At the conclusion of the 1950 NFA Season, Chicago Packers Owner Jake McCallister fired his Head Coach Lance Gibbs. Gibbs was hired by McCallister in 1947 in hopes to compete for a championship. He would finish his time in Chicago with a 19-29 record. Gibbs who was awarded 1940 Coach of the Year and won the American Bowl with the Baltimore Knights in 1940, would never be a head coach in the NFA again. McCallister looked to the "New York Model" and would hire a General Manager. He would hire James Howel, the former Athletic Director at the University of Texas. It would be left to Howel to hire a head coach. He would hire Mark Watney. Watney had just left his position as head coach at the University of California where he lost the Rose Bowl to Ohio State. In Philadelphia, the troubled Colonials continued to try and turn things around. Head Coach George Majors and General Manager Andy McCarthy had a disagreement which would lead to McCarthy and Majors agreeing to part ways. George Majors would never coach in the NFA again and would retire. To replace George Majors, McCarthy would have a difficult time finding a candidate that was willing to come to Philadelphia. Any candidate that was desired, did not want anything to do with the Colonials. Eventually McCarthy would hire Pat Fuller who was an Assistant Coach at Army. Benjamin Moore, who was the Offensive Coordinator under Majors, would also leave the team after learning Fuller didn't want him as his OC.
OWNERS MEETING
Prior to the 1951 NFA Draft, all 12 owners met in New York City. The hot topic of discussion was the introduction of each team having a bye week so players would be able to rest. Injuries were on the rise league wide and the Commissioner had received multiple complaints from owners and players across the league. Each team would still play 12 games, but the season would be extended from 12 weeks to 13 weeks. All 12 owners voted unanimously to pass the motion. The 1951 NFA Season would be the first season to have a bye week introduced. Commissioner Hensley also announced that the league had made an agreement with the DuMont Television Network to televise the American Bowl nationwide. DuMont would pay $75,000 to broadcast the game coast to coast. Hensley would also advise all 12 franchises that starting Week 1 of the 1952 NFA Season, all franchises would have to make the switch from leather helmets to plastic. Only 4 franchises (CLE, DET, PHI, WAS) were using or would use plastic prior to the 1951 season. Any team that did not make the switch, would forfeit games until the switch is made. Since this was in the interest for player safety, Commissioner Hensley didn't need a vote from the 12 owners. An Executive Order was made by the Commissioner which had to be obeyed by all active franchises in the league as per the NFA Constitution. All 12 teams would obey and make the change prior to the deadline.
1951 NFA DRAFT
Philadelphia's GM, Andy McCarthy would make it clear that he was rebuilding the Colonials from the ground up. He would release halfback Malcolm Christopher, Colonials number 1 pick in the 1947 Draft. He would also release quarterback Jack Freeman, who the Colonials selected in the first round of the 1948 Draft. With a clean slate and the number 1 overall pick, McCarthy looked to spark the franchise that would hopefully have a winning season. He would select the unanimously top prospect in the draft, Kyle Rose, halfback from Southern Methodist University. The Chicago Packers were also looking to put together a winning season. Prior to the draft, Packers GM James Howell would release halfback Clyde Scott, who the Packers selected in the first round in the 1948 Draft. Howell would select Bradley Stone, halfback from Xavier. This pick was very unpopular with Chicago's fan base. Many felt that Kenny Groom, halfback from LSU, was a better selection at number 2 for the Packers. Groom would go 4th to the Washington Senators.
The 1951 NFA Regular Season was the 13th NFA Season. The season kicked off on September 16, 1951. The New York Lions started the season with a victory over the Pittsburgh Ironmen. New York would have a disappointing season after winning their second NFA Championship in three seasons though. Their star halfback, Joe Governor, would have an injury plagued season. He would miss 5 weeks after suffering a leg injury on October 14th during a Week 5 match up against the Philadelphia Colonials. During the stretch that Governor missed, the Lions would go 2-3 and fall out of the race for the NFA East Division Championship The Philadelphia Colonials were the surprise team of 1951. After cleaning house, Head Coach Pat Fuller was able to bring a winning season to Philadelphia for the first time since 1944. All season they would be in contention for the NFA East Division crown. They would defeat the New York Lions twice. They would however lose a crucial Week 11 game against the Pittsburgh Ironmen on November 25th. The Colonials would not be able to catch the Ironmen after this loss. Kyle Rose would be awarded Rookie of the Year after playing all 12 games, rush for 951 yards, score 9 total touchdowns (7 rushing, 2 receiving) and have 7 fumbles. The Pittsburgh Ironmen would be considered the best team in the league by many sports writers. Halfback Joe Salem would put together an MVP caliber season. He would rush for 971 yards, score 10 total touchdowns (9 rushing, 1 receiving) and have 3 fumbles for the season. Pittsburgh's quarterback Harold Tisch would put together an excellent season as well. He would pass for 1,897 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He would also rush for 135 yards and score 1 rushing touchdown. With Salem and Tisch igniting the Ironmen offense, Pittsburgh would win the NFA East Division and earn the second NFA Championship appearance in Pittsburgh's franchise history. In the NFA West, the St Louis Aviators dominated the division. Halfback Paul Walker would put together another amazing performance. Walker would rush for 857 yards, score 12 total touchdowns (9 rushing, 3 receiving) and have 5 fumbles. The Aviators would easily win the NFA West after losing only one game to Cincinnati on November 4th during a Week 8 match up. The Buckeyes would not be able to keep up with the Aviators however, and would lose 4 games. After losing the 1950 NFA Championship, Detroit would have a disastrous season. The Mustangs would only win 1 game. Halfback George Morrison would be injured during the Mustangs Week 1 match up against the Cincinnati Buckeyes. The only team Detroit would manage to defeat would be the winless Chicago Packers. The Packers would also have an awful season. They would not win a single game. Their number one overall pick, Bradley Stone, would only rush for 399 yards, score 4 touchdowns and fumble 6 times. Chicago would have a difficult time deciding on a starting quarterback. Bobby Cahill would start Week 1 through Week 4. After going 0-3-1, and turning the ball over 10 total times (7 interceptions, 3 fumbles), Head Coach Mark Watney would make a switch. Lynn Chandler would start Week 5 and led a game tying touchdown drive against the Milwaukee Indians at home. The game would end in a tie, the second tie of the season for the Packers. It appeared that maybe Chandler was the answer needed to turn the Packers around. He would struggle however the next five weeks. Chandler would pass for only 340 yards, 2 touchdowns and 6 interceptions over the next five games after the Week 5 game against the Indians. Cahill would start again for the Week 11 and Week 12 match ups against the Buckeyes and Senators. Chandler would start Week 13 against the Generals. At the conclusion of the season, both Chandler and Cahill would be released by the Packers. AWARDS MVP: Joe Salem (HB, PIT Ironmen) COY: Pat Fuller (PHI Colonials) ROY: Kyle Rose (HB, PHI Colonials) 1951 NFA CHAMPIONSHIP St Louis Aviators vs Pittsburgh Ironmen (December 23, 1951, St Louis Stadium, St Louis, MO)