1950 AFL Offseason

 

Although there wasn’t much player movement between teams, a lot of the older players on each of the teams retired after the grueling schedule put too much stress on their bodies and couldn’t deal with playing at this level. Some teams that had younger pieces, like Chicago, Detroit, and Tri-Cities, weren’t affected by the mass exodus of players, but Cleveland and Columbus were hit hard, with nearly half of their team leaving after the 1950 season and both scrambling to sign new players to take their place. Luckily for all the teams, there were plenty of players to go around, with 60 players declaring for the AFL straight out of college and a few more experienced players from the other leagues across the country. The biggest of the names coming out of college would be DL Eric Forbes out of Michigan University, with some proclaiming he might be one of the best defensive linemen ever if he develops properly. Pretty much every team reached out to sign a potential contract with him, but ultimately Forbes signed with the Hogs, instantly becoming one of the best players on Chicago’s defensive unit and might be the piece they need to win the championship. The Hogs also obtained the second best rookie available, snatching up OL Steve Holland to help with their already quite young offensive line to protect QB Alfred Walton. 


Elsewhere, there were 3 quarterbacks that AFL teams had their eyes on. 2 were coming straight out of college, those 2 being Johnnie Sellers and Ronnie Hart. Both had incredible seasons last year, but Sellers far and away had the better season, winning the Bernheim Trophy for the best college athlete in the nation and claiming a part of the national championship. Hart did lead St. Francis of Assisi to a top 25 finish, but was mostly overshadowed since not many scouts went out to his hometown of San Jose to see him play. Columbus was one of the unlikely winners of the quarterback battle, signing Sellers to become one of their quarterbacks, but he won’t be the definitive starter yet. Since the Buckeyes lost their starting QB in Ray Hoffman due to retirement, they did sign the other remaining top quarterback to fight for the starting spot. Darrell Flynn had 3 years of experience playing in the NYPL, serving as a backup for Baltimore before transferring over to the AFL to become a starter. Hart ended up getting signed by Cleveland, who now has to fight for the starting spot over veteran backup Steven Francis. 

The remaining key players that signed ended up all in the state of Ohio. WR Alfred Dunn was putting up great numbers while at UOhio, and turned down a contract to play at his hometown team in the Buckeyes and accepted one with Cincinnati, whose middling receiving core will receive a great boost and take some weight off of RB Elmer Carson’s back. DB Johnathan Moon was the next top defensive player after Eric Forbes, and he’ll go the same route as QB Johnnie Sellers, who will hopefully help turn the Buckeyes around into a competitive team. Cleveland got the top RB in Perry Ferguson, and he might even take over from last year’s starter Tom McGee with how Ferguson performed in college. Ferguson was the main reason why Boston Christian was as good as they were last year, and the Crows hope that influx of youth could turn their team around. 


Besides the rookies and other younger players inbound from other leagues, the biggest splash of the season was Detroit locking up RB Jeffrey Spears on a 4 year deal worth $100,000, making him the highest paid running back in the league so far. Although the Knights didn’t exactly have the best season last year, they have enough faith in the 25 year old to be a key piece of their young core of players to eventually get them over the hump that plagued them last year. Chicago managed to re-sign OL Bill Armstrong to a 4 year, $54,000 deal that will put the 25 year old as the star of the Hogs’ already amazing offensive line. The biggest surprise re-signing was back in Detroit, as they gave TE Frederick Arthur a 4 year deal worth $74,000. The reason this is such a big surprise is that they already have a standout star at the TE spot with Francis Sellers, but the biggest reason why is that Sellers is 34 and only has 1 year left with the Knights, and Detroit believes that Arthur may surpass Sellers’ abilities either this year or next and become another key piece to their offense. 


Key Acquisitions:


Chicago

DL Eric Forbes (Michigan U.)

OL Steve Holland (Wisconsin State)

OL Jackie Holder (Oklahoma U.)

S Jeffery Irwin (North Carolina U.)


Cincinnati

WR Alfred Dunn (UOhio)

TE Floyd Rankin (St. Joseph’s)

DL Theo Love (NYPL - Bronx Bulldogs)

LB Jeff Blankenship (California State)


Cleveland

QB Ronnie Hart (St. Francis of Assisi)

RB Perry Ferguson (Boston Christian)

OL Tim Fitzgerald (Minnesota State)

WR Joseph Atkins (California State)


Columbus

QB Johnnie Sellers (Chicago Christian)

DB Johnathan Moon (Philadelphia State)

OL Kenneth Hodge (Virginia State) 

DL Robert Stanton (Chicago Christian)


Detroit

OL Greg York (Brooklyn College)

OL Todd Solomon (Audubon)
WR Gerald Berger (NYPL - Baltimore Barons)

LB Vincent Meyer (Illinois U.)


Tri-Cities

DB William Owens (Massachusetts State)

RB Jim Riggs (Texas U.)

WR Chris Marks (Chicago Christian)

DB Barry Roach (Illinois U.)


Columbus made some minor modifications to their uniform set, removing the blue pants and white socks on the away and switched to their home pants and socks instead. 



 

1951 Season Predictions:


Although Tri-Cities has a majority of their core back from their championship last year, Chicago is still the best team on paper. The Hogs made huge improvements to their offensive line and secondary, and that might be all they need to push them over the top. The league seems to have a bit more parity than last year, and really it could be anyone in the championship this Thanksgiving. Detroit has the talent to get there, but their coaching staff has made it clear that they are holding the team back and owner August Riddle will clean house if they fail again this year. Cincinnati looks to be a dark horse in this race, but it may take a collapse from one of the other teams to even have a chance at making it. Cleveland and Columbus are starting on shaky ground, and they probably aren’t going to be contending this year and might just look for next year. If there were any two teams to make it to the championship, it would most likely be a rematch between the Hogs and the Hawks.


My Predictions:


Chicago 7-3 - x

Tri-Cities 7-3 - x

Detroit 6-4

Cincinnati 5-5

Cleveland 3-7
Columbus 2-8


Second American Football Championship Game

Tri-Cities over Chicago


While Chicago would have the more “experienced” team in terms of age, they haven’t been able to beat the Hawks while in the AFL. It’s going to be another close matchup for the second championship, but Tri-Cities will ultimately come out on top against Chicago once again.

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