1969 Award Winners

1969 Award Winners

Most Valuable Player - QB Louis Vaughn - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
By a narrow margin, Louis Vaughn won his first career MVP award. The 25-year-old has clearly made Pittsburgh a legitimate contender over the early parts of his career.  In his young career, he has shown his ability to move the ball through the air, finishing first in passing yards and passing touchdowns this season. The former 1st overall pick becomes the 4th #1 pick to win the league MVP, joining LB Scotty Williams, QB Lyle Painter, and RB Max Tracy. 

Playoff MVP - RB Jimmy Golden - Buffalo Blue Wings
Golden wasn’t making a lot of noise in the first half of the West Division Final, but after QB Charles Lemieux went down with an injury, Golden stepped up to help QB Travis Jackson. Golden was vital in the remainder of the game against the Blacksmiths and in the McCallister Cup, to get the offence on the board. 

Offensive Player of the Year - WR Ed Edwards - Indiana Victors
After a long and successful career to this point, Edwards is finally recognized for his strong offensive output. While Vaughn easily won the OPOY in a landslide, after he won MVP, the alternative choices were in favour of Edwards. Edwards also becomes just the second WR to win the OPOY, joining Tigers’ WR Max Sutton. 

Defensive Player of the Year - DB Neville Falkner - Indiana Victors
Falkner left the Gold Stars and made an immediate impact on the Victors, earning his 3rd DPOY award, his first since 1963. Falkner now joins DB Lee Wolfe and LB Brent Harper as the only players to win the award 3 times. Also with Falkner’s win along with Ed Edwards, this is the first time that both the OPOY and DPOY winners played for the same team.

Special Teams Player of the Year - K Nimrod Handsworth - London Tigers
Nimrod strikes again with another STPOY, marking now the 5th time he has won the award, tying Hall of Fame K Thomas McFadden for the most all-time. Handsworth led the league with 28 field goals this season, 4 more than the next most, and totalled 110 points.

Rookie of the Year - QB Drake Young - Ottawa Royals
Young was one of the most efficient QBs in the league in his rookie season. He showed excellent awareness and poise in the pocket and was able to make smart decision after smart decision, proving to the Royals that they made the right choice when taking him 3rd overall. He is also the first rookie to win the award beyond his first year out of college since WR Clifford Church in 1951.

Coach of the Year - HC Soni Dionne - Minnesota Serpents
Dionne got to redeem himself big time in his first year back in the head coaching role. After going 13-31-2 as head coach of the Rouge, it didn’t look like Dionne would ever get a chance again, but he would and would not disappoint leading the expansion Serpents to the most wins in a team’s inaugural NAAF season. Dionne flashed the potential that Montreal had seen in him back in 1956, showing that he just needed more time to learn.

Breakout Player of the Year - RB Reggie Whitehead - Boston Independents
Whitehead has given Boston an excellent run game for the first time since RB Kendall Morgan left the team. The power back looks like he is going to be a staple in the Boston offence, showing that the trade the team made a couple of years ago is starting to pay off. Whitehead is now the 3rd RB to win the award, joining Johnnie Stafford and Marcus Devonshire.

52nd McCallister Cup Host - Mount Royal Stadium - Montreal, QC - Capacity: 46,500
It was time for the group of Canadian cities to see the return of the McCallister Cup, and this time Montreal was given the opportunity to host the game. It will be the 4th McCallister Cup game to be played at Mount Royal Stadium, but the first since 1959 and only the second game since neutral sites were introduced to the game.  

1969 All-Stars

WEST ALL-STARS
QB Louis Vaughn PIT (1)
RB Hugo Hughes MIN () 
OL Erik Nelson PIT (3)
OL Lars Nordssen PIT (1)
OL Elias McCarren MIN (1)
OL Jean-Baptiste Desjardins IND (6)
OL Emil Jennings LDN (5)
WR Ed Edwards IND (8)
WR Taylor Austin PIT (2)
WR Casey Coleman LOU (2)
TE Paul Arturberry BUF (1)

DL William Sanderson BUF (13)
DL Ned Hedman BUF (1)
DL Aaron Henderson LOU (1)
DL Arthur Bradshaw PIT (2)
LB Marshall Langenbrunner IND (4)
LB Judge Barrett TOR (1)
LB Randall Lambert BUF (1)
DB Neville Falkner IND (9)
DB Ezra Power BUF (4)
DB Zed McLaughlin PIT (1)
S Charles Clerk TOR (1)

K Nimrod Handsworth (5)

EAST ALL-STARS
QB Nathaniel Braddock BOS (4)
RB Reggie Whitehead BOS (1)
OL Reynold Gilbertson BOS (3)
OL Gary Bies LI (2)
OL Matt Helmut OTT (1)
OL Kane Warwick HFX (1)
OL Millard Streety HFX (1)
WR Marshall Leonard OTT (1)
WR Taylor Karis MTL (6)
WR Shane Steadman HFX (3)
TE Luiss de Brands OTT (1)

DL Bernhard Hartmann OTT (2)
DL Wayne Baxton HFX (7)
DL Pat Butler HFX (4)
DL Bartolo Cruz PRO (1)
LB Byron Turner BOS (2)
LB William Washington II LI (5)
LB Kurt Warlock PRO (1)
DB Mordecai King BOS (1)
DB Sergio Alvarez OTT (3)
DB Aquilio Ruiz HFX (1)
S Marc Bellecourt OTT (2)

K Ira Foster OTT (2)

1969 League Leaders
*Yardage and tackles are not tracked, but this is roughly where I think the players would be based on whether teams were more likely to be pass-heavy or run-heavy or if defenders were more likely to rack up tackles.

Passing Touchdowns
1 - QB Louis Vaughn PIT - 24
2 - QB Tom Applewhite IND - 23
3 - QB Charles Lemieux BUF - 21
4 - QB Drake Young OTT - 19
T5 - QB Nathaniel Braddock BOS - 18
T5 - QB Lyle Painter HFX - 18
T5 - QB Gene Bishop MTL  - 18

Passing Yards 
1 - QB Louis Vaughn PIT
2 - QB Tom Applewhite IND
3 - QB Charles Lemieux BUF
4 - QB Lyle Painter HFX
5 - QB Gene Bishop MTL

Rushing Touchdowns
1 - RB Hugo Hughes MIN - 16
T2 - RB Reggie Whitehead BOS - 15
T2 - RB Corbyn Knight OTT - 15
4 - RB Jimmy Golden BUF - 13
5 - RB Max Tracy TOR - 12

Rushing Yards
1 - RB Reggie Whitehead BOS
2 - RB Corbyn Knight OTT
3 - RB Max Tracy TOR
4 - RB Hugo Hughes MIN
5 - RB Dareion Fields LI

Receiving Touchdowns
1 - WR Ed Edwards IND - 14
2 - WR Marshall Leonard OTT - 12
T3 - WR Taylor Karis MTL - 10
T3 - WR Taylor Austin PIT - 10
T5 - WR Zachariah Pembroke BOS - 8
T5 - WR Casey Coleman LOU - 8

Receiving Yards
1 - WR Taylor Austin PIT
2 - WR Ed Edwards IND
3 - WR Marshall Leonard OTT
4 - WR Sebastian Dassler MIN
5 - WR Shane Steadman HFX

Interceptions
T1 - DB Mordecai King BOS - 8
T1 - RB Neville Falkner IND - 8
T3 - DB Ezra Power BUF - 7
T3 - DB Aquilio Ruiz HFX - 7
T3 - DB Sergio Alvarez OTT - 7

Forced Fumbles
T1 - DL Wayne Baxton HFX - 5
T1 - DL Bernhard Hartmann OTT - 5
T1 - DL Arthur Bradshaw PIT - 5

Sacks
1 - DL Arthur Bradshaw PIT
2 - DL Wayne Baxton HFX
3 - DL Bernhard Hartmann OTT
4 - DL Bartolo Cruz PRO
5 - DL Ned Hedman BUF

Tackles
1 - LB Byron Turner BOS
2 - LB William Washington II LI
3 - LB Marshall Langenbrunner IND
4 - S Marc Bellecourt OTT
5 - LB Judge Barrett TOR

Field Goals
1 - K Nimrod Handsworth LDN - 28
T2 - K Ray Bough MIN - 24
T2 - K Al Highlander PIT - 24
T4 - K Albert Wickerweaver HFX - 22
T4 - K Vic Greatwood TOR - 22

Kicking Points
1 - K Nimrod Handsworth LDN - 110
2 - K Al Highlander PIT - 105
3 - K Ray Bough MIN - 104
4 - K Ira Foster OTT - 98
5 - K Woody Woodstock BOS - 97