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1958-59 Offseason

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Retirements RB Billy Gould - Chicago, IL College: Northern Illinois State Teams: Chicago Hogs (1953-1958) AFL Championships: 1 (1954) All-AFL: 4 (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956) All-Star: 5 (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958) Awards: Most Valuable Player (1954, 1955), Offensive Player of the Year (1953, 1956), Rookie of the Year (1953), AFL Championship MVP (1954) Creator: idm In a shock to pretty much everyone, Gould is hanging up his cleats after only 6 years in the AFL. He made the most of that short time, earning every single award possible as well as reviving the Hogs’ chances at a title by taking them there and winning one in his second year. He nearly didn’t make the league; playing on the newly-formed team at Northern Illinois State didn’t attract any scouts from the AFL and he thought his dream of playing football professionally was over. A chance meeting with Johnnie Hendrix, then-RB coach and one of the first players to break the color barrier in any league, brought him onto the Hogs as...
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1959 Design Changes

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Buffalo made a few changes to their overall set, darkening their blue to a navy to make themselves stand out a bit more against the other, more successful blue teams in Cincinnati and Washington. Their primary logo remains mostly unchanged, but they did alter their secondary slightly, adjusting the angle at which the hammers crossed. This new secondary was added to their helmets, now making half the league have some feature on their helmets.  Players shown: QB Brendan Turnbull (17) & DB Rogelio Amos (33) The Federals made a couple of tweaks to their logo set, swapping the W in their primary for a more serifed version. The star behind the NRA eagle also changed colors, going from a white star to a blue one. The uniforms remain mostly unchanged though, only swapping out for the new W.  Players shown: S Josh von Bank (22) & QB Johnnie Sellers (12)  Philadelphia had the least amount of changes for teams altering their look, only adding the Gadsden snake to their helme...
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AFL Spring Meetings 1959

LEAGUE STILL PONDERING 16TH TEAM LOCATION The AFL seems to still be deliberating over where their 16th franchise will be located, even though at a similar point in their last expansion process that city was already decided by now. The setback on Denver’s stadium threw a wrench into the AFL’s expansion plans, and now the owners are scrambling to find the right person to take their spot. Ownership groups from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Miami, and Seattle were all vying for that spot, and at least on paper the Twin Cities bid has the most legs to it. The AFL had been looking at putting a team in Minnesota when the Federals were moving out of Columbus, and could have been included in the first round of expansion if Philadelphia and St. Louis did not fall into the league’s lap. The league should be expected to make a decision within the next year or so, though they are not doing any expansion teams any favors by delaying the time they need to set up operations like they had with other expansion ...
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The Wide World of American Football: 1958-59 Edition

A RIFT IN PROGRESS? The PAFC suffered its first tragedy not of its own accord, as New Orleans Pirates owner Rudolph Branthwaite Sr. died just before the beginning of the season. His son, Rudy, took over ownership of the team, and immediately became a thorn in the side of the “old guard” of PAFC owners. He saw the obvious signs that the league was in a tailspin and sought out any way to get the league out of it. While the league was in talks of expansion, Branthwaite lobbied for a team in either Milwaukee or Minneapolis/St. Paul, as he knew that the AFL would pounce on either of the options if the PAFC had left them idle. The AFL had done the same with the St Louis market, where the Stallions became one of the league’s most attended teams within just a few years. A few owners had supported this plan, but President Bradshaw refused to expand to either market after both of their former team’s involvement in the game-fixing scandal just a few years prior. An expansion team in Oakland had a...
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1958 AFL Championship

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It was nearly a perfect winter day for a football game, but Metropolitan Stadium surprisingly did not host a sell-out crowd despite hosting the 2nd-largest ever crowd at the stadium at nearly 65,000 fans. A combination of weather woes and a major newspaper strike in New York City prevented potential fans from coming to the game. But around 15,000 Knights fans from Detroit made the voyage eastward, and their presence gave the appearance of an even split in the crowd despite more being in favor of the Lions. Most New Yorkers that were unable to get tickets for this game were unable to watch the game due to the AFL’s blackout policy, and many traveled out of state to Connecticut and New Jersey to tune in. The Lions donned their white uniforms once again for good luck to win their first title game. Unlike last game New York played, Detroit was prepared for them wearing their whites and wore their red jerseys on the road to see which team will win their first AFL title. Q1 The Knights would...
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1958 Playoffs: Division Finals

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East Division Final: Philadelphia Rattlesnakes @ New York Lions For the first time in their history, the New York Lions got to host a postseason game at Metropolitan Stadium. They welcomed their expansion brother in Philadelphia, who was coming off of their first playoff win against Washington. The Lions were attempting to replicate their postseason success from last year, and that included making the rare change to wear their white uniforms at home. They had worn them for every game of last year’s run, and made it clear to both the league office and Philadelphia that they would be wearing white uniforms at home. The Rattlesnakes did not believe the Lions would actually wear their away uniforms, but were proved wrong at the odd sight of both teams coming out of the locker rooms wearing white. Philadelphia tried to protest the change, but since it was made well in advance the game had to be delayed while the Rattlesnakes changed into their gold uniforms without letting the issue bother ...
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1958 Playoffs: Division Semi-Finals

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East Division Semi-Final: Washington Federals @ Philadelphia Rattlesnakes Philadelphia would be hosting its first postseason game in over 20 years as they welcomed its biggest competition in the Washington Federals. It was a mild December evening, perfect for a game that could determine which way momentum swings in the East for the next few years to come. The Federals needed to go through the playoffs the hard way if they wanted to reclaim a title. The Rattlesnakes represent a new wave of teams ready to take down the current teams on top and change how things are played in the AFL. Q1 The Rattlesnakes would receive the opening kickoff after Washington won the coin toss. They immediately got off to a great start, as RB Mickey Greene opened the game with a 23 yard rush that got the home crowd roaring. Philly would not be able to improve upon that first play as they went three and out on the next set of downs. Washington’s first chance would be about equally as exciting, getting a first d...
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