Detroit Knights

The Knights were founded in 1906 by a group of Catholic priests wanting to create a community team for their parish. After going pro in 1913, they tore up their local league before joining the AA in 1920, nearly winning it all in their first year. When the AA went belly-up, the Knights returned back to the Michigan league before rejoining the top flight of football when the MWFC started up in 1926. In the first 5 years of the league, the Knights finished in the top 4, winning their first Bradshaw Cup in 1929 and finishing runner-up a year later. After a brief period of mediocrity, they returned back to the top in 1937, beating their rival in the Hogs for their second Championship title, and returned to the title game in 1941 and 1944, beating the Crows the first time around and losing to the Hogs in their revenge game. The Knights have stayed relevant due to owner/GM/head coach August Riddle revolutionizing the scouting game, sending out scouts to find players outside of their local area instead of relying on headlines to gather info on players. Riddle himself is a great coach, but the coordinators he has had in recent years have hampered production due to inefficient and questionable play calling. The Knights’ home field is Kaiser Field, placed right in the middle of downtown Detroit, and can seat 52,555 fans.


Detroit is a mix of young and old talent that still drives the team. On offense, the youth movement is running away with it. 25 year old QB Roy Woodward is one of the best, if not the best, play caller in the league. He has a multitude of young and great weapons to use. RB Jeffrey Spears is only 24 and has proven himself as a consistently great ball carrier in his short time as a pro. WR George Payne is Woodward’s favorite target, and it will remain that way for sometime. Rookie WR Lloyd Lawson is still adjusting to the professional playstyle but looks to be one of the best WR’s in the league so far. Woodward’s other two targets are WR Andrew Starr, who is fairly average as receivers go, and TE Francis Sellers, who usually doesn’t get many targets outside the redzone. The defense is a bit older than the offense, but still has plenty of great players still able to contribute. They are led by veteran DL James Sellers, who even at 33 is still one of the best linemen in the league. Their defensive line is all over 30 but all still able to contribute to the game, with DL’s Max Michael and Benjamin Finley both being solid options. LB Jerry Flowers leads the linebacking core, with the 25 year old being well ahead of his other two teammates in David Short and Clarence Carter. The secondary is led by DB Johnathan Hobbs, and he’s doing most of the work for his other teammates in the secondary when they mess up. DB’s Hermann Schmitt and Edward Simon and S Ernest Workman aren’t bad players, but they are more average when it comes to players like Hobbs. The Knights’ players alone are enough to get them to the top, but it's their coaching staff that drags them down. August Riddle hasn’t been the best at hiring coaches under him, and it has shown in recent years. If they can get over the coaching hump or even look past it, Detroit is a sure-fire contender for the title game.


The Knights have been in red and blue since their inception. They’ve been through several different designs throughout their history, but they’ve spent their longest in red. What sets them apart are the blue yokes, which were part of their original uniforms when the team was first founded and has remained ever since then. 

 

Brand:

1950-1952 

 

1953



 1954-present (TV Numbers added 1955)
  
1956 (Uniforms Only)
 

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