Halifax Mariners

The Halifax Mariners are a professional Hybrid Football team located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They currently compete in the North American Association of Football as a member of the East Division. They play their home games at Atlantic Stadium in Halifax.

The Mariners were officially founded in 1892 as the Worcester Athletic Club's football team. The Athletic Club as a whole was founded much earlier. They competed locally in leagues up until the founding of the New England Football Championship in 1915. The team would eventually shorten its name to Worcester Athletics in 1924. In 1932, the team would officially be bought by a majority owner in Richard Paul. The team later joined the NAAF in 1951 as the league's first official expansion team after having competed at the amateur level from 1946-1950. In 1955, Richard Paul passed away, leaving the team to his wife Marie Paul and his son Chester Paul. In 1961, Worcester Stadium was destroyed in a fire caused by the then-owner Chester Paul. The team would then be sold to Elliot Hudson out of Halifax in 1962 after Paul was arrested for arson and insurance fraud. They would spend the 1962 season known simply as The Athletics before they officially relocated to Halifax and were renamed the Mariners. The Mariners' name comes from the local marine industry in Halifax as well as being in a Maritime Province. Elliot Hudson is still the owner of the team as of 1969. 

The Athletics had success while competing in the NEFC, winning the second most pre-NAAF McCallister Cups with 6. They would only make the big game once in 1956, during their time in the NAAF before relocating in 1963. Since moving to Halifax, the team has risen to a competitive spot, winning their first NAAF title in 1968. 

STADIUM

Atlantic Stadium is a smaller stadium in the NAAF only holding 26,200 people. It features one main grandstand with a large overhang to cover fans for rain, then the other three sides are smaller stands that go all around, though the opposite side to the grandstand has been expanded over the years. 

PRE-NAAF HISTORY

NAAF HISTORY

HISTORIC INFORMATION

Head Coaches
Max Riley - 1951-1953
Emil Riddle - 1954-1958
Dean Parrish - 1959-1962
Urick Wilkins - 1963-1967
Ben McMillan - 1968-1972
Alfred Deniau - 1973-Pres.

Captains
LB Scotty Williams - 1957-1961
OL Ward Briscoe - 1962-1969
DB Joe Robinson - 1970-1972

Hall of Famers
OL Cliff Strautzenberger - 1970
RB Marcus Devonshire - 1970
LB Scotty Williams - 1971
HC Emil Riddle - 1972

Seasons
1951: 1-9 - 4th New England Division - Missed Playoffs
1952: 2-8 - 3rd New England Division - Missed Playoffs
1953: 2-8 - 3rd New England Division - Missed Playoffs
1954: 5-5 - 3rd New England Division - Missed Playoffs
1955: 5-4-1 - 2nd New England Division - Lost New England Division Final
1956: 9-1 - 1st New England Division - Lost McCallister Cup
1957: 7-5 - 3rd East Division - Lost East Division Semi-Final
1958: 4-8 - 5th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1959: 3-8-1 - 4th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1960: 7-4-1 - 4th East Division - Lost West Division Semi-Final
1961: 1-11 - 5th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1962: 0-12 - 5th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1963: 3-9 - 5th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1964: 3-9 - 5th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1965: 5-7 - 5th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1966: 7-5 - 3rd East Division - Lost East Division Semi-Final
1967: 5-7 - 4th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1968: 6-6 - 3rd East Division - Won McCallister Cup
1969: 7-5 - 3rd East Division - Missed Playoffs
1970: 4-8 - 5th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1971: 4-10 - 6th East Division - Missed Playoffs
1972: 2-12 - 6th East Division - Missed Playoffs

Awards
Most Valuable/Outstanding Player
1956: LB Scotty Williams

Offensive Player of the Year
1956: QB Riley Kiernan
1966: QB Lyle Painter

Defensive Player of the Year
1955: LB Scotty Williams
1960: LB Scotty Williams

Coach of the Year
1954: Emil Riddle
1956: Emil Riddle

Rookie of the Year
1952: LB Scotty Williams
1954: DB Alexander Bradley
1963: DL Wayne Baxton
1965: DB Aquilio Ruiz

Breakout Player of the Year
1954: QB Riley Kiernan
1956: RB Marcus Devonshire
1966: WR Shane Steadman

Playoff MVP/MOP
1968: DL Wayne Baxton

McCallister Cup MVP/MOP
1968: QB Lyle Painter

DESIGN

1951-1952

The Athletics' entered the NAAF as just the second team to have a light primary jersey in the league going with a cream and black scheme. 

1953-1955

The Athletics made no change to the uniforms when the league updated their uniforms.

1956-1957

Ahead of the 1956 season, the Athletics made some minor changes, adding a heart patch for their late manager, and then adding the "W-A" logo to the helmet and TV numbers.

1958-1961

The team made no real changes to the template update in 1958.

1962

For the 1962 season, the team would be known as "The Athletics" and would simply change the logo on the helmet to numbers.

In 1963, the team rebranded with their move to Halifax and became the Mariners. The new logo was a simple helmet with "Halifax" going across, which was reflected on the team's actual helmet. They also swapped black for a deep ocean blue. They moved the stripes to the shoulders and made blue their home primary. The maintained cream and the heart patch in honour of the former brand.

1966-1969

The Mariners changed their striping in 1966, going to a larger sleeve cap with a single stripe below it. They also added a new circular logo to replace the helmet, which featured a boat on the water in front of a sunset.

1967

For the 1967 season, the Mariners joined the other Canadian teams in honouring Canada's Centennial birthday with a patch on their sleeve.

1970-Pres.

With the partnership with Patterson Athletics, the Mariners decided to make a complete change for their brand. They elected to remove the cream in their look and swap it with the orange that was introduced with their previous logo update. The new uniforms take on more white and orange. A simplified sleeve with simple stripes on the sleeves, but a new anchor logo is on the sleeves. The heart patch remains but is now just white and blue.