1958 Season

 

East Division
The East in recent years has become the most competitive division in all of professional football, and 1958 was no exception. New York’s miraculous run to the championship seemed like it would be a one-and-done deal if they had not acquired arguably one of the best receivers in the league: Joey Staniskovski. With him added to the offensive arsenal, and the promotion of Newark RB Jon Dawson as a bruising option in the backfield, the Lions offense was a tough one to stop. They also found a diamond in the rough in the draft, as fifth round selection DL John Lee Hines out of Prairie View State made an immediate impact on the line and locked himself into a Rookie of the Year award, becoming just the second player not drafted in the first round to win said award. The Lions were out to prove that last year was no fluke and wanted to make another deep run for potentially their first AFL title. That desire came true, as they were undefeated through the first half of the year and looked like it was their division to lose. It definitely did not help matters to the rest of the division when they acquired two players from the Hawks, DL Moe Greene and LB Martin Maloney, for essentially nothing to keep themselves towards the top of the division. They were not well and away from everyone else, as Washington was still on their tails for the division lead. They had been performing about the same as they had been the past few years, where they could coast to the finish line on talent alone with the rest of the division behind them. That notion was quickly proven wrong when the Federals had to play from behind the division for the first time since they moved to the East 4 years ago. It’s unfortunate for them that there was another team on the heels for the division, and that was Philadelphia. RB Mickey Greene had been emerging as one of the best backs in the league, and this year he proved that he is at the top of that list. The Rattlesnakes’s offense became electric in just a short period of time, and that became more of the case when second-year QB Raymond Oram was promoted to the starting position and formed an immediate connection with WR James Redd. Their offense was rarely able to be stopped, and as a result they climbed right to the top of the East, staying right behind New York the entire season. 

At the bottom once again are the pair of Buffalo and Pittsburgh. The good news for Buffalo is that their defense managed to improve upon the disaster that was last season. DC Hugh Harrison did a decent job of righting that sinking ship, but HC Vincent Merritt may as well already be on his way out. The 1950 champion seems to have lost the touch that he had when he was first hired, and has repeatedly refused to adapt to the changing landscape of pro football. Part of that includes still heavily relying on the run game, which many would consider is the Hammers’ weakest part of the offense. QB Brendan Turnbull has effectively turned into a player that just hands the ball off to whoever is in the backfield, much to the detriment of the much stronger receiving room that Buffalo has. Tension between Turnbull and Merritt definitely seemed to persist during his tenure but came more to the public eye when Turnbull was seen berating Merritt during the final game of the year against Philadelphia, and the two nearly got into a physical altercation but were separated before things got too out of hand. Pittsburgh saw improvement in some places and regressions in the places they did not want to see. Their acquisition of QB Billy Ray Boesseler from New York did not seem to work out, as he could not build any chemistry with any of the existing players outside of handing the ball off to RB Paul Barker. The Shamrocks had already been doing that for the past few years, and teams were quickly finding out how to shut them down. This resulted in Pittsburgh having quite literally the worst offensive season in their history, scoring a paltry 13 points a game on average. Head coach Lester Kimball was brought in to reshape the offensive in what was historically a very defensive team, and the Shamrocks in two years have not managed to improve in either category. His leash is shortening by the day, and in what is now an extremely competitive East Division his time as a head coach in Pittsburgh could soon be coming to a close if there is not a radical change coming.

 Boston fell way behind in the first few games, having to deal with a multi-game absence from LB Bob Jessup. It was clear in that absence that he was their entire defense, and coupled with a less-than-stellar 2-4 performance, they needed to change something on their team if they even wanted to get a chance at the playoffs. And so, they made a deal to bolster their defense, acquiring Cleveland DL Ralph Rogers, who wanted to win one last title before he retired, in an attempt to make it back to the playoffs after their sluggish start. The Dragons then went on a tear after acquiring Rogers, not losing a single game entering the last game of the week, though they did tie the Rattlesnakes in week 8. It was a mad dash for the 3 playoff spots in the East in the last week, and surprisingly the division title came down to the penultimate game of the season between New York and Philadelphia. The Lions had already defeated the ‘Snakes in a close week 5 matchup 24-16, so Philly needed to win out from here to get a chance of winning their first title. This game turned out to be another close battle, tied at 14 entering the final quarter. Both teams managed a field goal and seemed at a statement, though New York RB Felix Philipow broke loose for a huge gain to get within range of a game-winning field goal. The Lions decided against going for a field goal, and QB Freddie Hughes tossed a ball to only where WR Joey Staniskovski could catch it, sealing the game and New York’s first division title. Fortunately for Philadelphia, they had enough of a lead over both Washington and Boston that they would guarantee themselves a playoff spot and crucially the #2 seed for the extra home game. Washington and Boston would then have to fight for the remaining playoff spot in the final week of the year. The Federals would be in with a win over the Lions, who would be resting their starters, but the Dragons needed Washington to lose and themselves to win on the road against Pittsburgh as their only chance of making the playoffs. Boston staved off a late comeback attempt from Pittsburgh to win 24-20, and just awaited the results in New York for if they would miss the playoffs yet again or sneak in on a 6 game unbeaten streak. Washington would somehow struggle against New York’s backups, going down 12-6 entering the fourth quarter. Washington then realized they were only playing the backups and finally got into the endzone for the lead, and kicked an extra field goal to stay ahead and narrowly make the playoffs. The Dragons had done all they could, but their early struggles effectively ended any chance of making the playoffs in what should be a cutthroat division moving forward.


West Division
With how each of the teams were looking at the beginning of the year, the West looked like it would be the most competitive it had ever been. That notion would be thrown out the window at only week 2. The Chicago Hogs were looking to rebound after what could only be described as a disaster of a season, and starting the 1958 season with a 40-16 thumping on the road in Buffalo was not a particularly good start. They would have their first home game against the Detroit Knights, who were looking to usurp their old rival. It was a particularly grueling game, with neither team being able to get any sort of drive going. Neither team could manage a touchdown tied 9-9 late in the game, and the Hogs were trying to break said tie. Knights DL Raymond Stone broke free on the outside, and Chicago QB Nathan Aldenberg was forced outside of the pocket. He couldn’t find an open receiver, but was too late to throw away the ball with both Stone and LB Jacob Garfield landing on top of him. Aldenberg’s leg was caught in between the two, and when the dust settled it was in a position it should not normally be in. Aldenberg’s season was effectively over, and to add salt in the wound Detroit would follow that up with a game-winning touchdown drive. The Hogs uncharacteristically struggled for a majority of the season, coming up just short several times throughout the year to get their first win of the year. Most of the blame was once again centered on their OC, this time being Leslie Gustafson for not being able to construct an effective offense. This year was different for some Hogs fans, as they began pointing fingers at Donovan Hasenkamp for not getting with the times and modernizing their offense.  It’s been two straight years of disappointment for the Hogs, and their offense has been at the direct center both times. 

Things didn’t work out for either Cleveland or Tri-Cities. Both had putrid starts to the year, each having just a single win through the midway point. The Crows had to win something this year to prove that they still had their championship magic with them, but it seems more likely that they’ll once again be cleaning house to prepare for the future. That proved to be the case when they traded away DL Ralph Rogers to the Dragons in what may be his final year in an attempt to win another championship. That made their already-weak defense look even worse the rest of the year, allowing on average 12 more points a game than they had in the first half of the season. Head coach Benjamin Chambers might now be on his way out if the Crows should rightly decide to fully lean into the rebuild. The Hawks managed to win one more game than the Crows, but that didn’t mean they still haven't fixed any of the issues that have plagued them since they last made the playoffs. Their offense was still being run directly through QB Rocco Vanthourenhout, and to his benefit the offense has gotten slightly better. The offensive line has improved since last year, with second-year Jerry Wineberg making his first All-Star appearance, and the receiving core looks like it will eventually turn out in the right direction. However, their lack of a backfield really hampered any further progress for Vanthourenhout. Their top back Brian Bruce has been in decline since he was shipped here from Chicago, and their depth is a problem if Peter Moss, a better-than-average in the ASPFL last year, comes in and easily stole the #1 spot. Vanthourenhout’s efforts, thankfully, did reward him to his first All-Star appearance. That could not be said about the defense, which was once again one of the worst in the league, arguably being worse than the Crows’ putrid defense in the second half of the year. Owner Bob Hester only inflamed tensions between himself and the fans when he dealt two of their better defensive players to the Lions for a lot less than what should have been given up. The Hawks only got two picks and two players out of what may have been their best players outside of DB Dan Hoover, and fans began to show up less and less with the team having nothing really to play for. The younger Hester does not seem to have the football acumen that his father had, and fans in the Tri-Cities have begun to picket games in order for him to relinquish ownership of the team. It doesn't seem like he’s eager to give it up, and will take something earth-shattering for the Hawks to be back to their glory days.

Midway through the year it was seemingly all but decided that the three teams coming out of the West would be some combination of Cincinnati, Detroit, and St. Louis, and was now going to be a matter of who could finish out on top. The Stallions looked like they were going to come out as division champions, starting out hot at a 6-1 record with just two games separating themselves from the third seed in the playoffs. St. Louis had to endure a rough back half of the season to win the division, but a series of injuries to both key contributors and rotation pieces put them on a 4 game losing streak and out of division title contention. They would end their slump by giving the Hogs their first-ever #1 overall draft pick with a win on the road, though the win was only good enough to secure the final playoff spot in the division. The division title ran through Detroit, as they had the tiebreaker entering a critical week 11 matchup against Cincinnati, who held a game advantage and could tie the season series to retain the division title. Cincinnati naturally had to regress back to the mean after their defense’s historic performance last year. Teams finally figured out how to stop their pass rush, and instead finished towards the middle of the league in what turned out to be a defensively-focused year. Their offense was still the same as it always had been, but with the emergence of other teams in both their division and in the East made their once-dominant offense now seem run-of-the-mill. That regression didn’t seem to stop them from trying for their third straight division title, staying right with both Detroit and St Louis as they broke away from the other three in the West. The Cincinnati-Detroit rematch was expected to be a lot closer than the two possession beatdown the Knights put upon the Rivermen, but it was much worse for Cincinnati. Detroit had the Cincinnati defense figured out, and that came primarily from the progress made on the offense. The Knights made the decision early in the year to continue to put QB Mike Major under center, and that thankfully seemed to be the right one. He became the first quarterback in any professional level to throw for over 3000 yards in a single season, and broke an over-decade old record for passing yards. Having a backfield of Jesse Brown and Brady Walters helped take away some of the pressure put upon him, and a receiving core of Paul Kent and Pat Kimball in their prime helped Major put up the record-breaking numbers. The Rivermen defense that looked nigh-impenetrable last year could not stop Detroit’s offense and were pummeled 31-7 at home. The Knights never looked back, and they secured their first division title since joining the AFL and their first piece of hardware since 1941. Thankfully for the Rivermen, the Stallions’ collapse at the end of the year means they will have another home game to start the playoffs, but their title defense will not come easy running through Detroit and whoever comes out of the East.

Awards:
Most Valuable Player: DET QB Mike Major
Offensive Player of the Year: PHI RB Mickey Greene
Defensive Player of the Year: NY LB Duane Ackerman
Rookie of the Year: NY DL John Lee Hines
Coach of the Year: PHI HC Jimmie Crabtree

East Division Semifinal: (3) Washington Federals @ (2) Philadelphia Rattlesnakes
1958 H2H: W4 - PHI 27-34 WAS, W11 - WAS 9-24 PHI
Historic H2H: 2-1-1 DET
Playoff H2H: 0-0

The Federals did what they usually did in years past and this time it puts them out of a home playoff game for the first time in 5 years. The Rattlesnakes could be seen as a “coming-out-of-nowhere” team like the Lions were a year ago, but they had enough potential last year to not make it seem like they came from absolutely nowhere. They still have the running back tandem of Mickey Greene and Neal Earnhardt, who are quickly proving to be the best backfield in the league. Most of this season’s speculation involved how well rookie QB Raymond Oram would perform after sitting for a year to learn the ropes. He proved himself as quite the capable quarterback, going far above the standard that has been set for current quarterbacks who have flamed out shortly after being promoted. The one thing that Philly lacks is playoff experience, with this being their first postseason appearance in just their third season. Washington should have their number there, given their prior postseason success. The usual faces are here to prove themselves for what could be the last time, with most of the players that won them their first title rapidly approaching 30. Despite having the postseason experience, it still will be a difficult feat for the Federals having to play in front of a newly-emboldened Philadelphia football crowd. The Federals will find a way to make the game close and narrowly win to challenge New York for supremacy of the East.
My Pick: Washington

West Division Semifinal: (3) St Louis Stallions @ (2) Cincinnati Rivermen
1958 H2H: W5 - STL 13-16 CIN, W10 - CIN 31-13 STL
Historic H2H: 3-3
Playoff H2H: 1-0 CIN

After a white-hot start to the year, the Stallions once again find themselves at the third seed having to play at a disadvantage. And instead of having to play an up-and-coming team like Detroit or a Chicago team that self-imploded, they have to play the reigning champion Cincinnati Rivermen. St Louis is coming into this game having lost 4 out of their last 5 games, so if there’s any time to have a change in fortune it would be now. They did manage to prove narratives wrong when they beat the Hogs in their first-ever postseason game, so anything is possible for them. Cincinnati meanwhile is out to prove a message that they are supposed to be the team to beat in the West, but they need to get through this game first before they can prove that. St Louis has coasted on the ragtag group of misfits so far and didn’t really change anything from last year, so if they want to win they’ll need to figure out a way of matching their play if they want a chance of making it to the Division Finals. Cincinnati is the team with the significant talent advantage and proved so during their last regular season matchup. If they are able to replicate that game for this playoff game they should be able to easily beat the Stallions for their pivotal rematch against Detroit.
My Pick: Cincinnati