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1956 AFL Championship

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Another relatively mild December day caused River Field to be the most packed it has ever been. The 29,500 seat stadium was somehow able to cram in just about 32,000, and tensions were still tense between fans after the end of last year’s championship game. Some even had to be removed from the stadium after getting into a scuffle before the game even began. The Federals were still upset about the result of the previous meeting, while the Rivermen still held the high ground and were determined to keep it. Q1 The Rivermen would win the coin toss, and chose to receive the kickoff for the first half to get the upper hand on their rival. They would start by methodically working their way downfield, trading handoffs between RB’s Perry Ferguson and Billy Garcia. QB Lester Parker mixed in a few passes to get the drive within the twenty. Parker looked back on a first and ten and threw over the middle to hit one of his WR’s, but instead LB Howard Treadaway put himself in the way for the intercep
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1956 Playoffs: Division Finals

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West Division Final: St Louis Stallions @ Cincinnati Rivermen The Stallions had not only achieved making the playoffs in their first season, but in their first playoff game they managed to take down the Hogs in somewhat convincing fashion. Their next obstacle might be an even more daunting task, now having to face the new power in the West in Cincinnati. The Rivermen were eager to defend their title, and winning against the upstart Stallions will guarantee they plan another game at home for the championship. The grounds crew had cleared some snow that had fallen in the earlier hours of the day, leaving the field conditions less than ideal at kickoff. Q1 The Stallions would win the coin toss and choose to get a head start against one of the best teams in the league. They relied on RB Kevin Knox to inch his way down field, which was easier said than done. St Louis QB O.J. DeMille had to step in to bail out his team, hitting WR Anthony Wheatland for a solid first down and finding TE Scott
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1956 Playoffs: Division Semi-Finals

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East Division Semifinal: Buffalo Hammers @ Boston Dragons The City of Boston had seldom seen its professional football teams playing past the regular season. But just two short years of the Dragons being in town have made up for the last 30 years of lackluster play from the assortment of teams. The clouds managed to part over Lansdowne Field for the first postseason game at the historical park, and the first true test for the expansion team against perennial playoff contenders in the Hammers. Q1 The Dragons would get the ball first in an attempt to start their playoffs on the right foot. It would start out in the right way, as QB Sam Eagleburger found WR Lloyd Lawson for a big 20 yard reception on the first play of the game. That momentum would peter out right before midfield, and Boston reluctantly punted the ball away to the Hammers. They would not have the explosive first play, instead gaining a single first down before giving it back to the home team. The Dragons made better progre
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1956 AFL Season

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    East Division The East was once again fairly top-heavy for another year, though it took some time for the top teams to separate themselves from the rest. The Federals seemed to have a repeat of last year: they started out on a post-championship hangover at 3-3 but would win 4 out of their next 5 games leading up to the final week to potentially win repeat division titles. The usual suspects helped out again, though rookie S Bobby Loes proved to be a lethal backfield combination with Josh von Bank, with many toting their secondary as the best in the league. Even with the rest of the division being weak, they would not have a straight shot to a division title like last year, but it wasn’t the expected foe as it was the year before. That team would be the second-year Boston Dragons, who lived up to their expansion year expectations. The team avoided major injury and had QB Sam Eagleburger step up to the starter role, going from 3-9 last year to 6-4-1 and a shot at the division title.
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1956 Season Preview

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  1 - Cincinnati Rivermen 1955 Record: 8-4 (2nd West) 1955 Result: Won Championship The core that finally gave Cincinnati their first title in over two decades are still on the team and are ready to challenge the league to claim another title. QB Lester Parker is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and as long as he is at the helm the Rivermen are expected to be in contention for a championship. Their offense is the best in the league, with RB tandem of Perry Ferguson and Billy Garcia plowing through defenses, and WR Alfred Dunn as the best pass-catcher in the league. The defense is also very solid, with one of the best secondaries in the league headed by DB Kerry Lantz. Cincinnati seems like they would be able to challenge the Hogs in the West for years to come, but that time could be coming to an abrupt end. Most of their main starters are nearing the end of their prime, meaning this current core only has another few years to claim another title. Knowing how the Rivermen have
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1956 AFL Draft

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    Round 1 1 - Philadelphia - RB Mickey Greene - Pittsburgh State - DireBear 2 - St Louis - LB Isaac Bullock - Pennsylvania - QCS 3 - Pittsburgh (via DET) - QB Aksel Kahr - Pittsburgh State - Darknes 4 - Boston - OL Harvey Leonard - Los Angeles State - DireBear 5 - New York - DB Joe Bellisario - New Jersey - DireBear 6 - Cleveland - LB Matt Ross - Texas State - Kingsfan11 7 - Detroit (from PIT) - DL Rusty Shankles - Wisconsin State - Dan O’Mac 8 - Tri-Cities - DL Moe Greene - Monongalia State - QCS 9 - Buffalo - WR Julian Washington - UCleveland - Kingsfan11 10 - Chicago - TE Isaac Vella - Chicago Christian - Darknes 11 - Washington - S Bobby Loes - Staten Island - DireBear 12 - Cincinnati - WR Jimmy Woods - Rogers Clark - Dan O’Mac Like the year before, the draft was held in one of the new expansion cities instead of the traditional location of Chicago. Philadelphia would both host the draft and have the first overall pick, and there may have been a reason why they wanted the first p
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