1951 Season

 


After the first season which was practically dominated by two teams, the 1951 season was a bit closer. It wasn’t particularly close for the Hogs, as they were out on a revenge tour after losing to the Hawks in the championship game and the week 1 Labor Day game. After that loss, they rattled off 9 straight wins to firmly sit atop the standings and another chance at winning a title. Everything clicked for the team this year, with QB Alfred Walton leading the league’s best scoring offense with weapons like WR Nicholas Kramer and TE Glenn Chambers on the passing attack, while RB’s Johnnie Hendrix and rookie Brian Bruce split carries on the ground. Walton’s commanding presence on the only efficient offense all year won him both the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. The Hogs’ defense really stepped up this year, not allowing more than 20 points to any team this year, besides their 21-17 week 1 loss to Tri-Cities. Rookie DL Eric Forbes was one the main reasons why the defense was a lot better this year, taking home the inaugural Rookie of the Year honors as he formed an amazing front tandem with DL Joel Valentine and LB Douglas Marks that led the league’s best defense statistically. 


You would expect another team to dominate along with the Hogs, but the remaining 5 teams fought in a bloodbath against each other, with only 1 of the remaining 5 teams being over .500 at any point this season. Tri-Cities seemed to suffer a bit of a championship hangover, only starting out at 2-2 going into their bye in week 5. Their season wouldn’t get any better though. Week 6 they played the 1-3 Buckeyes, and tragedy struck when RB Herman Gibbons was tackled by LB Christopher Carney, and Gibbons was writhing in pain after the play. He was carted off the field, and the Hawks would end up losing one of their team leaders for the year because of a broken leg. The Hawks were still mostly the same, with backup RB Larry Welsh proving effective enough to start the rest of the year, but the heart of the team was on the sidelines only able to cheer the team on, as they struggled to get more than a game over .500 this season. With the Hawks not one of the prime contenders to play Chicago in the Championship, the door was wide open for any takers. Detroit was the early team to beat, going 3-0 in their first three games. However, like last year, their brief high was short-lived. Poor coaching play once again doomed the Knights to consistently play down to their competition as they ended up losing their last 7 games of the season to finish last in the league. RB Jeffery Spears was pretty much the lone bright spot on the Knights this year, nearly single-handedly carrying the team to any semblance of competency.  Cleveland was the most middle-of-the-pack team this season, actually improving their record from last season by 1 game even though they started rookies at both QB and RB. QB Ronnie Hart and RB Perry Ferguson finished 3rd and 4th in Rookie of the Year voting, respectively, improving the slow and uninteresting team that played last year. Their secondary was becoming one of the most feared in the league, but their weak front seven was a major cause as to why players like DB’s Jerry Pruitt and Nicholas Lamb seemed so much better.

 

While Chicago was already safe and sound at the top, the final spot came down to a week 11 matchup between the 4-4-1 Hawks and the 5-4 Cincinnati Rivermen, who were the main surprise of the year. The Rivs started out the season 3-4 and on the outside looking in, with starting QB Lee Christian proving ineffective in what may be his final year as the definite starter for the team. Cincinnati head coach Dean Perkins made the decision to start the longtime backup QB Clarence Stanley over the QB the team has been developing over the past few years in Lester Parker. Stanley took over in week 8, and immediately made a difference. Rookie WR Alfred Dunn became a larger part of the offense, as he and Stanley made an immediate connection with one another to give the middling offense some sort of life. That final game between the Hawks and the Rivermen was a grueling battle, with the defenses and kickers getting a better showcase than the offenses. Tri-Cities K Gene Fitzpatrick kicked a field goal to put the Hawks up by 3 late into the 4th, and Cincinnati needed some sort of miracle to get down the field to win. QB Clarence Stanley found WR Alfred Dunn in a 1-on-1 against rookie DB Barry Roach, and threw the ball up where only Dunn could get it. Dunn won the jump ball contest, and managed to get to the 3 yard line before getting tripped up by Hawks S Walter Carey. With only a few seconds left, the Rivermen would go for the win, as Stanley snuck right up the middle as time expired to win the game for Cincinnati to send them to the championship against the Hogs.


Awards:

Most Valuable Player: CHI QB Alfred Walton

Offensive Player of the Year: CHI QB Alfred Walton

Defensive Player of the Year: TRI DL Ralph Rogers

Rookie of the Year: CHI DL Eric Forbes

Coach of the Year: CHI Donovan Hasenkamp


2nd American Football Championship

Although the game still doesn’t have a name as of yet, the second game might be a bit less of a heavyweight matchup as last year was. The Hogs have torn through the league this year with their league-leading defense and a very solid offense. Cincinnati, on the other hand, sort of stumbled into the other spot in the championship because the other “good” teams imploded during the season. They’ve stuck around .500 the whole season, but their offense has gotten better since they changed QB’s mid-season. For most, it’s not going to be about who is going to win, it’s more about how much the Hogs will win by. The Rivermen are coming into the game as massive underdogs, so keeping it close and overcoming the stingy Chicago defense are the major game plans for Cincinnati to make the second championship game as interesting as the first one. All Chicago has to do is keep doing what they’ve been doing so well this year to win their first AFL championship that they were denied last year. Will it be close? Will the Hogs blow out the upstart Rivermen? Or will the Rivermen defy all odds and take down the titans of this season?

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