1964 Award Winners

1964 Award Winners

Most Valuable Player - RB Jimmy Golden BUF
A record-breaking season for Golden makes him the first RB MVP since RB Élisée Marchal back in 1951. While he only won by a couple of votes over QB Gene Bishop, the RB was clearly the best player all year long and extremely important to the Blue Wings returning to the playoffs after back-to-back 4-7-1 seasons.

Playoff MVP - RB Dareion Fields LI
While the Raiders feel short of their ultimate goal, Fields was absolutely unbelievable in all 3 games they played in the playoffs. The East Division Final against Montreal was probably the key game as the RB had 3 touchdowns in the come from behind victory to get them back to the McCallister Cup for the first time since 1958. 

Offensive Player of the Year - RB Dareion Fields LI
While Fields didn’t receive a single vote for MVP, he was able to earn his second OPOY award with an excellent season. He had 20 touchdowns, which is typically a league-leading amount. If it weren’t for Golden’s record-breaking 24 scores, Fields would easily have been the best RB in the league this season.

Defensive Player of the Year - DL William Sanderson IND
It was finally time to recognize the abilities of DL William Sanderson who has put up league-leading numbers throughout his career but had been almost forgotten with the struggling Victors. Sanderson is one of the most feared but respected DL in the league and it is nice to see that he will get recognized for his play.

Special Teams Player of the Year - K Arthur Kettinger MTL
Kettinger was a kicking machine this season, scoring the next closest kicker by 19 points. This win marks Kettinger’s second STPOY award, his last being back in 1953 which was his rookie season. 

Rookie of the Year - RB Max Tracy TOR
There was not a lot of competition from rookies this season, but that should not take away from a strong performance from the 1st overall pick this season. Tracy was able to shine despite splitting his snaps with RB Tommy Allen and RB Alex Warren. He managed to lead the team in rushing touchdowns with 7 (over Allen’s 6), and showed that he should be a great piece for the future in Toronto. 

Coach of the Year - Ronald Martin TOR
It was a little difficult for many of the Steelheads to make the transition from Canadian football rules to Hybrid Football rules, but HC Ronald Martin was able to lead the team into a new era and not only help them adjust after an 0-2 start but to go 7-3 in the next 10 and make the playoffs in their first season. A great job was done by a veteran coach. 

Breakout Player of the Year - DB Rutherford Winters LI
His younger teammate, DB Lauri Hayha took home this award last year, which might have been taken personally by Winters who had a great breakout season this year. Having more support around him allowed Winters to be more aggressive this season and it paid off with a career-high 4 interceptions. With Hayha and now Winters coming into their own, the Raiders are likely going to be a scary team to throw against for years to come. 

1964 All-Stars

WEST ALL-STARS
QB Riley Kiernan LDN (7)
RB Jimmy Golden BUF (1)
OL Taylor Forbes LOU (2)
OL Gregory Farrell TOR (1)
OL Georgio Stephan BUF (3)
OL Bernhard Altermann LOU (5)
OL Jean-Baptiste Desjardins IND (2)
WR Max Sutton LDN (5)
WR Ed Edwards IND (3)
WR Edmund Landry TOR (1)
TE Tranquille Rousseau LDN (1)

DL William Sanderson IND (8)
DL Bjorn Sigmarsson LOU (2)
DL Richard Blunt LDN (2)
DL Lonnie Vincent BUF (4)
LB Scotty Williams LOU (13)
LB Dallas Dillard LDN (2)
LB Daniel Carpenter TOR (1)
DB Jackson Miles LDN (6)
DB Dean Hawkins BUF (1)
DB Kelly Kirkland IND (4)
S Johnny Berger LOU (5)

K Frank Hughes LOU (1)

EAST ALL-STARS
QB Gene Bishop MTL (2)
RB Dareion Fields LI (5)
OL Graham Chambers BOS (7)
OL Harrison Ward MTL (2)
OL Reynold Gilbertson BOS (1)
OL Elliot Winterbottom LI (6)
OL Ward Briscoe HFX (3)
WR Derek Cross MTL (3)
WR Cedric Peterson PRO (2)
WR Chester Bennett BOS (5)
TE Eli Grant MTL (3)

DL Wayne Baxton HFX (2)
DL Craig White PRO (3)
DL Lucas Kipling MTL (1)
DL Timmy Kerr BOS (2)
LB Konrad Aust BOS (7)
LB Deon Wiggins LI (2)
LB Douglas MacDougall OTT (1)
DB Neville Falkner PRO (4)
DB Joe Robinson HFX (1)
DB Alexander Bradley LI (9)
S Garet deVale MTL (4)

K Arthur Kettinger MTL (2)

1964 League Leaders

Passing Touchdowns
1 - QB Nathaniel Braddock BOS - 21
2 - QB Gene Bishop MTL - 20
3 - QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 19
4 - QB Riley Kiernan LDN - 16
5 - QB Todd Baker TOR - 15

Rushing Touchdowns
1 - RB Jimmy Golden BUF - 24
2 - RB Dareion Fields LI - 20
3 - RB Rodney Clark LOU - 15
4 - RB Kendall Morgan BOS - 13
5 - RB Scott Mallard-White MTL - 11

Receiving Touchdowns
1 - WR Derek Cross MTL - 11
2 - WR Chester Bennett BOS - 10
3 - WR Cedric Peterson PRO - 9
T4 - WR Max Sutton LDN - 8
T4 - WR Edmund Landry TOR - 8

Interceptions
1 - DB Neville Falkner PRO - 8
T2 - S Johnny Berger LOU - 5
T2 - DB Joe Robinson HFX - 5
T2 - DB Alexander Bradley LI - 5
T2 - DB Jackson Miles LDN - 5
T2 - S Garet deVale - 5

Forced Fumbles
1 - DL William Sanderson IND - 8
T2 - LB Scotty Williams LOU - 6
T2 - DL Wayne Baxton HFX - 6
T2 - DL Lonnie Vincent BUF- 6

47th McCallister Cup Host - Milton Charles Stadium - Buffalo, NY - Capacity: 54,000
The last time Buffalo saw the McCallister Cup game played in the city was back in 1952, but after the team got a brand new stadium, there was no way that they would not get another chance to host the game. Buffalo famously had overfilled their old stadium for the 1952 game in order to get as many fans in the stadium at the time. While it shouldn’t need to happen this time, it does show the passion for the game that the fans of Buffalo have.