After the 1955 NFA Season, Baltimore Knights Owner Peter Young and Washington Senators Co-Owner Charles Maple would approach Arthur Howe, the owner of the AFA Denver Rams. They discussed their plan to have the Denver Rams switch to the NFA and play in the NFA West Division. They promised that the NFA Owners would grant the Rams a prime time national TV broadcasted game against a team with a high national following. Howe would agree and would formally submit a request with Commissioner Hensley to be considered as the 15th franchise in the NFA. The first coaching change to occur would be in Boston. Jim Cook didn't want to fire Brian Branch because he knew fans still loved him. Branch was the quarterback who led the Bluejackets to 4 NFA Championship games in the 40's winning 2 of them. Cook also didn't want his new incoming General Manager, Walter Hyde, to fire Branch. He feared that it would cause fans to become upset with Hyde and turn their hate towards Cook. Brian Branch would agree to resign as head coach. In a public statement Branch would say that he was stepping away from the Bluejackets due to the failures the team has suffered under his command. He stated that "I love the game of football and I loved my time here in Boston. But after a winless season, it is time for me to leave.". This would be the end of Branch's coaching career in the NFA. Branch would go on to coach at a junior college in Boston. Cook and Hyde would decide to promote their offensive coordinator, Malcolm Dunst, to head coach. In Cincinnati, the Buckeyes would release their veteran quarterback Mark Edman. He would end up signing a one year deal with the Kansas City Outlaws of the AFA. With Edman now out of the picture, head coach Mark Carton would focus on developing his young quarterback Lawrence Longwood.
(The Denver Rams become the 15th NFA Franchise in the league)
OWNERS MEETING
At the Owners Meeting, the biggest topic was the plan to have the Denver Rams leave the AFA and be granted a franchise in the NFA and the formation of a new NFA Central Division and a "Playoff Bowl". Commissioner Hensley argued against this and stated that if the vote passed, he would resign as Commissioner. Hensley stated to the owners, "I am disappointed that such a move is even being discussed. I can not, I will not be part of this league if such a move is done. I believe this will tarnish our league forever.". The vote would pass 10-5 with Commissioner Hensley also voting. This would also cause a divide between the three owners of the Washington Senators. Preston Mackey would be opposed to this vote. But since the two other owners were for the move and part architects of it, the Washington Senators franchise voted yes. This disagreement would scar the relationship of the three men and cause a rift in the Senators owners group. Preston Mackey would sell his share of the Senators franchise and would soon establish a new football franchise in Los Angeles in the AFA. Since the Denver Rams were accepted, Commissioner Hensley kept his promise and would resign as Commissioner immediately after the vote was decided. Deputy Commissioner, Elmer George, would become the interim Commissioner of the NFA. He also voiced his opposition to the "attack on the AFA" but promised to do his duties as Commissioner until a replacement was decided. The Owners then agreed on a realignment of the NFA division with the formation of the NFA Central Division. The divisions would be the following: NFA EAST Baltimore Knights Boston Bluejackets New York Lions Philadelphia Colonials Washington Senators NFA CENTRAL Chicago Packers Cincinnati Buckeyes Cleveland Generals Detroit Mustangs Pittsburgh Ironmen NFA WEST Denver Rams Los Angeles Gladiators Milwaukee Indians St Louis Aviators San Francisco Sharks Each team would play their division opponents twice, once at home and once on the road. They would then play 6 non division games for a total of 14 games. This would allow each team to have a bye week. The regular season would start September 9, 1956 and end December 16, 1956. The "Playoff Bowl" would be played on December 23, 1956. The NFA Championship Game would be played December 30, 1956.
1956 NFA DRAFT
The 1956 NFA Draft was held on January 17-18, 1956 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The new "expansion team" Denver Rams would have the number one overall pick. They would select Joe Childress, the Michigan State quarterback. Boston was hoping to get their hands on Childress and had to settle for their second choice. Charlie Horner would be selected by Boston, a halfback from Ohio State. Horner was the best available halfback in the entire draft.
The eighteenth NFA Season would start on September 9, 1956. The Chicago Packers would play their first season in their new home, "Soldier Field". Chicago would host the Cincinnati Buckeyes on September 9th but would lose 27-21. This would be the only home game the Packers would lose all season. Their offense would be ranked number 1 in the league with their star Halfback Bradley Stone having an amazing season. He would be the first NFA player to rush for over 1,000 yards. He would finish the season with 1,126 yards rushing and 12 rushing touchdowns. His history making season would earn him Most Valuable Player for the 1956 NFA Season. Chicago would finish the season 11-3 and win the NFA Central Division.
The New York Lions would also return to greatness. Phil Sans would be completely healed by September and would put together another productive season. He would throw for 1,641 yards, 7 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. New York's halfback Barry Jackman would lead the league with 13 rushing touchdowns. He would finish the season with 916 yards rushing, which was second in the league. New York's offense was among the best in the league which helped put points on the board, but they did make many costly mistakes. Phil Sans would throw 7 interceptions on New York's side of the field all season. The Lions defense however would not allow a single touchdown from the 7 turnovers and 2 of the 7 field goal attempts were blocked. Lions rookie linebacker Chester Parkman would be a stud from the beginning. He would have 2 blocked punts, 4 interceptions, 1 returned for a touchdown and he would lead the team with 12 tackles for a loss. New York's defense as a whole would allow the fewest points and be ranked first in the league. With their defense dominating the league week after week, New York would once again be the best team in the NFA with a 12-2 record which would be good enough to host the NFA Championship Game. The surprise team of the 1956 Season would be the Los Angeles Gladiators. They would be neck and neck with the defending NFA Champions all season. The Gladiators would lose their opener against the Denver Rams in Denver, but would then go on a 4 game win streak which included a much needed win over the Aviators. Their quarterback Max Shaw would look to settle into a groove and put together his best season so far. Shaw would throw for 1,498 yards and would have the highest completion percentage in the league at 57%. He would have 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. For bringing the first division title to Los Angeles, head coach Alan Hayes was awarded Coach of the Year. St Louis looked like they were going to repeat as NFA West Division champions. They would be in first place or tied for first with Los Angeles for much of the season. Paul Walker would follow up his MVP season with another great season. He would rush for 858 yards, 8 touchdowns but would have 7 fumbles. One of his fumbles cost St Louis a shot at winning a much needed game against the Gladiators during a Week 13 matchup in Los Angeles. St Louis was driving down the field trying to kill clock in Gladiators territory in the fourth quarter to set up a game winning field goal. Walker would fumble the ball however on the Gladiators 22 yard line which Los Angeles was able to recover and end the game. This win for Los Angeles sealed the NFA West Division title, the first for the Los Angeles Gladiators. The once dominating Pittsburgh Ironmen, would suffer a devastating blow to their team. Joe Salem, their star halfback, would suffer an awful broken left leg during the Week 2 game against the Buckeyes in Cincinnati. This would end Salem's career and send the Ironmen into a downward spiral. Their quarterback Harold Tisch would have an awful season. Usually Tisch could rely on defenses having to focus on stopping Pittsburgh's rushing offense with Salem on the field. With no real threat of a rushing offense, defenses would sit back and defend against Tisch's passes. He would lead the league with 21 interceptions. After going 0-8 with no shot at winning the NFA Central Division, head coach Mitch Andrews would bench Tisch and put in second string quarterback Bernie Mack. The team would not do any better and Pittsburgh would finish the season winless at 0-14, the first time in Ironmen franchise history. Boston would have their first winning season since 1946. They would stay in close contention with New York for first place. Boston would beat New York at home on October 7th which would put them tied for the top spot in the division with New York and Philadelphia. Boston would not be able to keep up pace with the Lions though and they would finish the season 9-5. Their rookie halfback Charlie Horner would help spark the Bluejackets offense. He would finish with 756 yards rushing, 5 rushing touchdowns, 3 receiving touchdowns and 4 fumbles. Horner would be in consideration for Rookie of the Year at the end of the season. The honor would go to New York's Chester Parkman who actually forced Horner to fumble the ball during the last game of the season.
AWARDS Coach of the Year: Alan Hayes (LA Gladiators) Most Valuable Player: Bradley Stone, HB (CHI Packers) Rookie of the Year: Chester Parkman, LB (NY Lions)
DIVISION RACES
STANDINGS
POST SEASON "PLAYOFF BOWL"
Soldier Field, Chicago, IL December 23, 1956 3:00 CST, 41F, 5 MPH W The NFA Central Division champion Chicago Packers would host the NFA West Division champions from Los Angeles, the Gladiators. The Packers were heavily favored to win the game with their unstoppable offense led by MVP Bradley Stone. The Packers would beat Los Angeles, but it would be their defense that would step up and keep the Gladiators out of reach. Los Angeles would receive the ball first and would drive down to the Packers eleven yard line. Chicago's defense would force Los Angeles's fullback Sean Archer to fumble and the Packers would recover it at the Packers thirteen. The Packers offense would take care of business and score to put the Packers ahead. They would never give up the lead. Los Angeles would keep the game close, but the Packers defense would continue to make plays and keep the Gladiators out of reach. The Packers would win 24-14 and would have to face the New York Lions in the 1956 NFA Championship.