1956 Playoffs: Division Semi-Finals

East Division Semifinal: Buffalo Hammers @ Boston Dragons

The City of Boston had seldom seen its professional football teams playing past the regular season. But just two short years of the Dragons being in town have made up for the last 30 years of lackluster play from the assortment of teams. The clouds managed to part over Lansdowne Field for the first postseason game at the historical park, and the first true test for the expansion team against perennial playoff contenders in the Hammers.

Q1

The Dragons would get the ball first in an attempt to start their playoffs on the right foot. It would start out in the right way, as QB Sam Eagleburger found WR Lloyd Lawson for a big 20 yard reception on the first play of the game. That momentum would peter out right before midfield, and Boston reluctantly punted the ball away to the Hammers. They would not have the explosive first play, instead gaining a single first down before giving it back to the home team. The Dragons made better progress on their second attempt, with Eagleburger finding his connections with Lawson to move past midfield and into scoring range. The Hammers defense stopped the run, holding the Dragons to a 25 field goal for their first points of the game. The Buffalo offense would slowly make their way downfield after a pair of punts from them and the Dragons, but their latest drive would swiftly come to an end when QB Brendan Turnbull’s pass was deflected by LB Killian Graves and LB Harvey Crowe managed to get himself underneath the ball for the interception to end the first quarter. 

BOS 3, BUF 0

Q2

Boston continued on their way slowly advancing down the field, with Eagleburger and RB Pete Abbott finding holes in the Hammers’ defense to get their drive moving. The young QB would unfortunately hit a snag once the Dragons got to the 20 yard line, as Eagleburger tried to force a pass to Lawson but failed to hit his target all three times. K Dan Rasmussen came out once again to nail the attempt to go up by 6. The ensuing kickoff would see the action that was desperately needed for this game, as return man Christopher Flynn would cut around a group of Dragons defenders and found himself in open space. He would then outrun the remaining few defenders on his way for a 93 yard return TD to tie the game up. The extra point by K Guy Moran would sail through the uprights, putting momentum in the Hammers’ favor. Boston would claw their way downfield once again, with Eagleburger spreading the ball out a bit more instead of relying on Lawson to gain ground. Eagleburger threw one out of the reach of Buffalo DB Rogelio Amos and into the arms of Lawson, and Lawson would have gotten into the endzone had S Jacob Dolan not stopped him at the 1 yard line. RB Pete Abbott leaped over the offensive line to retake the lead for the Dragons. The Hammers attempted to get a drive going, but after trading punts with Boston they instead decided to run out the clock and restart in the second half.

BOS 13, BUF 7

Q3

The restart for the Dragons started out well enough, with Eagleburger making the right throws for two first downs to begin the half. He looked to throw to WR Alan Price, but Buffalo DB Joe Merritt swooped in to get the interception for the Hammers. They crawled their way into field goal range, but QB Brendan Turnbull decided that they were going for the lead. Turnbull stepped back and threw a perfectly placed pass to WR Harry Chilton in the endzone, who caught it just out of reach of DB Lynn Sharp for the 25 yard score. The extra point by K Guy Moran would once again put the Hammers ahead. The Dragons would struggle on their next drive, starting a series of punts back and forth that would continue through the end of the third.

BOS 13, BUF 14

Q4

The Hammers finally broke the stalemate early in the final frame, when QB Brendan Turnbull heaved one down the sideline that landed over the head of Boston DB Jim Downs and into the hands of WR Justin Harris. Harris had no one else behind him as he waltzed in for an easy 54 yard touchdown. Boston would take some time to retaliate, finally getting within the 20 on a sizable 15 yard rush by RB Pete Abbott. Any momentum they had would quickly be quashed by a fumble by RB Jim Riggs, and the Dragons stalled out there and then. K Dan Rasmussen kicked a chip shot 17 yarder to cut the lead to 5. Buffalo would not hold onto the ball for very long, as QB Brendan Turnbull thought that he had enough time to throw to a mostly-open WR Harry Chilton. He did not see DB Lynn Sharp waiting for him to take the bait, and jumped in front for the interception. That put Boston within prime field position, and just two plays later QB Sam Eagleburger threw a short pass to WR Lloyd Lawson, who ran 24 yards through the secondary for the go-ahead score. Buffalo tried their hardest to retake the lead, getting past midfield on a pair of receptions between WR’s Harry Chilton and Justin Harris. Turnbull threw another pass up the middle, and it was again Lynn Sharp to intercept the pass and give the Dragons the chance to seal the game away. Boston chewed up a good amount of clock, but were unable to put the game away entirely. They were able to make sure that Buffalo would need a touchdown if they were able to score, with K Dan Rasmussen getting in another chip shot from 19 yards out. Buffalo’s attempt to score was brief, as RB Calvin Townsend took a handoff to the outside but was clocked by LB Bob Jessup and the ball fell loose. DB Jim Downs was found at the bottom of the pile with the ball, and the crowd at Lansdowne Field erupted. In just their second year, the Dragons had won their first playoff game, and were just a win away against the Federals to play for their first title.
BOS 26, BUF 21

West Division Semifinal: St Louis Stallions @ Chicago Hogs

It was a fairly mild day for Chicago football, though with a different change in scenery for the perennial playoff team. Union Stadium was not very welcoming to the visiting St Louis Stallions, who were massive underdogs in their first year of existence. They were just happy to make the postseason but were a scrappy enough of a bunch to possibly keep this game close. 

Q1

The tone of this game would be set almost immediately, with the Stallions receiving the kickoff and the Hogs forcing a three and out for the young team. Chicago would not have the best luck themselves, expecting to pretty much march downfield without difficulty. However, the scrappy St Louis front 4 halted the advances of the league’s best RB in Billy Gould, limiting the Hogs to just a single first down. The Stallions would not have much luck either, with Chicago DL Benjamin Walkins Jr taking down St Louis QB O.J. DeMille before getting a throw off twice in a row to kill any chance of them starting anything. The quarter wasn’t marred by sloppy football as games like these usually were, instead it was defensive prowess that kept either team out of the endzone. The Stallions got further than they had been all day, but were stopped about 30 yards short of the endzone. They brought out K Kevin Finch to attempt a 40 yard, but his kick tailed to the right and missed the uprights altogether. The quarter would end with neither team getting on the board.

CHI 0, STL 0

Q2

With an entire quarter leaving fans wanting something out of this game, Chicago quite literally got the ball moving. RB Arthur Busch managed to punch his way through the Stallions defense and rumbled his way for a 24 yard gain. That rush put the Stallions defense just off guard, as Billy Gould took over for another big gain to put them on the 14 yard line. With the Stallions expecting the Hogs to run it in, QB Nathan Aldenberg faked the handoff to Gould and put the ball directly in WR Ciarán Murphy’s arms for the touchdown. St Louis would have their way on the extra point, as DB Terrence Sparks would beat the outside blocker to tip the ball just enough to send it sailing away from the goalposts. The Stallions could have taken the lead on a touchdown, but the Hogs defense prevented DeMille from making any progress downfield. The Hogs also shared this misfortune, punting the ball away after nearly going for it on 4th and short but the offensive line drew a rare false start penalty. The Stallions turned to the ground game, gaining ground on alternating handoffs to Kevin Knox and Daniel Wall. They crept downfield, but the Hogs finally caught on and stopped them on a near-interception. K Kevin Finch’s kick was tipped at the line, but still had enough power to just barely make it over the crossbar. The Hogs ran out the remaining clock to end a relatively uneventful half barely ahead. 

CHI 6, STL 3

Q3

Chicago would attempt to get something going to start the second half, but already worn down by the scrappy Stallions defense they couldn’t get past them. The Hogs tried to move through the air, Aldenberg throwing a pass in the direction of WR Dakota Walter. Walter seemed to have other ideas, running a slant when he should have been on a go, and Aldenberg’s pass went directly to DB Kevin Prince for an interception. The Stallions were given decent field position, except that the Hogs were now out for blood and quickly ended any chance of a St Louis touchdown. Finch went out on the field for another attempt and made one from 41 yards out without difficulty. The defensive bout continued after that mistake, with the Hogs failing to move on the ground and the Stallions getting stuffed before plays could develop. The stalemate would have to break between these two heading into the final frame.

CHI 6, STL 6

Q4

The stalemate would continue throughout the first half of the fourth, but would be broken on the next Hogs drive. Billy Gould had not yet broken out for one of his patented long runs, and Chicago fans would finally get to see him do what he does best. Starting at his own 20, he took a handoff to the outside, putting LB Isaac Bullock on his knees after maneuvering around him. He had a wide open field in front of him- at least until DB Tom Wolf came up from behind him and punched the ball free from his hands. The ball rolled in front of him, and Gould tried to leap onto the ball as it rolled with Wolf and S Perry Fink in the area. Wolf held down Gould as he tackled him to the ground, and Fink was free to fall on the fumble before the scrum came in to get the ball free. St Louis did not make the best of their opportunity, only barely making it past midfield for a first down before stalling out on a third down. QB O.J. DeMille stepped back to pass looking at WR Lester Foster at first, and saw a rare miscommunication in the Hogs secondary. Neither DB Jason Brother nor S Garry Pugh were guarding WR Anthony Wheatland, and DeMille took the opportunity to throw to a wide-open man for the go-ahead 40 yard score. Chicago fans could hear a pin drop in Union Stadium. Aldenberg and Gould had a tall task ahead of them, and usually they would find a way out of this mess. Unfortunately, the Stallions defense still held and forced a 4th and 1 for the Hogs to have a chance of tying up the game. Aldenberg would hand the ball off to RB Arthur Busch to go up the middle, but DL Gordon Spijker came around the outside to wrap up Busch and seemingly seal up the game for the underdogs. The Hogs gave the Stallions decent field position as well, so they ran out as much clock as they could before adding on another field goal for insurance with only a few seconds left to play. Chicago seemed to have given up on the final plays of the game, running out the clock by themselves with a few running plays. In just their first year of existence, the Stallions had not only won their first-ever playoff game, but upset the powerhouse Chicago Hogs in this magical season.

CHI 6, STL 16

East Division Finals: (2) Boston Dragons @ (1) Washington Federals

1956 H2H: W3 - WAS 31-10 BOS, W10 - BOS 21-6 WAS

Historic H2H: 3-1 WAS

Playoff H2H: 0-0

These two teams are completely different in how they play: Boston likes to play rough with their opponents and keep games low scoring, while Washington tends to let their offense take control of games while their defense holds their opponents down. Both of those playstyles were apparent in each of the games between these two this year, so this game will be determined on which of those two teams will appear. Boston may be a good quality team, but they don't have the talent and playoff experience compared to Washington.

My Pick: Washington

West Division Final: (3) St Louis Stallions @ (1) Cincinnati Rivermen

1956 H2H: W5 - CIN 16-12 STL, W11 - STL 16-13 CIN

Historic H2H: 1-1

Playoff H2H: 0-0

Even though it seemed that St Louis would get crushed by the Hogs, they kept it close and upset the longstanding power. They now face a more challenging team in Cincinnati, who they have also managed to both keep close in their two games and split the series. The expansion team has a tall task facing the defending champions, but the Rivermen take a more balanced approach to the game that will surely catch the Stallions off guard and make another trip to the championship game.

My Pick: Cincinnati