Cincinnati Rivermen

Cincinnati is one of the newer teams in the AFL, with the team starting play in the MWFC’s inaugural 1926 as an expansion team. Football had already existed in Cincinnati for a bit, with its original team, the Warriors, briefly playing in the final season of the AA, but folded only a few years later due to poor play and financial instability. The city’s lack of success didn’t stop the Championship from still wanting a team there, and local steamboat businessman Dennis Delaney took charge and named his team the Rivermen after his operations that helped the city grow to what it is now. They got off to an incredibly great start, finishing runner-up in 1931 and 1933, before finally winning it all in the MWFC’s first ever championship game. Since then, they’ve been on the decline, having moderate success in the latter half of the 30’s (making only 1 more championship appearance in the decade), but quickly falling off in the early 40’s. They’ve climbed back to a more mediocre position in the league table, where they are alright but not quite good enough to make a push for a title. They have seemed a bit more competent lately, but that will not be enough for them to bring home another piece of silverware. They currently play in River Field, which will hold the first AFL game, and can seat 29,890 people.


The Rivermen have a couple of solid players, but by no means have enough to compete at the top of the table. QB Lee Christian is beginning to decline at the beginning of his 30’s, but is still the well-liked and charismatic guy that almost everyone likes. He’s starting to rely on the veteran RB Elmer Carson to make progress down field, who’s not in the best shape either. He’s above average, but they can only go so far with an above average QB and RB. Their receiving options aren’t that great either, with WR’s Stanley McIntyre, Sidney Conklin, and Brian Robertson all being fairly young and fairly average, and TE Jerry Horton not being much better. They at least have some great defensive options, led by DB Jim Farmer as one of the best secondary players in the league, and S Tom Silva providing great coverage in the backfield. LB Jim Norman is the best player in their front 7, stuffing players up the middle, or anywhere else his linemen couldn’t get. DL’s Warren Dwyer and Frederick Gardner are definitely past their prime, but they’re the best linemen Cincinnati has so they’re stuck on the line until newer recruits come in. Head Coach Dean Perkins is aware of the trouble the team is leading to, but he will try almost anything to get the Rivermen over the hump and back into contention. He knows that the team is solid enough to maybe stave off a losing record, but it will be a rough ride for them if they can’t figure out what to do for their future.


The Rivermen sport blue and gold for their color scheme, with their primary logo being a steering wheel from a steam ship that sails down the Ohio with “Cincinnati” overlaid on top of it. Their uniforms are relatively simple as well, having two thick stripes on the home and away, and a lack of white on the home uniform in favor of the gold. 

 

Brand:

1950-1953 



1954-present (TV Numbers added 1955)
 

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