At the conclusion of the 1957 NFA Season, Cincinnati's Owner Stanley Brown would fire Head Coach Mark Carton. Carton would finish his time with the Buckeyes with a 29-36-1 record. He would then be hired by the University of Oregon as their Offensive Coordinator. Brown would then step down as the front office manager of the franchise, and hire Carson Wheat as General Manager. Wheat would then hire Kenny Moore as Head Coach. Moore was the Head Coach for the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Soon after the announcement, Cincinnati's star Halfback George Washington announced his retirement. Washington had a great career, but was never able to deliver a championship to Cincinnati like many had hoped. In 10 seasons, he helped his team reach the NFA Championship once in his rookie season. They lost to the NY Lions and never reached the championship again. In Detroit, the Mustangs Owner Chester Ford would fire his Head Coach also. Vince Foschini would finish his tenure at Detroit with a 40-39 record. Foschini would be hired by Boston College as their Head Coach. Detroit's Owner, Chester Ford, would not give up his executive powers like Cincinnati's Brown did. He would hire an odd choice for Head Coach, Randy Quinn, the former defensive coordinator of the Buckeyes. Quinn had been with the Buckeyes since 1955 and left the organization after Mark Carton was fired. Many felt that Quinn's hire was Chester Ford taking a shot at Cincinnati, the franchise he hated the most. The defending NFA Champions would have to find a replacement for their 3 time NFA Champion quarterback. Ernie Case would announce his retirement after 11 seasons. He would win the NFA Championship with the Aviators in 1949, 1955 and 1957. In the nations capitol, Senators Owners Thomas Reynolds and Charles Maple would begin looking for a buyer to purchase their franchise. The Senators were not producing on the field, and both owners became frustrated. Only one person would come forward that would be interested. Gregory Greenleaf, the founder and owner of Greenleaf Shipbuilding LLC, would begin discussions with Reynolds and Maple. Greenleaf's company had defense contracts with the US Government for ships to be built for the US Navy. No sale could be made until the Owners Meeting vote.
OWNERS MEETING
The hot topic at the 1958 Owners Meeting was the possible sale of the Washington Senators. None of the owners would oppose the sale, which would give Thomas Reynolds and Charles Maple the green light to begin negotiations with Gregory Greenleaf.
1957 NFA DRAFT
The 1958 NFA Draft was held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, PA on January 28, 1958. Washington would have the first pick. With no sale completed, the Senators would draft like business is usual. They would select Alex Best, a defensive tackle from Iowa. He would be considered the best player in the draft. With the second pick, Cincinnati would draft George Washington's replacement. David Crowell of Texas A&M was considered the best halfback and had just won the Heisman his senior year. This selection would electrify the Buckeyes fan base. The Pittsburgh Ironmen would be the first franchise to select a quarterback with the sixth pick. This decision by Pittsburgh's GM, Bruce Clarkman would upset Harold Tisch, who had helped deliver three straight NFA Championships. Clarkman would look to the future knowing that Tisch would be looking to retire in a few seasons. This selection would cause Tisch to request a trade, which Clarkman would deny. The quarterback Clarkman selected, Walt Kowalski, was considered the best quarterback in the draft. This would excite Pittsburgh's fans, who haven't seen the Ironmen have a winning season since their 1953 NFA Championship. St Louis would also select a quarterback with the fifteenth pick. The Aviators would try to move up in the draft to select Kowalski, but no teams would be wiling to make a trade. So the Aviators would use their pick to select Dan Reese from the University of Michigan. Many fans were disappointed that St Louis wasn't able to select Kowalski. Reese was a good quarterback in college, but many critics didn't believe his talent would transfer to the NFA and he had big shoes to fill with Case's retirement. Many analysts believed the role that Reese would have to play would be more than he could handle.
The twentieth NFA Season would start on September 7, 1958. Prior to the season, it was widely predicted that the Philadelphia Colonials would win the NFA Championship. The defending NFA Champions seemed to not get as much respect since their veteran quarterback Ernie Case would decide to retire. Dan Reese would take over as quarterback, and heading into the season, not many analysts felt Reese would be able to pick up where Case left off. Reese would prove everyone wrong. En route to a Rookie of the Year season, Reese would throw for 19 touchdowns, 2,007 yards and 7 interceptions. The St Louis defense would also have a championship caliber year. They would be ranked number 1 in the league. The Aviators defense would have the fewest points allowed (183), the most tackles for loss (41) and force the most turnovers (51). With both sides of the ball playing at a championship level, the Aviators would sail easily to another NFA West Division title and finish number one in the league with a 12-2 record. They would once again host the NFA Championship Game. Philadelphia, who many believed were the overwhelming favorites, started the season off hot. Their second year quarterback Michael McCaffrey would have another great season. He would throw for 2,409 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It wouldn't be until Week 8 (October 26th) that Philadelphia would lose a game. Against the Washington Senators at home, Philadelphia would start to come apart. McCaffrey would throw 3 interceptions against the Senators and Kyle Rose would fumble in his own end zone to allow the Senators to beat the Colonials 28-12. The embarrassing loss would cause some bickering in the locker room which would carry over into the next game at New York. Philadelphia would again look sloppy and slow against the Lions. McCaffrey would throw 2 interceptions and be tackled behind the line of scrimmage 7 times. The Lions would win 30-21 to give the Colonials their second consecutive loss. Philadelphia would then face the Baltimore Knights, who were on the heels of the Colonials for the East Division title. At Baltimore, it would be the same story for the third straight week. McCaffrey would throw 2 more interceptions and their offense would only be able to score one touchdown. Baltimore would soundly defeat Philadelphia 40-13. It would seem that the Colonials were coming apart and they were going to lose the division after starting 7-0. On Thanksgiving however against the San Francisco Sharks at home, the Colonials were able to put everything back together. McCaffrey would have no turnovers and throw for 276 yards and 4 touchdowns. Philadelphia would win 35-9 and would not lose another game the rest of the season. They would finish 11-3 for the second consecutive season and win their second consecutive NFA East Division title. Philadelphia would host the Playoff Bowl against the Detroit Mustangs. Detroit would be a surprising team. Not many believed that Detroit was going to make any noise coming into the 1958 NFA Season. It was popular belief that the Cleveland Generals were going to be able to put it all together and win another division championship. Ralph Armani and Earl Brown would change that belief quickly though. Detroit's offense was ranked the best in the league with the most points scored. Earl Brown would lead the league in rushing with 1,045 yards. He would also score 9 touchdowns and have 7 fumbles. The offense would be needed to fend off the Pittsburgh Ironmen who were a threat all season to take the division title. Pittsburgh and Detroit would split their two games head to head, and it would come down to the last week of the season. Detroit would win the division title after defeating the San Francisco Sharks. Pittsburgh would lose to the Milwaukee Indians. Pittsburgh would be another surprise to the 1958 NFA Season. It was believed that after the Ironmen selected a quarterback in the draft, Walt Kowalski, that Pittsburgh was going to rebuild and sit their veteran quarterback Harold Tisch on the bench. Tisch was upset with Pittsburgh after they drafted a quarterback in the first round. He requested to be traded, but owner Ernie Madison would not do it. In training camp and the preseason, Tisch and Kowalski would compete for the starting job. Tisch would show that he was still a dominant quarterback in the league and would win the starting job. This would catapult Tisch for the rest of the season. Pittsburgh's offense was a top 5 offense because of Tisch in the 1958 NFA Season. Tisch would throw for 2,876 yards, 18 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. His performance was good enough to earn him his first career Most Valuable Player award. Pittsburgh would unfortunately come up short, but they showed their fans and the league that the Ironmen were still relevant. For many other franchises, there was disappointment. Boston who had finished 2nd in their division a season ago, would only win 2 games. Their quarterback Bernie Flowers would take a step backwards. Flowers would throw for 1,068 yards, 9 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The Bluejackets fan base would let him hear it and calls for him to be released would be made to ownership. Denver would be another team that would take a big step backwards. They would finish the season 2-11-1 after a 9-5 season in 1957. Their first win would not come until Week 14. The lack of having a dependable rushing attack put pressure on their quarterback Joe Childress who would throw for only 875 yards, 3 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Chicago Packers would be the worst team in the league though. They would finish 1-13. Their quarterback William Watson would also struggle and be pulled after 12 games in favor of second string quarterback Rodney Applegate. Watson would finish with 912 yards, 7 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 10 games. Many would feel that Watson was passed his prime and that he needed to be released. It didn't help that their star halfback Bradley Stone was injured during a Week 3 (September 21st) matchup against the Cleveland Generals. Stone would be lost for the season and would only have 212 yards rushing and 1 touchdown. It was popular belief that Stone would not return to football and would retire. AWARDS Coach of the Year: Brian Beckham (STL Aviators) Most Valuable Player: Harold Tisch, QB (PIT Ironmen) Rookie of the Year: Dan Reese, QB (STL Aviators)
STANDINGS
POST SEASON "PLAYOFF BOWL"
Quaker Park, Philadelphia, PA December 21, 1958 4:00 ET, 28F, 14 MPH NNW Philadelphia would host the 1958 Playoff Bowl for the second consecutive season. The Detroit Mustangs would come in after a 10 win season that would clinch the NFA Central Division title. They would be underdogs against the Philadelphia Colonials, who had won 11 games en route to their second consecutive NFA East Division title. Both teams had top five offenses and would duke it out in an instant classic. The Mustangs would have the lead at halftime, 10-3. Detroit's halfback Earl Brown would be the star of the first half as he would rush for 82 yards and 1 touchdown. The Colonials offense would look sloppy in the first half. It wasn't the Mustangs defense that prevented Philadelphia from scoring points. The Colonials would have five dropped passes in the first half of the game and a missed field goal from 23 yards. Just before time expired, Philadelphia was able to kick a 31 yard field goal to put points on the board just before the half. After the half, Philadelphia came out looking like a completely different team. They would adjust their offensive line and have their halfback Kyle Rose pound the ball. Rose would rush for 97 yards in the second half of the game including a 17 yard touchdown. With the new offensive scheme and no more self inflicted mistakes, Philadelphia would be able to take the lead heading into the final quarter of the game 13-10. In the 4th Quarter, Detroit would be able to retake the lead as Ralph Armani would rally his teammates and put together an 80 yard touchdown drive capped off by a 7 yard pass to fullback Jason Waterman. Trailing now 17-13 in the final quarter, Philadelphia would turn the ball over for the first time in the game. McCaffrey would throw an interception to give the Mustangs the ball at mid field. Philadelphia's defense would then allow Earl Brown to rush 33 yards the next play to put the Mustangs in field goal range. The drive would stall at the Philadelphia 25, but the Mustangs would kick a field goal and now led 20-13 with just under 5 minutes left. The following kickoff would be a huge error for the Mustangs. Detroit's kicker Chris Collins would kick the ball out of bounds to give the Colonials the ball at the 40 yard line. McCaffrey would then be able to lead his teammates quickly into Mustang territory. The Mustangs defense looked completely gassed as McCaffrey would throw three consecutive passes for first downs to put the Mustangs defense on their heels inside their own 20. Kyle Rose would then pound the ball to set up a third and goal from the 6. McCaffrey would then fake a hand off to Rose and then rush it himself for a touchdown. After the extra point, the game was tied at 20. Detroit's following possession would stall at their own 48 yard line. With just under 2 minutes to go in the game, the Mustangs would punt the ball out of bounds at the Philadelphia 2. It would appear that the game would most likely head into overtime. The Colonials however would be able to put together a perfect game winning drive. From their own 2, the Colonials would rush on first down for a gain of only 2 yards. From their own 4, McCaffrey would surprise everyone with a 27 yard bomb from his own end zone to his wide receiver Lance Burkes. Now that they were out of the shadow of their own end zone, Philadelphia's offense opened up and was able to advance across midfield. The Colonials would rush the ball three consecutive plays to force Detroit to use all of their timeouts. Philadelphia was able to advance the ball into Mustangs territory, but not field goal range for their kicker Brian Marks. On 4th and 4 from the 37, McCaffrey would keep the ball himself and rush for the first down. Detroit looked completely defeated after the first down, and Philadelphia was able to rush the ball to the 26 yard line. As the final seconds ticked, Brian Marks would kick the game winning field goal to send the Colonials to the NFA Championship for the second consecutive season.