1961 Season Preview

1961 Season Preview 

1961 Schedule
The Tigers and Raiders will open up the 1961 season with Ottawa and Boston facing off the next night to bring on some strong matchups out of the gate. QB Gene Bishop and the Rouge will open up their season with Bishop’s old team in Worcester. Canada Day will feature the Royals-Rouge rivalry, and the 4th of July will have the Independents host the Blue Wings. Labour day marks the other holiday with the Blue Wings hosting the Gold Stars and the classic Louisville-Indiana rivalry in Indy. The season will finally close out with the Gold Stars hosting the Rouge. 

Thursday Night Football
W5 - BUF VS LOU
W8 - IND VS BOS
W10 - OTT VS PRO 

Friday Night Football
W1 - OTT VS BOS
W2 - LI VS LOU
W3 - MTL VS PRO
W4 - IND VS BUF
W5 - OTT VS LI
W6 - LI VS WOR
W7 - WOR VS PRO
W8 - PRO VS LOU
W9 - LDN VS MTL
W10 - MTL VS LOU
W11 - MTL VS BOS 

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

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

1961 Pre-season Power Rankings

1 - London Tigers 
1960 Record: 8-4 (2nd West)
1960 Result: Won McCallister Cup
Following their first championship, the Tigers didn’t make a lot of changes this offseason and they really didn’t need to. QB Riley Kiernan returns with his young weapons in WR Max Sutton and RB Clifford Russell. They still have the powerful D-line and feisty secondary that will certainly give the Tigers a great shot at repeating. The team did suffer a couple of losses in veterans LB Benjamin Pittman and WR Wilbert Benjamin. Pittman moved onto Louisville while Benjamin called it a career. They will be able to replace the two with youngsters in LB Dallas Dillard and WR Jack Duncan. The Tigers are looking like the favourites again and will be tough to dethrone.  

Captains
C - LB Aengus Lynch
A - QB Riley Kiernan
A - RB Clifford Russell* 

2 - Boston Independents
1960 Record: 8-4 (1st East)
1960 Result: Lost East Division Final
Pressure mounts in Beantown ahead of the 1961 season. After the last several seasons of falling short in the playoffs, the fans are going to be hungry to see the team get back to the championship game. QB Nathaniel Braddock has steadily grown over the past few seasons and now with a fresh new contract, he is the leader for the team to the future. However, this season he will have some help coming in on the back end with DB Petr Westerburg from the Royals and rookie DB Lawrence Ralph. They still have strengths in the WR core and LB core which will keep them in contention as always, the question is, can they finally make it happen when it counts? Only time will tell.

Captains
C - LB Brent Harper
A - WR Ellis Lindholm
A - QB Nathaniel Braddock*

3 - Montreal Rouge
1960 Record: 8-4 (2nd East)
1960 Result: Lost East Division Semi-Final
Landing the top free agent during the offseason will create buzz for any team, but when it’s a potential franchise QB, there is another layer of pure excitement about the team heading into the season. QB Gene Bishop certainly will have a lot of pressure on a Montreal team that is desperate to be truly competitive again. The Rouge did make a return to the playoffs last season, but they were far from taking home a title. With the addition of Bishop into an offence with plenty of weapons, (RB Scott Mallard-White, WR Derek Cross, WR Robert Lang, and TE Eli Grant, just to name a few) the Rouge could be flying all over the field this season. Their slowly developing defence, behind DB Quentin Xavier and S Garet deVale, will aim to be a big help this season as well. Montreal has the makings of a true competitor, whether they reach that level will likely depend on how Bishop performs in his new role.

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

4 - Louisville Thunder
1960 Record: 7-5 (3rd West)
1960 Result: Missed Playoffs
Many teams made strong moves this offseason, and the Thunder were certainly one of them. The big one was easily the trade they made at the draft to acquire DL Tyrone Affalo and move up to pick OL Taylor Forbes. Both pieces look to be immediate impacts on both D-line and O-line. The team also brought in several veterans in LB Benjamin Pittman, WR Truman Harry, and DB Victor Bean, to add some leadership to the younger group. On top of that, they also added young RB Rodney Clark to pair up with RB Stavros Black this season which looks to be one of the better duos in the league. The big question will once again remain in the hands of QB Leonidas Dumont. The QB is in a contract year and will be looking to prove himself, especially after the Thunder brought in QB Christian Stewart to back him up this season. The Thunder looks strong once again, now can they turn that into success and a run at the cup.  

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

5 - Providence Gold Stars
1960 Record: 1-11 (5th East)
1960 Result: Missed Playoffs
It is quite the climb up the power rankings for a team that finished at the bottom of the league last season, but when you add several game-changing pieces to a crumbling defence and return with a still strong offensive attack, you certainly can climb out of the hole quickly. LB Rusty McVee, S Shawn Jensen, and DB Jared Francis all come to the Gold Stars looking to get the team back on track and rebuild the defence quickly. They also will be getting help from the #1 overall pick DB Neville Falkner, who already looks like a stellar piece in training camp. The big story outside of the new additions will be QB Connor O’Rourke who is aiming for a rebound season after a pretty tough 1960 season. The veteran QB is hoping that with the help he can return to MVP form and finally get the Gold Stars over the top this season.  

Captains
C - QB Connor O’Rourke
A - DL Calias McDonough
A - OL Wilfred Gibson* 

6 - Ottawa Royals
1960 Record: 7-4-1 (3rd East)
1960 Result: Lost McCallister Cup
After many years of pure dominance, it is odd to see the Royals this far down the power rankings. It comes with both major concerns with the team’s ageing lineup and the other younger teams getting a lot better. However, as long as QB Jean Matieau and HC Joseph Curry remain with the team they are certainly going to be contenders. It is looking like a team that may rely more on its defence than in years past, but that should not stop them from being a strong team. 

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

7 - Long Island Raiders
1960 Record: 8-3-1 (1st West)
1960 Result: Lost West Division Final
While seeing the Royals at 6 is a surprise, seeing the Raiders below them at 7 is even more surprising. The Raiders, who have finished 1st in the West in the last three seasons, suffered the most from the league’s new salary cap. They would lose several key pieces (LB Rusty McVee, DL Tyrone Affalo, and WR Robert Lang), which brings a lot of questions to the team this season. Those players will be replaced by the less experienced crew of LB Deon Wiggins, DL Dale Rothery, and WR Tony Albano. The bit of good news for the Raiders is that RB Dareion Fields looks like he has recovered from his major injury from last season and should be back up to form this year. 

Captains
C - DL Vernon Spears
A - LB Elijah Goldwater
A - QB Lyle Painter* 

8 - Buffalo Blue Wings
1960 Record: 2-9-1 (4th West)
1960 Results: Missed Playoffs
Outside of the top 7, things get a bit dicey with the still rebuilding teams. The Buffalo Blue Wings will be about seeing a lot of young players from RB Jimmy Golden to DB Dean Hawkins. However, the most interesting spot could be at QB. The team is leaning towards starting veteran QB Stanislav Ovechkin out of the gate this season, but they have strongly considered giving second-year QB Charles Lemieux a shot out of the gate. It is very likely the young QB does get a shot at some point this season. The Blue Wings will be exciting to watch grow this season, but they are certainly a long shot from being true contenders this season. 

Captains
C - S Frazier Brooks*
A - OL Jean Mathieu-Baptiste
A - LB Lloyd Mathis* 

9 - Indiana Victors
1960 Record: 2-10 (5th West)
1960 Result: Missed Playoffs
The Indiana Victors are hoping that this season can bring a little more promise. The past two seasons have certainly been tough for the team. The good news is people still stand by the team and they seem to be finally heading in the right direction. The addition of 1960 OPOY RB Johnnie Stafford and RB Don Gregson certainly provide some experience in the backfield which can be a huge boost to the offence. However, their big question will be who gets starting snaps between QB Stanley Troyer and QB Lee Rogers. Both QBs have performed well in camp and both likely will have chances early in the season. The team seems to be leaning in Troyer’s direction, but Rogers continues to make his case and could mean both see the field in the opening game. It’s a year of experimentation for the Victors, but the hope is getting to a competitive spot soon enough. 

Captains
C - DL William Sanderson
A - DB Kelly Kirkland
A - RB Johnnie Stafford* 

10 - Worcester Athletics
1960 Record: 7-4-1 (4th East)
1960 Result: Lost West Division Semi-Final
The last team will leave a lot to be desired, while last season they were ranked 10 going into the season, but they also had a young Gene Bishop and several other key pieces last season that helped them reach the playoffs. The huge questions all over the roster don't spell good news for the Athletics. The QB battle is likely to go to QB Terry Bourbon out of the gate, but QB Caldwell Higgins III could also challenge for starting snaps this season. The team’s roster has been burnt to a crisp over the past several seasons and is leading to an even longer rebuild.  

Captains
C - LB Scotty Williams
A - OL Cliff Strauztenberger
A - DL Brayden Mills* 

Wallflower's 1961 Prediction
WEST
London 9-3 -y
Louisville 8-4 -x
Long Island 5-7 
Buffalo 3-9
Indiana 2-10

EAST
Boston 9-3 -y
Montreal 8-4 -x
Providence 7-5 -x
Ottawa 6-6 -c
Worcester 2-10

Playoffs
DSF
PRO over MTL
LOU over OTT

DF
BOS over PRO
LDN over LOU

43rd McCallister Cup
BOS over LDN