1962 League Meetings and World Changes

1962 League Meetings and World Changes 

Troubles with the Athletics
It has been a constant question since the NAAF took over the Worcester Athletics franchise, wondering who will take over the team and where might they be next season. So far, the answer was far from being found. During the later half of the NAAF season, which saw the lowly Athletics squad winless, the interest for the team was dwindling. Not many owners wanted to move the team away from Worcester because of the team’s history in the city stretching back into the early days of the New England Football Championship. However, when Worcester Stadium was burned, there was a spike in interest. Several potential buyers from outside of Worcester were interested in the team as it became clearer that the team would need a new home. There was interest coming from Rochester, NY, Springfield, MA, Hartford, CT, Syracuse, NY, Portland, ME, and Quebec City, QC. Rochester and Springfield had the strongest bids with potential homes ready for next season.  

When it was announced that the former Athletics owner, Chester Paul, had been arrested, interest in the team dropped. Many potential owners were scared of touching such a broken team. On top of the on-field product being a mess, the front office was a whole other disaster. The reputation of the franchise was dark and muddy, several potential owners made it clear that they had no interest in being the ones to clean up the mess.  

The league went quickly from several interested bids to barely any interest at all. The team as a whole became a weight on the league’s back. They brought the situation forward at the league meetings to get more opinions on the matter from the rest of the NAAF.  

Almost every session during the meeting period was focused on the Athletics. During one of the sessions, the idea of folding the squad was brought forth by Gold Stars owner, David Maxwell and Raiders owner, Wayne Tillman. The two proposed that the reputation of the team was something that was not ever going to be fixed and that maybe they needed to have a completely fresh start. Commissioner, Ryan Jameson, was certainly agreeing with a lot of points, but he still stood on the fact that folding the team was very risky. Not only is it forcing many people out of a job, but also may make the NAAF look like a worse league as well. Jameson stood strong and made it official that the team would play this season, and the matter may be brought up next offseason.  

The league would eventually start talking with members of the Athletics organization. Along with the NAAF Players Committee (led by former QB Larry Larson), the NAAF would have several hearings and meetings to get an insight into the organization. The most interesting meeting ended up being with GM Jack McKinnon. McKinnon was involved heavily with Chester Paul and his actions, and as he was talking to the league, guilt had overthrown him. McKinnon did not treat the players right, though it came from his belief that Chester Paul knew what he was doing. He had realized now that he was very wrong and that he was beyond sorry. The next day, he officially resigned as the team’s GM leaving the league with yet another hole to fill.  

Luckily, they would find a suiter in Larry Larson. The former Boston QB had been a part of the creation of the NAAF Players Committee which has been a great addition to the overall league operations. With this situation, Larson felt that he could help the players and the Athletics start moving in the right direction. It was likely a one-year stint, but it would be an important one.  

As the meetings were wrapping up, there still was no owner for the team. The league would ask the owners to reach out to friends and business partners, to find if there is interest out there for the team. If something develops, the owners are planning to meet up to discuss it. 

Rule Changes
While most of the meetings were focused on the Athletics situation, there was still some time dedicated to other issues. Last offseason, the NAAF added several changes to their season to try and improve competition and player movement around the league. The majority of the changes were a success this season, however, the league wasn’t satisfied with their placement of the trade deadline. They have decided to move it back one more week so teams would have played 8 games by the time of the deadline. 

New Stadium in Buffalo for 1963
Blue Wings Owner Milton Charles and Buffalo Mayor Bobby Tucker announced that there will be a new 54,000 seat stadium built along the coast of Lake Erie in Downtown Buffalo. The bowl stadium will be a huge upgrade for the Blue Wings. Their current stadium, Buffalo Civic Stadium, is overflowing with fans for every game which clearly proved why they needed a bigger home. Milton Charles was ecstatic about the new building: “Our new home will ring in the next era of the Blue Wings, and it will be something special” 

ACFL Introduces Van Fossen as Commissioner and Adds Expansion to the North
The biggest news outside of the NAAF was New York City Bulls Football Club owner Steven Van Fossen becoming the league’s commissioner. He has been quite against the “gimmicky” Hybrid Football and has been very vocal about the way that Ryan Jameson has run the NAAF, especially over the recent Worcester situation. He had been offered the role in the past, the opportunity came up again and with a feeling that he needed to step up to take on the NAAF, he would take the job this time as long as the Bulls remained in his control.  

It didn’t take long for Van Fossen to make immediate moves. He certainly had a lot of power in the league, but now that he was truly in control and he could do what he felt needed to be done. He first announced that the league was going to be expanded by two teams over the next season or two. Two of his understudies out of the Bronx (Frank Thompson and Bill Kent) were going to be heading up North to bring a team to Boston hopefully by the start of their 1962 season. The idea of an ACFL team in the area had been discussed in the past, specifically to attack Worcester and the crumbling Athletics. However, with the stadium going down, they had to shift to Boston. Van Fossen viewed it as fate, stating that “American Football belongs in Boston”.  

The second team would be out of Rochester, NY. Greg Manheim, the former NYFL Rochester owner, was going to be getting a team back in the league. He had been in conversation with the NAAF about the Athletics, and previously a 1957 expansion team, but pulled out due to the arrest of Chester Paul. Not long after, Van Fossen was able to grant him a spot in the ACFL which he gladly took.  

While Van Fossen hopes both squads can suit up for 1962, they are still organizing a place to play in Boston at the moment. The owners and Van Fossen are in contact with several colleges and Independents owner, Benjamin Harris, about leases for next season.  

Halifax OFU Team on Hold with Lack of Stadium Funding
The Ontario Football Union has been slowly making their way along with adding a new team in the Maritimes. The city has approved the location to build a new stadium for the team to eventually play in, however, they will not be providing heavy funding for the stadium. The to-be owner, Elliot Hudson, does not have the ability to build the stadium himself and has asked the OFU for help. Unfortunately, the OFU also doesn’t have enough funding for the stadium. They are hoping that raising ticket prices across the league might be able to help get enough revenue to help out and let the league begin to grow again.