1964 Retirements
LB Aengus Lynch - Charlestown, MA - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: TOR 1952 - 1st Round - 4th Overall - (from OTT)
Teams: Toronto/Ontario/London Tigers (1952-1963)
Captaincy: ON/LDN C - (1957-1963)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1960, 1963)
Awards: Defensive Player of the Year (1956)
All-Stars: 8 (1954-1961)
Lynch will go down as one of the best Tigers of all time. After being taken 4th overall in 1952, Lynch quickly found his footing as the anchor of the defence. By his third year, he was making the argument for being the 2nd best LB in the league behind LB Scotty Williams. He would have 8 straight All-Stars as well and a Defensive Player of the Year award (1956). He would also become the Tigers' first and only captain in 1957. As the captain, he would finally help the team get over the top in 1960 and once again in his final season 1963.
S Frazier Brooks - Bristol, CT - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: BUF 1952 - 1st Round - 6th Overall
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings (1952-1963)
Captaincy: BUF - A - (1957-1960) - BUF C - (1961-1963)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1952,1957)
Awards: Playoff MVP (1957), McCallister Cup MVP (1957)
All-Stars: 4 (1953, 1957-1959)
Another captain will leave the game with S Frazier Brooks calling it a career. Brooks was often overlooked throughout his career, but his leadership and ability to show up when his team needed him most make him one of the best at the safety position. While his accolades don’t jump off the page, he certainly has a lot of respect behind a great 1957 playoff run and 4 all-stars. Brooks is a very intelligent player and is very likely going to find himself coaching moving forward.
OL Jean Mathieu-Baptiste - Montreal, QC - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: BUF 1953 - 1st Round - 8th Overall
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings (1953-1963)
Captaincy: BUF A - (1960-1963)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1957)
All-Stars: 4 (1957-1960)
Another longtime Buffalo veteran calls it a career. Mathieu-Baptiste has been a consistent member of the Blue Wings’ O-line since being drafted in the first round in 1953. He peaked during the late 50s with 4 All-Stars. He would follow those years up by taking on the A for his final 4 years in the league. A solid career that may also be extended into coaching moving forward.
RB Marcus Devonshire - Boston, MA - Creator: ZO82
Drafted: WOR 1953 - 2nd Round - 10th Overall
Teams: Worcester Athletics (1953-1959), Providence Gold Stars (1960-1963)
Captaincy: WOR A - (1958-1959)
McCallister Cups: None
Awards: Breakout Player of the Year (1956)
All-Stars: 2 (1957,1961)
Devonshire had a pretty solid career. He was a bruising back that would power through tackles. The perfect player for important runs where teams would stack the defence up the middle. He put himself in conversations for awards throughout his career; he would win a breakout player award in 1956. He would also snag a pair of all-stars at the RB position which is typically more difficult since only 2 get picked each year. After 7 seasons with Worcester, he would close out his career in Providence, helping them reach the 1963 McCallister Cup, however, he was still never able to win the title.
S Shawn Jensen - Toledo, OH - Creator: Wallflower
Drafted: WOR 1952 - 3rd Round - 17th Overall
Teams: Worcester Athletics (1952-1960), Providence (1961-1963)
McCallister Cups: None
All-Stars: 3 (1954-1956)
Jensen is often known as one of the best steals in NAAF draft history. A player that was projected to go late-1st round, early 2nd round, slipped all the way to the third. The Athletics were stoked to have the eventual 3-time All-Atar as their mainstay on the back end. Much like Worcester teammate Devonshire, he would move over to the Gold Stars for his last 2 seasons.
Drafted: OTT 1952 - 2nd Round - 12th Overall
Teams: Ottawa Royals (1952-1963), London Tigers (1963)
McCallister Cups: 5 (1954,1955,1956,1959,1963)
All-Stars: 7 (1954-1958, 1960-1961)
If he isn’t the only player, Howell is one of few that have been able to bring home the McCallister Cup 5 times in his NAAF career. Easily one of the best TEs of the NAAF, Howell was consistently an All-Star and a special weapon for QB Jean Matieau. He played for the Royals for all but 7 games in his career, as he was traded to the Tigers midway through his final season.
LB Silas O’Brien - Falmouth, MA - Creator: Dan O’Mac
Drafted: BOS 1952 - 1st Round - 5th Overall
Teams: Boston Independents (1954-1955), Worcester Athletics (1956-1957), Louisville Thunder (1958-1963)
Captaincy: LOU A - (1959-1963)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1962)
Awards: McCallister Cup MVP (1962)
All-Stars: 3 (1958,1959,1961)
O’Brien was never able to truly live up to the expectations of a 1st Round selection, however, he still managed to make the most of his career. He had a rocky start to his career, as he was traded to Worcester after only 2 years in Boston. He was then dealt to Louisville 2 seasons after that. His time in both first cities was alright, but nothing special, however, he was able to break loose in Louisville. He took to the leadership role on the young Thunder team and eventually was named an alternate captain in 1959. He would help the Thunder win their lone title in 1962 with the game’s MVP. Silas has loved being in Louisville and is expected to stick around in retirement.
Drafted: BUF 1953 - 3rd Round - 24th Overall
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings (1953), Long Island Hawks/Raiders (1954-1963)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1958)
All-Stars: 4 (1956-1959)
On to another player that was traded early in his career. Bruce Wesley was originally drafted by the Blue Wings in 1953, but was then shipped to Long Island a year later as one of the main pieces in the trade for DL Sean Bowen. Wesley wasn’t expected to be much out of the 3rd round, but he would prove people wrong with 4 all-stars with the Raiders. Wesley was a solid addition for the Raiders O-line and would help them reach the top in 1958.
DL Vinny Brown - Albany, NY - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: WOR 1953 - 4th Round - 26th Overall
Teams: Worcester Athletics (1953-1961), Montreal Rouge (1962-1963)
McCallister Cups: None
All-Stars: 3 (1957,1958,1960)
Worcester didn’t seem to miss in the first couple of NAAF drafts. Brown was a strong selection out of the 4th round in 1953. He would develop into a mainstay on the D-line for many years and would make a strong impact with 3 All-Stars in his career. Many Worcester fans love Vinny, especially when he would stick around right up until their final season in Worcester. He would close out his career with a couple of seasons with Montreal but was unsuccessful in winning the cup.
OL Wilfred Gibson - Peterborough, ON - Creator: Wallflower
Drafted: PRO 1952 - 2nd Round - 13th Overall
Teams: Providence Gold Stars (1952-1963)
Captaincy: PRO A - (1961-1963)
McCallister Cups: None
All-Stars: 1 (1957)
Gibson was no elite player, but he had a strong career with the Gold Stars. He would be a leader for the team taking on the A in his final 3 seasons. He played a major role in helping to develop some of the younger Gold Star OL that are currently starting today.
Other Notable Players
* = won championship during that time
LB Daevion Shelton - Norfolk, VA - Creator: Wallflower - Drafted: PRO 1952 - 4th Rd - 29th Ovl - Teams: PRO (1952-1963)
OL Shawn Lawrence - Hamilton, ON - Creator: Wallflower - Drafted: TOR 1952 - 3rd Rd - 18th Ovl - Teams: TOR/ON/LDN (1952-1963)**
WR Truman Harry - Bangor, ME - Creator: Rugrat - Drafted: HAR 1953 - 2nd Rd - 12th Ovl - Teams: R.HAR/LI (1953-1955), LI (1955-1956), LOU (1957), OTT (1958-1960)*, LOU (1961-1963)*
DL Tyrone Affalo - Bronx, NY - Creator: Darknes - Drafted: HAR 1953 - 2nd Rd - 17th Ovl - Teams: HAR/LI (1953-1960)*, LOU (1961-1963)*
RB Connor Riley - Boston, MA - Creator: Captain Mort 3D - Drafted: PRO 1953 - 4th Rd - 29th Ovl - Teams: R.PRO (1953-1954), LI (1955-1963)*
TE Phineas Vandenlangenberg - Weekapaug, RI - Creator: Dan O’Mac - Drafted: Undrafted - Teams: R.WOR (1955-1957), OTT (1958-1960 & 1962)*, LOU (1963)
No comments:
Post a Comment