1952 AFL Championship

 

Compared to the week before, conditions at Roesch Stadium were a lot better for a football game. While there were winds blowing in at around 15 miles per hour to the south, starting temperature was a warm 44 degrees without wind chill, which allowed fans to flock to Buffalo and nearly overfill its capacity to see arguably two of football’s best teams fight for a championship

Q1

Buffalo ended up losing the coin toss, and had to receive the opening kick as Chicago deferred to the second half. The Hammers would get to a quick start, as after a few rushes by RB Calvin Townsend to begin the game, QB Don Melton would find WR Ben Farrell in a one-on-one against Chicago DB Joseph Peters, and Farrell would win the matchup against Peters and ran uncontested for a 63 yard score to open the game with a bang. Chicago would not have the same luck as Buffalo on their first drive, as QB Alfred Walton struggled to throw to his favorite target, WR Nicholas Kramer, as he was consistently locked up by DB Joe Merritt. Walton would find his other favorite target, TE Glenn Chambers, for those big gains instead, as Chambers caught 3 passes for 40 yards on their first drive to set them up in scoring range. However, RB Brian Bruce would not be able to punch through the Hammers defense, and Chicago turned to K Freddie Donnelly to go for a field goal to make the game competitive. Buffalo was looking like they would get another quick score, with Melton hitting WR Bob Weaver for 20 yards and Weaver getting taken down by a tandem of Chicago defenders. However, S Jeffery Irwin would rip the ball out of Weaver’s hands before he was down, and in the mad scramble for the ball, Chicago DB Clarence Newman would end up with the ball at the bottom of the scrum. Although they were deep in opposing territory, the Hogs would manage their way out on a long and tedious drive thanks to Buffalo’s defense being more stingy than they had been in the previous game. Bruce could not rush for more than 5 yards at a time, once again putting most of the offensive capabilities to Walton. Walton was a reliable option, finding every receiving option not named Nicholas Kramer on another march down field. After a 15 yard pass to WR Donnie Stout that set them up near the 20, Walton would find Chambers one play later for a 23 yard score to put the Hogs ahead at the end of the first

CHI 10, BUF 7

Q2

After a fast start to the game in the first, the second quarter would significantly slow down the action. Melton would start the second quarter on a rough note, throwing a rare interception to DB Joseph Peters in an attempt to hit Bob Weaver for a huge gain, but underthrew the pass and went directly into Peters’ arms. The Hogs would quickly get back into scoring range thanks to Walton and his offensive attack, but Buffalo would stop them short of the endzone after attempting to run up the gut with RB Brian Bruce, and had to settle for 3 at the end. After that drive, the next half of the quarter would be a grueling affair. Neither team could get anything going, which both pleased fans that these two teams were fighting tooth and nail for every inch, and disappointed fans who wanted more action instead of teams not getting anything going. Chicago would remedy this somewhat towards the end of the half, with QB Alfred Walton putting together one last drive as time was winding down. Walton would hook up with WR Dakota Walter, who broke free of the Buffalo defenders and made his way for 20 yards before getting taken down at the 30. WR Nicholas Kramer would finally get his first catch of the game, going for 10 yards before letting himself go down before time ran out. K Freddie Donnelly would kick through the uprights once again as Chicago held a commanding lead entering the half, and would look to extend their lead once they got the ball back in the second half

CHI 16, BUF 7

Q3

While Chicago may have had the momentum entering the second half, it quickly petered out on their first drive. They did pick up a new set of downs on the first drive of the half, that was the only time they moved the chains and punted it to Buffalo. The Hammers were expected to have slightly better luck, but only ended up in the same situation as the Hogs. After another series of back-and-forth punts, Buffalo finally got the gears running after both teams were slow out of the gate. RB Calvin Townsend would get to show off his skills since entering the league, bursting through the Chicago defense for a 28 yard rush that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. The Buffalo crowd would continue to cheer, as they cheered on their team on a crucial third down. WR Bernard Clarke was struggling all day matched up against DB Clarence Newman, and would need a break to beat him for a catch. QB Don Melton had been testing the matchup all day, and threw another ball towards Clarke. However, S Jeffrey Irwin was trying to make a play, and rammed directly into Newman. Clarke caught the ball uncontested, and practically walked for all of the 43 yard reception for a touchdown. Hammers fans would keep on cheering, but their cheers would go unanswered for the remainder of the quarter as both teams engaged in another series of back and forth punts. 

CHI 16, BUF 14

Q4

The offensive stalling would persist into the fourth quarter, as the defenses were holding strong; Chicago holding onto their lead and Buffalo holding the Hogs so they could take the lead. After a few more minutes of offensive troubles, the Hogs would have the ball once again by their own 20 and were looking for something to give them life. QB Alfred Walton would see his chance on second down, targeting WR Nicholas Kramer to beat his matchup against DB Joe Merritt. Walton threw up a perfect ball in hopes that Kramer would win the one-on-one matchup with the best defensive back in the league. Merritt tried to knock Kramer off of his feet, but hit him after Kramer got his footing and failed to send him out of bounds. Kramer was now in a mad dash for the endzone, the other members of the Buffalo secondary far from him but chasing him down. S Wilbert Ritchie caught up to Kramer just as he dove for the endzone, hitting the pylon as Ritchie attempted to stop him. The 72 yard score was all the Hogs needed to get back into the game, and just enough for Buffalo to have a harder time coming back. The Hammers were still a little rattled after that play, with QB Don Melton throwing a pass intended for WR Bernard Clarke, and the ensuing jump ball would end up in the hands of S Jeffery Irwin. The Hogs were able to take some more time off the clock, but only took off 2 out of the 6 minutes remaining in the game, allowing for Buffalo to come back onto the field for one last chance at scoring. Melton would regain his senses after his last mistake, and traded off short and quick passes to WR Ben Farrell and TE Dan Finley to get his team moving. On a drive that only took 2 minutes off of the clock, Melton would hit Farrell for 13 yards to put the game within reach if the Hammers recovered the onside kick. The kick would fall directly into the hands of the Hogs, and Chicago wound down the remaining clock to win their second AFL championship. 

CHI 23, BUF 21

As with their last championship, QB Alfred Walton would walk away with his second MVP award, topping his perfect game last year with another perfect game, throwing for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns to bring the Hogs their second trophy.