1952 Playoffs

 

West Division Play-off: Chicago Hogs @ Cincinnati Rivermen

 

River Field had a brief warm episode in the few days before the game on Thanksgiving, with the temperature dropping back into the mid-30s from a high of the mid-50s the two days prior. It didn’t stop Rivermen and Hogs fans from flocking to River Field to see the post-season rematch of the championship from last year. These two teams last faced each other just 2 weeks prior, and Cincinnati wanted revenge for losing that game and almost losing their division title. 

Q1

The Rivs got off to a slow start on their first possession, punting the ball away on a three-and-out but got the ball back once the Hogs did the same. Cincinnati got hot for a minute, as QB Lester Parker hit top WR Alfred Dunn for a 46 yard gain to put them within scoring range. However, Chicago’s front 7 were a bit too much to handle, failing to advance any further and K Bryan Singer scored 3 to give the Rivermen the first lead of the game. The Hogs quickly retaliated, with QB Alfred Walton carving up the weak Cincinnati secondary, hitting TE Glenn Chambers and WR Donnie Stout for big gains before handing off the ball to RB Brian Bruce on the goalline to put themselves in the lead by the end of the first quarter.

CHI 7, CIN 3

Q2

Chicago’s stout defense caved slightly during the second quarter, preventing the Rivermen from making any huge plays but giving them enough ground to make their way down the field for chances to score. WR Alfred Dunn was almost completely locked up by DB Clarence Newman, forcing QB Lester Parker to make plays elsewhere. TE Floyd Rankin did make a 23 yard catch up the middle, but the Hogs defense stopped the advance of RB Billy Garcia and forced the Rivermen to score another field goal. The one drive in the first seemed to be all the Hogs could muster offensively in the first half, as they failed to get into scoring range and punted away their two possessions this quarter. Cincinnati had a slightly better time on offense, but once again were stopped short of the endzone and scored another field goal with a minute remaining in the half to go into the locker rooms with a 2 point lead.

CHI 7, CIN 9

Q3

The Hogs didn’t waste any time coming into the second half, with QB Alfred Walton finally found his top target WR Nicholas Kramer open for a decent 32 yard gain to get the ball rolling for the Hogs. RB Brian Bruce would add a couple of carries before Walton would connect with Kramer in the endzone on a 3 yard pass to put the Hogs back on top. Cincinnati tried to regain a little momentum, but once again were stopped short of reaching the endzone and settled for another 3 points. While Chicago punted away their next possession, Cincinnati would give them another chance on their next drive. QB Lester Parker handed the ball off to RB Billy Garcia, who nearly made it past the line of scrimmage before Chicago DL Joel Valentine punched the ball from his hands. DB Douglas Marks found the ball in the scrum, and ran back 40 yards for the touchdown to put the Hogs up two possessions at the end of the third.

CHI 21, CIN 12

Q4

That fumble at the end of the third must have lit a fire on the Rivermen, as they finally tore their way through the stalwart Chicago defense determined to make it into the endzone. QB Lester Parker finally found TE Floyd Rankin on a 2 yard pass to score a touchdown and cut their deficit to 2. Chicago wanted to chew out as much clock as possible to win the game, but were a little too good in advancing the ball down the field. RB Brian Bruce was supposed to go down on a short 3 yard run, but broke loose for 20 yards before finally downing himself when he realized he was supposed to chew clock. He went down at the 8 yard line, and the second-year player was immediately pulled from the game by coach Donovan Hasenkamp for potentially throwing the game away. The Hogs had to kick a field goal, but were only up by 5 and left Cincinnati with 2 minutes left to score a touchdown. QB Lester Parker began to show why he won Offensive Player of the Year, threading the needle to find WR Alfred Dunn for a massive 60 yard gain, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. Parker’s heroics were short lived though, as two plays later he found the wrong team, throwing the ball into the hands of DB Clarence Newman, as Chicago narrowly avoided embarrassment and clinched their way into their third consecutive championship appearance.

CHI 24, CIN 19

East Division Play-off: Pittsburgh Shamrocks @ Buffalo Hammers

 

It was a fairly cold and hazy day in Buffalo, with intermittent snow showers and a thin layer of smoke covering Roesch Stadium. Temperatures were in the low 30’s, but snow showers covered the field with a thin layer of snow that had to be cleared off shortly before game time. That didn’t stop fans from both teams from showing up in droves for the AFL’s newest rivalry between these two expansion teams. 

Q1

Pittsburgh made quick work out of starting with the ball, with RB Marion Waters getting the ball on the majority of their first drive, and eventually punched it into the endzone after taking up nearly 7 minutes of clock. They would go up by 7, but the normally automatic K Vernon Hebert’s kick would be blocked by DL Ray Payne, and Buffalo would have a chance to take the lead on their next possession. Hammers QB Don Melton would carve through the weaker Shamrocks secondary, hooking up with his primary targets of WR Bernard Clarke and Ben Farrell to capitalize on the momentum from the blocked PAT. Buffalo would reach the endzone only a few plays later, this time with RB Calvin Townsend breaking loose for a 15 yard run that ended with him waltzing in to put Buffalo up by 1. Pittsburgh QB Clarence Stanley could not get the offense moving on the next drive, but stalled out and the Shamrocks punted the ball away after a single set of downs. Melton and the Hammers immediately capitalized on the Shamrocks’ stalling out, as Melton found Clarke open for a 30 yard gain that put Buffalo in prime scoring range, and another big run by Townsend set the Hammers up on the 1. However, Pittsburgh’s stout defense finally showed up to stuff Townsend on three straight plays, forcing Buffalo to kick a field goal and increase their lead at the end of the quarter

PIT 6, BUF 10

Q2

Shamrocks QB Clarence Stanley would continue to stall out the offense through the air, as the Hammers had stuffed RB Marion Waters all game up to this point. Pittsburgh would punt away their next possession back to the Hammers, and again Buffalo would carve through the Pittsburgh defense on their drive. The Shamrocks would stop the Hammers a little further from the endzone, shutting down RB Calvin Townsend on the 19 yard line and force K Guy Moran back onto the field for another 3 for Buffalo. Pittsburgh’s offense woes would continue, as RB Marion Waters was getting continuously stuffed by the Hammers’ front 7, especially All-Star DL Ray Payne. QB Clarence Stanley was trying to get the passing attack up and working, but made another mistake when trying to throw to WR David Rice. He underestimated Rice’s speed, and underthrew the ball right into the hands of Buffalo DB Joe Merritt. Merritt bobbed and weaved through the Shamrocks trying to take him down, and walked into the endzone for a touchdown with no Pittsburgh player within 20 yards of him. Pittsburgh head coach James O’Leary was furious with Stanley throughout the season for his miscues, and benched the veteran for former starter Leslie Snow. Snow handed the ball off to Waters to end the first half with the Hammers having clear momentum and the Shamrocks continuing to have their offensive woes without their rushing attack

PIT 9, BUF 17

Q3

The potent Hammers offense seemed to cool down after a hot first half, with the Shamrocks forcing Buffalo to put after stopping them at midfield, their first punt since early in the second. Pittsburgh got moving with QB Leslie Snow under center, though the rushing attack led by RB Marion Waters actually broke through the Buffalo front 7 for the first time since their opening drive. Their success would peter out once they crossed the 40, with the Hammers defense getting a grip on the run game. K Vernon Hebert would kick another 3 for the Shamrocks to cut the deficit to 5, but it was not looking bright for Pittsburgh. Buffalo had some similar issues, as they could not fully push through the Shamrocks defense on their 2 drives this quarter. QB Don Melton was not able to find anyone to convert on the 19 yard line on the first, and RB Calvin Townsend was stopped on a 3rd and inches on the second drive. Both resulted in a field goal for the Hammers, almost assuring their victory even with another quarter to play in full.

PIT 12, BUF 26

Q4

It seemed like the Shamrocks’ luck could not get any worse entering the fourth, but on their first drive it seemed like any chance they had at winning was lost. QB Leslie Snow was looking for someone to pass to on a crucial third down, but was blindsided by LB Oliver Shoemaker, who crushed him and forced a fumble. Buffalo would recover the fumble in scoring territory, but Snow would not get up after the play. Snow had to be helped off the field after writhing in pain, and coach James O’Leary had to make a choice at quarterback after Buffalo’s possession was over. Even though they had excellent field position, the Hammers were stuffed by the Pittsburgh defense, and after a three-and-out series kicked another field goal as insurance. With some time to think it over and to help breathe some life into the dead offense, O’Leary decided to put in unproven rookie QB O.J. DeMille instead of starter Clarence Stanley. DeMille’s youth got the offense moving, as the passing attack was revitalized with a 20 yard pass to WR Henry Simpson to cross midfield, and another 34 yard shot to WR David Rice to put the Shamrocks on the 2 yard line a few plays later. RB Marion Waters dove into the endzone a play later, as the Hammers were now only up by 7 after holding a comfortable lead the whole game. Buffalo QB Don Melton quickly put together a comeback drive to reinsure their win, teaming up with WR’s Bernard Clarke and Ben Ferrell to shred through the Pittsburgh secondary and quickly get into scoring range. The Shamrocks’ front seven was once again proved too much for RB Calvin Townsend to handle, and the Hammers kicked a field goal once again to increase their lead to 10. DeMille had something to prove with the Shamrocks, as the following drive he threw a dart to WR David Rice, who outran most of the Buffalo secondary before getting tripped up at the 7 yard line by S Wilbert Richie. After two attempts to run it in by RB Marion Waters proved ineffective, DeMille tossed a short pass into the arms of TE Harry Worley for 6 to keep the game close with only 4 minutes left to play. Buffalo tried to run out the clock, but failed to convert on third down after only taking two minutes off the clock. They punted it back to Pittsburgh and hoped that the red-hot Shamrocks would stall out at the right time. QB O.J. DeMille stayed hot, and tossed a jump ball to WR Henry Simpson, who came out on top and fought for 10 additional yards for a stellar 25 yard catch to put the Shamrocks in the right position to score. This time though, the Buffalo defense stepped up, and forced a crucial 4th down conversion on the 34 yard line with 40 seconds to go in the game. DeMille took the snap and threw it to Simpson, but the ball was swatted away by DB Joe Merritt, ending any potential comeback hopes from Pittsburgh. Buffalo ran out the remaining clock, and would play in the Championship in their first year in the AFL

PIT 26, BUF 32

Third American Football Championship

Both teams were expected to be here in predictions from before the season, but they are certainly not where most had expected them to be. Chicago was thought to have fallen off after starting with a .500 record, but has won 5 straight games to reach this point. Buffalo was the better team entering the playoffs, but their playoff matchup showed that a good defense can shut down the run game and limit what MVP QB Don Melton can do with the ball. While the Hogs’ defense is not at the same level of the Shamrocks’ defense, it would be foolish to say that they are not capable. DL Eric Forbes has been terrorizing offensive lines all year, and the Hogs’ secondary is an upgrade over the Shamrocks’. It will be a close game between the old and new powerhouses of the league, but Chicago getting hot where they needed is all they will need to win their second championship

My Pick: Chicago