In Pittsburgh, the talk was the future of their MVP quarterback Harold Tisch. Both Pittsburgh's GM, Bruce Clarkman and Owner Ernie Madison wanted to prepare for the future of the franchise. With rumors starting to be confirmed that the AFA was starting a franchise in Boston, the Bluejackets were willing to make a deal with the Ironmen to bring a star to their team to attract fans. A deal would be reached between Boston and Pittsburgh. The Ironmen would receive 2 third round draft picks, (1959 and 1960) and cash in exchange for Harold Tisch. The future hall of fame quarterback would make a heartfelt farewell message for all of the Ironmen fans at a special press conference on January 12th after the trade had been made. He expressed his wish to remain an "Ironman" for his entire career, but understood that it was time to move on. Boston would welcome him with open arms and high hopes to bring glory back to their once great franchise. Phil Sans, the Lions quarterback, would announce his retirement. In 12 seasons with the Lions, Sans won 4 NFA Championships and was named NFA MVP twice. Fans would be sad to see him go, but understood that the 35 year old was starting to have issues. He would be considered one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. In Chicago, owner Edward Fitzgerald would release his quarterback, William Watson, in preparation to draft a new quarterback with the number one overall pick in the 1959 draft. Watson would find his way to New York after the Lions offered him a contract. Watson was the NFA MVP in 1953. He had led the Packers to 4 NFA Championship games and lost all 4. Some felt that he needed a change of scenery, while others believed he was washed up. New York would give him 2 years to see if he could deliver a championship. Edward Fitzgerald would also fire his head coach, Mark Watney, who had brought the Packers to 4 NFA Championship Games. After the 1-13 1958 Season, Fitzgerald expressed that no one was safe and that it was time for the Packers to rebuild. Watney would leave the NFA and be hired by the Dallas Rangers of the AFA as their new head coach. Watney would finish with a 50-57-3 record. To replace Watney, Fitzgerald would hire Gordon Lively who had just won the Sugar Bowl with Louisiana State University. Fitzgerald would not be done though. He would also trade away his star halfback, Bradley Stone. After Watson was released and Watney was fired, Stone would express his desire to be traded. Chicago's GM James Howell would be able to make a trade with Denver for a 2nd round pick in the 1959 Draft, a 3rd round pick in the 1960 Draft and a 5th round pick in the 1961 Draft.
OWNERS MEETING
At the 1959 Owners Meeting, potential buyers of new franchises to expand the league to 18 teams attended. George Hormel, Lyle Staley and Gregory Greenleaf would be picked as the three men to start expansion teams throughout the nation. Both Hormel and Staley would receive a unanimous vote. Greenleaf would not receive any votes from the Washington Senators owners Thomas Reynolds and Charles Maple. George Hormel would have his franchise play in Minneapolis, MN. Lyle Staley would have his franchise play in Dallas, TX. Greenleaf would place his franchise in New Orleans, LA. All three agreed to have their franchises ready to play in the 1961 NFA Season. Chester Ford would announce that the All Star Committee had finalized plans to have an All Star game played after the 1959 NFA Season on January 3rd in New York City at Manhattan Field. This would be the first All Star Game in NFA history. Also a hot topic of conversation was the 1958 NFA Championship Game with the targeting of both quarterbacks. Commissioner Howie Roselle would warn all NFA Owners that if any players were found to be guilty of purposely targeting a player to injure them, the franchise will face stiff penalties which would be at the very least lost draft picks and at the most, a suspended season.
1959 NFA DRAFT
The 1959 NFA Draft was held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, PA on January 21, 1959. Chicago would have the first pick and would select their next franchise quarterback, Paul Dickson. For the second straight year, a player from Iowa would be selected number 1 overall. No other team would draft a quarterback in the first round. No halfback would be drafted in the first round for the first time in NFA history also.
The twenty first NFA Season would start on September 13, 1959. Many analysts felt that the Aviators were still the team to beat. A few did feel that New York, with the addition of William Watson, would be able to dethrone Philadelphia and challenge St Louis for the title. The Lions would under perform however. They would start the season strong and go 4-0. They would go 1-4 though their next 5 games which would put them in second place for the remainder of the season. Barry Jackman would have a disappointing season. He would finish the season playing all 14 games but only rushing for 640 yards and 7 touchdowns. He would also fumble 9 times which 7 were turnovers. The blame wasn't solely Jackman's fault, though the media made him the scapegoat. The offensive line would suffer injuries including their rookie Center Joshua Speed. He would be injured in Week 6 at Washington against the Senators. New York would finish second in the East behind Baltimore. The Knights would be the best team in the league. They would finish 13-1 and clinch the number 1 seed in the league for the second time in franchise history. They only other time they had the top spot was in 1940. The Knights offensive line would be ranked the best in the league which would help their offense become the top offense in the league. Quarterback Kenny Marlow would throw for 2,001 yards, 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Johnny Latimer would be the star on the offense. Latimer would rush for 1,236 yards, 13 touchdowns and fumble only twice all season. He would also receive for 238 yards and 4 touchdowns. His performance and the top ranked offensive line would put Baltimore on top and never looked back. Baltimore would earn fourth NFA Championship appearance and host the game for the second time in franchise history. Many felt, before the season began, that it would be St Louis that would again dominate the league and host another NFA Championship Game. That would not be the case though. The Aviators would finish a surprisingly third place in the NFA West. They would lose key games against the San Francisco Sharks and Milwaukee Indians. Dan Reese would also not have as great a season his sophomore year. Reese would throw for 1,786 yards, 11 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. The St Louis defense was also not able to follow the success they had in 1958, when they were ranked the best defense in the league. The Aviators defense would fall to the fifth ranked defense in the league. San Francisco would be the best in the West with the leagues top ranked defense. The Sharks would finish 11-2-1 which earned them their first ever NFA West Division title. A tie against the Washington Senators on October 11th would help them win the division. Along with the league's MVP, Defensive End Joey Sack. He would have 33 tackles for loss, 10 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 defensive touchdowns. Sack would be the first defensive player to be awarded Most Valuable Player. For the second straight season, Milwaukee would again finish in second place. Their 11-3 record was just shy of being good enough to secure the division title. Their quarterback, Tom Blue, would have a great season and finish with the most yards (2,136) and touchdowns (18) in the league. Herb Wright, who was drafted in the third round of the 1959 NFA Draft, would have a phenomenal year and be awarded Rookie of the Year. He would rush for 1,527 yards and 17 touchdowns. The offense wouldn't be good enough though to carry the Indians over the hump. Milwaukee's defense would be ranked 6th overall. Milwaukee's Owner William Calhoun would not answer questions to reporters after the season in regards to how he would handle any changes to help the Indians get over the hump. Some took it as a sign that Calhoun was thinking of changing the head coach. In the Central Division, it would come down between the Pittsburgh Ironmen and Cincinnati Buckeyes. Pittsburgh all season showed that they were the better team. Their new quarterback Walt Kowalski would put together a decent season. He would throw for 1,907 yards, 14 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Buckeyes would keep the heat on Pittsburgh for most of the season though. They would go 4-0 before they lost their first game of the season against the Ironmen. Pittsburgh would be in the drivers seat for the rest of the season however. After falling short a season ago, Pittsburgh won their fifth division title and first Central Division title in franchise history. At 9-5, they would have to travel to San Francisco to play the Sharks in the Playoff Bowl. The two time defending NFA East Division champs, the Philadelphia Colonials, would have a disastrous season. The Colonials would finish 4-10 which would put them in fourth place in their division. Quarterback Michael McCaffrey would not be the same after suffering a broken leg in the 1958 NFA Championship Game. He would seem scared at times and throw the ball away often. McCaffrey would lead the league with 20 interceptions including 5 in one game against San Francisco. In Boston, Harold Tisch would not be able to follow up his MVP 1958 Season with another. Tisch would throw for 1,877 yards, 9 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Tisch would not get help from his offensive line either. The offensive line would allow the most tackles for loss in the league which would consistently put the Bluejackets in third and long situations. Boston's defense would not help the teams success either. They would allow the third most points in the league (315). The Bluejackets fans would become frustrated and call for ownership to sell the team after finishing 8-6 which was good enough for third in the East. AWARDS Coach of the Year: John Franklin (SF Sharks) Most Valuable Player: Joey Sack, DE (SF Sharks) Rookie of the Year: Herb Wright, FB (MIL Indians)
DIVISION RACES
STANDINGS
POST SEASON "PLAYOFF BOWL"
Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA January 3, 1960 2:00 PT, 52F, 7 MPH NE The 1959 Playoff Bowl would be the first NFA Game played not in the same calendar year as the regular season. The San Francisco Sharks would host the Pittsburgh Ironmen. This would be the first playoff appearance for both franchises. The Ironmen would be completely dominated by the Sharks defense. Through three quarters of play, the Ironmen were only able to score one touchdown, which was a kickoff return. The Ironmen's offense was able to put up only 178 yards through 3 quarters and would turn the ball over 5 times. San Francisco would capitalize on both sides of the field. Their offense would score 2 rushing touchdowns and 1 passing score. The Sharks defense would also return an interception for a touchdown. Midway through the final quarter, up 28-3, the Sharks would pull all of their starters to save them for the championship game. Pittsburgh would leave theirs in and be able to score two touchdowns, 1 rushing and 1 passing. The sharks would win 31-17 and earn a trip to their first NFA Championship in franchise history.