoping they can finally get over the hump with QB Nathaniel Braddock, while Providence is looking to finally shake the choking storyline in the playoffs leaving a lot at stake in this one. I think the red-hot Gold Stars will manage to pull off the win in this one.
My Pick: Gold Stars
West Division Semi-Final
Louisville Thunder VS. Buffalo Blue Wings - Thunder Stadium - September 17, 1961 - 7 PM ET
Head-to-Head: W1 LOU 35-22 BUF, W5 BUF 21-24 LOU
Each team’s record certainly makes this game feel a lot less competitive than it seems. However, with the major injuries that the Thunder suffered this week and Buffalo being red-hot, this game could be really tight. Buffalo only lost to the Thunder by 3 in their week 5 matchup which was before the young sensation of Charles Lemieux had taken over for the team. The Thunder are going to have to rely on QB Leonidas Dumont and the offence to get them through this tough game, while the Blue Wings are going to have to work as a team to find the Thunder’s weaknesses. I still like the Thunder in the game, but won’t be surprised if the Blue Wings find a way to make it a tight game.
My Pick: Thunder
