After the 1962 NFA Season, Baltimore would decide to make a change at Head Coach. Peter Young, who's health was starting to decline, also gave part ownership of the franchise to his son-in-law, Charles Whitaker. Whitaker would decide the new direction for the Knights. His first move would be to let go of their Head Coach Terry Cruise. Cruise had led the Knights to a 119-70 record since 1952 with 2 NFA Championship berths and 2 NFA East Division Championships. Whitaker felt that Cruise had hit his ceiling with the team, and a fresh start was needed to direct the Knights to a championship. They would hire Jon Hamm, who had just had an undefeated championship season with the Boston Bluejackets as their Offensive Coordinator. Hamm had won 2 championships with the Bluejackets and 3 straight NFA East titles. With the loss of Hamm, Boston would promote their Quarterbacks Coach, Tom Callister as their new Offensive Coordinator. The loss of Hamm would affect the Bluejackets locker room hard, especially QB Earl Pittman, who had been mentored by Hamm since his rookie season. Terry Cruise would go on a "tour" across the country to different teams interested in hiring him. After interviewing with the Pittsburgh Ironmen and Denver Rams, he would land in Los Angeles and meet with the Gladiators. Stanley McConnell would not let Cruise leave until a deal could be agreed on. Cruise would accept a 5 year $275,000 contract ($55,000/year) making him the highest paid head coach or player in the history of the NFA. It was obvious that McConnell was sick of losing and would pay whatever it took to put his franchise in the position to bring home the NFA title. With the hire of Cruise, Alan Hayes would be fired by the Gladiators. He would finish his time in Los Angeles with 2 NFA West Division titles and a 62-50-2 record. In a surprising move, the Buckeyes would hire Hayes as their Head Coach. They would let go of Kenny Moore who had a 24-32 record. The Colonials would decide to change up their look. They would change their logo, to a "Colonials" script with a Revolutionary drummer. They would also update their uniforms. They would switch to a white helmet with the "Colonials" script on the sides with a single navy blue stripe.
Milwaukee would also decide to change their logo and uniform. They would change their color scheme from brown and white, to maroon and mustard yellow. Owner Williams Calhoun would decide to bring back an Indian head logo for the primary.
OWNERS MEETING
At the 1963 Owners Meeting, Commissioner Roselle expressed his desire to have the league expand to 20 teams. Many owners agreed and voted to put together a committee to review potential cities that they felt would be best to contribute to the positive growth of the league. They would also put together a competition committee to decide how to align the divisions since they all felt a fourth division would be needed to be established.
1963 NFA DRAFT
The 1962 NFA Draft was held on December 4, 1961 in New York City. It was held earlier than usual due to the AFA attempting to lure star players to their league. With the first pick in the draft, the Senators would select Quarterback Roman Woods from Maryland. Many analysts believed he was the best player in the draft. San Francisco with the third overall pick, would select the best defensive player in the draft, Defensive Tackle Merlin Jones from Ohio State. The only team to not select in the first round, would be the New York Lions. They would select Quarterback Glen Griffin from Stanford in the second round.
The twenty fourth NFA Season would start on September 16, 1962. The Boston Bluejackets would be on a mission to avenge their unsuccessful 1961 NFA Season. They would put together one of the greatest seasons in NFA history. They would open their season at home against their division rival Baltimore Knights, who were also looking to finish what they started after losing the 1959 NFA Championship Game. The Bluejackets would beat the Knights 34-17 and would never fall out of first place in the NFA East. Boston's Halfback Charlie Horner would be the first player in NFA history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in less than 8 games. He would finish the season just shy of 2,000 yards because he would be pulled out of many games early to prevent him from being injured. On November 27, 1962, the Bluejackets Owner Jim Cook, would pass away. This would only add fuel to Boston's desire to win. The Bluejackets would finish the season 14-0 and secure home field advantage for the 1962 NFA Championship Game. Charlie Horner would be awarded MVP for the 1962 NFA Season. In New York, the Lions would not be able to follow up the 10-4 season they had in 1961, with a winning season in 1962. They would never have a winning record at any point of the season. The lowest part would be when the 0-8 Philadelphia Colonials would defeat the Lions in New York 26-23 with a last minute field goal with 1:14 left in the game. Afterwards, Lions fans would call for a change at Quarterback. Glen Griffin, who was selected in second round of the 1962 NFA Draft, would not impress many. He would struggle often and would commit a league high 27 turnovers (18 interceptions and 9 fumbles). He would have at least one turnover every game of the 1962 season. Joey Sack would lead the league with 42 tackles for a loss (16 being tackling the Quarterback for a loss). New York as a team would tackle the Quarterback for a loss the most of any team, 40 times. They would be the 10th ranked defense in the league. The surprising team would be the New Orleans Hornets. Led by Head Coach Colin Harper, the Hornets would start the season with a 3 game winning streak. After losing to the Cleveland Generals in Week 4, they would win 2 in a row before falling to the Bluejackets. They would finish in second place with a 10-4 record. Many analysts believed in the Hornets played in the Central Division, they would have won it. Colin Harper would be awarded Coach of the Year for the 1962 season for his impressive and surprising season in New Orleans's second season in franchise history. Their rookie Quarterback Mason Chandler would be named Rookie of the Year. He would finish with 3,167 yards, 18 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 312 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns and a league leading 4 game winning comebacks in the 4th quarter. In the Central Division, the Generals would take an early command of the Central Division. They would win 7 straight games until losing to the Dallas Coyotes in Week 9. In Week 11, they would lose their second game of the season to their division rival, the Chicago Flames. This would allow the Flames to stay in contention for the division, but the Generals would still control their own fate. In Week 13, the Flames would lose their fifth game of the season. In order for Chicago to win the Central Division, they would need the Generals to lose at least one more game. If the Generals also finished 9-5, there would be a playoff game to decide who the Central Division champion is. The last week of the season, the Generals would defeat the Pittsburgh Ironmen to win their third division title in franchise history. In the West Division, the Saint Louis Aviators would return to glory. A season after finishing third in the division with a 9-5 record, the Aviators would open their season against the defending West Division champions, the Milwaukee Indians in Milwaukee. The Aviators would beat the Indians 29-13 to start a 5 game winning streak. The Aviators would lose to the San Francisco Sharks in Week 6, but they would not lose another game all season. They would go on to finish 13-1 and win their seventh division title. They would secure home field advantage for the Playoff Bowl against the Cleveland Generals. After their 13-1 season in 1961 and hosting the 1961 NFA Championship Game, the Indians would be a disappointment. They would finish 9-5, but would never be able to compete for the division. Milwaukee would lose to the Aviators and the Sharks to start the season 0-2. With the disappointing season for the Indians, Head Coach Bud Wilkins would become aggravated with his Offensive and Defensive Coordinators. He would dismiss both coordinators at the end of the season.
AWARDS Coach of the Year: Colin Harper (NO Hornets) Most Valuable Player: Charlie Horner (BOS Bluejackets) Rookie of the Year: Mason Chandler, HB (NO Hornets)
DIVISION RACES
STANDINGS
POST SEASON "PLAYOFF BOWL"
St Louis Stadium, St Louis, MO December 30, 1962 3:00 PM EST, 31F, 12 MPH ESE The 1962 Playoff Bowl would be the first playoff game the St Louis Aviators would play in. They would host the Cleveland Generals, who would be playing in their third playoff game, their first since 1960. It would be one of the greatest games in NFA history. The Aviators would take an early 7-0 lead with their first possession of the game. St Louis would have the lead at halftime, holding Cleveland to just 2 scores and leading 17-6. After the half, Cleveland would finally be able to get their offense going. Richie Cannon would rush for 34 yards on the first drive of the second half including a 7 yard rushing touchdown. The Cleveland defense would also step up and prevent the Aviators from scoring in the third quarter. At the start of the final quarter, Cleveland had a 20-17 lead. Aviators Quarterback Dan Reese however, would be able to use not only his arm, but also his legs to power St Louis past the Generals to take a 24-20 lead after a 5 yard rushing touchdown. At the 2 minute warning, Cleveland had the ball and needed a touchdown to win. St Louis would have a difficult time containing Richie Cannon and Fullback Andrew Armstrong. Both players would pound the ball up the middle of the St Louis defensive line and average 6 yards per rushing attempt on the final drive. The Generals knew that the Aviators front 4 defensive players were exhausted and took advantage. With just 47 seconds left in the game, John Miller would throw a 23 yard touchdown pass to Henry Fisher to take a 27-24 lead. The lead would stand and Cleveland would shock the Aviators and the country. It would be one of the biggest upsets in NFA history. Cleveland would then advance to play the heavily favored Boston Bluejackets. A rematch of the 1960 NFA Championship Game.