1965 Retirements
QB Jean Matieau - Ottawa, ON - Creator: WallflowerTeams: Ottawa Royals (1949-1964)
Captaincy: OTT - C (1957-1964)
McCallister Cups: 4 (1954,1955,1956,1959)
Award: 3 Most Valuable Player (1952,1955,1958), 2 Offensive Player of the Year (1954,1962), Breakout Player of the Year (1952), 2 Playoff MVP (1955, 1956), 3 McCallister Cup MVP (1955,1956,1959)
All-Stars: 7 (1952, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962)
The greatest player in league history. It’s really hard to argue with that statement. No player has as many awards as Matieau (11), and on top of that, he has 7 all-stars and 7 McCallister Cup appearances with 4 wins. Unfortunately, his historic career that featured a record-setting 30 passing touchdown season (which was in his first full year as a starter), was likely cut short following a major injury suffered in 1963. He was able to come back for one more season and had the Royals in the fight, but he was clearly not his old self. He will walk away as the best to ever do it, but the question will be, will there be another that can match him.
OL Cliff Strautzenberger - Cheesequake, NJ - Creator: Dan O’Mac
Drafted: 1953 WOR - Round 1, Pick 2
Teams: Worcester Athletics (1953-1961), Montreal Rouge (1961), Louisville Thunder (1962-1963), Buffalo Blue Wings (1964)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1962, 1964)
All-Stars: 8 (1954, 1956-1962)
A long-time staple in the Athletics offensive line, a leader, and just a fun guy. Strautzenberger was a great player throughout his career, consistently getting all-star nods.
He never was able to win with the Athletics, but he managed to come out on top after spending time with both the Thunder and Blue Wings where he won a title with each team.
OL Ulysses Fairgrove - New Haven, CT - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: 1953 ON - Round 1, Pick 3
Teams: Ontario/London Tigers (1953-1962), Providence Gold Stars (1963), Buffalo Blue Wings (1964)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1960, 1964)
All-Stars: 6 (1957-1961,1963)
Fairgrove was quite a personality with the Tigers throughout his career, being a long-term lock-in on the offensive line. He was a part of the team’s first championship-winning team in 1960 but had missed out on the second while playing against the Tigers in 1963. He did get a second title with the Blue Wings this season after reuniting with fellow retiree OL Kazimir Smirnov.
WR Ellis Lindholm - Rochester, NY - Creator: Darknes
Drafted: 1953 BOS - Round 1, Pick 7
Teams: Boston Independents (1953-1964)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1961)
All-Stars: 5 (1957-1961)
Lindholm’s injuries seemed to finally catch up with the veteran this season, and with WR Chester Bennett having a steller bounceback year, he felt his time was up with the team. He decided it was time to hang them up, and he was satisfied having won the Cup in 1961.
Drafted: 1953 OTT - Round 2, Pick 14
Teams: Ottawa Royals Res. (1953), Ottawa Royals (1954-1964)
McCallister Cups: 4 (1954, 1955, 1956, 1959)
All-Stars: 5 (1957, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963)
A strong leader within the Royals organization, Oliver continued to deliver throughout his career. He was always finding ways to make plays and get his team going which heavily contributed to the team’s massive success throughout the 1950s. In the last few seasons, he has taken a bigger leadership role and helped some younger players take on bigger roles, he sees that his time has come and will be stepping away from the game.
Drafted: 1953 HAR - Round 1, Pick 3
Teams: Hartford/Long Island Hawks/Long Island Raiders (1952-1961), Providence Gold Stars (1962-1964)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1958)
All-Stars: 4 (1955, 1957-1959)
A player that looked a little disappointing in his first couple of seasons, Mitchell finally broke through in 1955 and became a star DB for the Raiders. He would help them win the title in 1958, before joining his hometown team in 1962 to go for a title. They came close in 1963, but unfortunately, his goal was unsuccessful in the end.
OL Charlie Bennett - Hamilton, ON - Creator: ZO82
Drafted: 1954 OTT - Round 3, Pick 17
Teams: Ottawa Royals Res. (1954), Ottawa Royals (1955-1964), Long Island Raiders (1964)
McCallister Cups: 3 (1955, 1956, 1959)
All-Stars: 4 (1957-1960)
Certainly a late bloomer, but a good one. Bennett was the anchor on the Royals O-line throughout his career. The team loved him and he played up until his final few games when he was sent off to the Raiders. While Bennett didn’t love the move, he was more thankful when the team made it to the McCallister Cup.
DL Dee Floyd - Nassau County, NY - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: 1953 ON - Round 4, Pick 27
Teams: Ontario Tigers Res. (1953-1954), Ontario/London Tigers (1955-1963), Montreal Rouge (1964)
McCallister Cups: 2 (1960, 1963)
All-Stars: 2 (1956, 1957)
It’s always interesting to see if a player may rise out of the 4th round. Dee Floyd was not expected to be much, but once he made his mark on the Tigers D-line, he was a great player. He had a couple of great seasons in ‘56 and ‘57, before becoming a member of one of the toughest D-line’s the league has seen that helped to win a pair of titles for the Tigers.
K Donald Brewer - Warwick, RI - Creator: Wallflower
Teams: Buffalo Blue Wings (1951-1961), Louisville Thunder (1962), Amateur Team (1963-1964)
McCallister Cups: 3 (1952, 1957, 1962)
Awards: Special Teams Player of the Year (1954)
All-Stars: 1 (1954)
Brewer has not played in the NAAF for the last couple of seasons, but since he was once a STPOY award. He deserves to be recognized. Brewer was a staple for the Blue Wings for 11 seasons, before joining the Thunder for a championship run in 1962.
OL Moses Griffin - Burlington, VT - Creator: Captain Mort 3D
Drafted: 1954 LI - Round 2, Pick 15
Teams: Long Island Hawks/Raiders (1954-1963), Boston Independents (1964), Halifax Mariners (1964)
McCallister Cups: 1 (1958)
All-Stars: 1 (1958)
Griffin was a great lineman for the Raiders, being a leader on the line over a developing period in the mid-to-late 50s. He helped a lot of the other youngsters like OL Elliot Winterbottom, that would lead the team to a title in 1958.
Other Notable Players
OL Kazimir Smirnov - Queens, NY - Creator: ZO82 - Drafted: 1954 ON R1: P3 - Teams: R.ON (1954), ON/LDN (1955-1961)*, BUF (1962-1964)*
DB Carson Scott - Markham, ON - Creator: ZO82 - Drafted: 1954 BOS R3: P21 - Teams: R.BOS (1954), BOS (1955-1961)*, MTL (1962), BUF (1963), LOU (1964)
QB Andrew Sexton - Scranton, PA - Creator: Wallflower - Teams: HAR (1951-1952), R.HAR (1953), LI (1954), PRO (1955), R.PRO (1955), ON/LDN (1956-1957), MTL (1959), IND (1960), MTL (1961-1964)
DL William Collins - Utica, NY - Creator: Dan O’Mac - Drafted: 1954 ON R2: P11 - Teams: R.ON (1954-1956), ON/LDN (1957-1962)*, IND (1963), BUF (1964)*
WR LeRoy Krueger - Hartford, CT - Creator: Dan O’Mac - Drafted: 1954 BUF R3: P19 Teams: R.BUF (1954-1955), BUF (1956-1961)*, LI (1962), HFX (1963), LOU (1964)
DL Clyde Dale - Springfield, MA - Creator: Thehealthiestscratch - Drafted: 1954 PRO R1: P7 Teams: PRO (1954-1955), MTL (1956-1959), BOS (1960), LOU (1961-1962)*, PRO (1963), LOU (1964)
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