At the conclusion of the 1951 NFA Season, Chicago Packers Owner Jake McCallister would look to sell the Packers. The Packers had another disastrous season where they would average 6,000 fans per game in a stadium with a capacity of 41,000. Texas oil tycoon George Rickard would begin talks with McCallister to buy the Packers. He made it public in his hometown of Dallas, TX, that he was planning on moving the Packers to Dallas, TX after purchasing the franchise. After learning this, NFA Commissioner William Hensley would put a hold on the sale of the team until the other 11 NFA owners met at the annual NFA Owners Meeting in New York City just prior to the 1952 NFA Draft. In Detroit, Michael Garrett would announce his retirement after 13 seasons as the Mustangs Head Coach. Garrett would finish his career with an overall 88-67-3 record including 2 NFA Championships and 5 NFA West Division championships. He was also Coach of the Year in 1943. To replace Garrett, Detroit's owner Chester Ford would hire New York Lions Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator Vince Foschini. Foschini was with the Lions during all 3 NFA Championship runs in 1948, 1949 and 1950. Baltimore Knights owner Peter Young would fire Head Coach John Jones after a 2-9-1 1951 Season. Jones would finish his time in Baltimore with an overall record of 31-41-2 including a NFA Championship Game loss in 1946. He was also Coach of the Year in 1946. To replace John Jones, Defensive Coordinator Terry Cruise would be promoted to Head Coach. Milwaukee Indians Head Coach William Carpenter would fire his Offensive Coordinator James Ward. The Indians would have the third worst offense in the NFA during the 1951 NFA Season. To replace Ward, Carpenter would hire former NY Lions quarterback and Philadelphia Colonials Offensive Coordinator Benjamin Moore. New York Lions halfback Joe Governor would announce that 1952 would be his last season. The star halfback had an injury plagued 1951 season. This would have New York's GM Roy Hobbs scrambling to make a trade in the 1952 NFA Draft for his next halfback. No team in the top three would make a trade with New York however. It appeared that the Lions were going to make a trade with the Detroit Mustangs for the second overall pick, but the Boston Bluejackets would offer a better deal to the Mustangs to squash the deal. Since New York was in a win now mode, Hobbs would pick up Malcolm Christopher who was released by the Philadelphia Colonials in 1951. Christopher was the number one overall pick in the 1947 NFA Draft. He did not perform well for the Colonials and many critics thought Hobbs was panicking.
OWNERS MEETING
At the owners meeting the hot topic was the sale of the Chicago Packers which would eventually lead to the franchise moving out of Chicago. Commissioner Hensley proposed that the NFA purchase the Chicago Packers in order to keep the franchise in the nations second most populated city. Hensley warned that if the league lost a franchise in Chicago, it would be a huge blow for the league which could lead to disaster financially. With a vote of 9-2, the 11 owners agreed to have the league purchase the team in order to keep the Packers in Chicago. It would be stipulated though that the league would have to sell the team before January 15, 1953. The owners also all agreed that all current players and staff were to remain with the Packers until a decision would be made by a future owner. It was also agreed that since the Packers nickname did not hold any special merit that included championships, the future owner would have freedom to change the nickname and colors. Also in discussion at the meeting was the discussion of expansion. Commissioner Hensley expressed interest in expanding the league to 14 teams. He saw the Los Angeles area as a huge market to help the league succeed and attract new fans. All 11 owners also agreed and an expansion committee was formed to seek out potential buyers. Hensley hoped to have the 2 expansion teams operating for the 1955 NFA Season. With word quickly being spread around the Los Angeles area, Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron would begin discussions with several interested investors. A decision regarding overtime was also discussed at the meeting. Since there seemed to be a rise in tied games in the regular season, a motion was submitted to have a overtime quarter be introduced to the regular season if after all 4 quarters there is a tie. Many owners still believed that the overtime period may result in injuries due to players being exhausted, but the vote passed 7-4 in favor of the regular season overtime being introduced for the 1952 season. Since the NFA Championship Game was a huge success being broadcasted nationally on television by the DuMont Television Network, an annual "Thanksgiving Day Game" was discussed to attract more viewers. The owners would all agree and the vote passed 11-0. Beginning in 1953, there would be a game nationally televised on Thanksgiving.
1952 NFA DRAFT
The 1952 NFA Draft was held on January 17, 1952 at Hotel Statler in New York, NY. The Chicago Packers had the first pick. General Manager James Howel would draft one of the three top prospects in the draft, quarterback William Watson from Vanderbilt. After trading for the number 2 pick with Detroit, the Bluejackets would pick their next star halfback Gerry Richards from Washington. After failing to make a trade to move up in the draft to select their next franchise halfback, General Manager Roy Hobbs would look to beef up his offensive line by selecting tackle Joe Camp from Ohio State.
The 1952 NFA Regular Season started on September 21, 1952. It would conclude December 7, 1952. The surprise team of the season was Chicago. They would become the third team in NFA history to go from the worst team in the league to the NFA Championship Game. The Packers rookie quarterback William Watson would put together an incredible season. Watson would throw for 2001 yards, 20 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. His leadership on and off the field would help propel the Packers into first place and win the NFA West for the first time in franchise history. Packers Head Coach Mark Watney would be awarded Coach of the Year as Chicago would finish the season 9-3-0 after a horrible 0-10-2 1951 season. William Watson would be awarded Rookie of the Year for his all star performance. The Cincinnati Buckeyes would be chasing Chicago the entire season. A crucial loss to their arch rival the Detroit Mustangs on November 30th would kill their hopes at a NFA West title. Cincinnati would finish in third place with a 7-5-0 record. After their final win on December 7, 1952 in St Louis against the Aviators, Head Coach Patrick Johnson would gather his team on the field and announce his retirement. After 14 seasons as head coach of the Buckeyes, Johnson was hanging up his whistle. He would finish his career with a 110-60-0. In 1941 he was awarded Coach of the Year. He would win back to back NFA Championships in 1941 and 1942. He would lead his team to two more championship appearances in 1939 and 1948. There was not a dry eye on the field as Coach Johnson said his goodbye to the game. Meanwhile in the NFA East, the Pittsburgh Ironmen dominated their division. Prior to the season, most experts projected New York to win the division just ahead of Pittsburgh. The two teams would meet opening day on September 21st in Pittsburgh. The Ironmen would win the game 27-14 and flex their muscles from there to a perfect season of 12-0-0. Their star Left End Barry Sandusky would be awarded NFA Most Valuable Player. The first time in NFA history a quarterback or a halfback was not awarded MVP. He would have 23 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 defensive touchdown. The Pittsburgh defense would be the most dominating defense in the league. They would allow an average of 16 points per game from Week 1 to Week 13. The Lions fairy tale ending for their star halfback Joe Governor did not come to be. Governor did manage to stay mostly healthy the entire season and played in all 12 games. He would rush for 684 yards, 6 touchdowns and have 5 fumbles. Governor would keep to his word and retired at the end of the 1952 Season. AWARDS Coach of the Year: Mark Watney (CHI Packers) Most Valuable Player: Barry Sandusky, LE (PIT Ironmen) Rookie of the Year: William Watson, QB (CHI Packers) 1952 NFA Championship Game Pittsburgh Ironmen vs Chicago Packers (December 28, 1952, Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, PA)