The Tri-Cities were a prime football market with local Tri-Cities College becoming a powerhouse on the collegiate level. Thus, the Tri-Cities Black Hawks were formed in 1919 as an inaugural team in the AA, playing their games across the river from Tri-Cities College in Davenport, Iowa. They survived through that catastrophe of a league and independent leagues for another 6 years with relatively poor play, and got invited to the MWFC as charter members. They struggled for a while, and were on the verge of folding when the Depression hit Davenport hard. The team was saved in 1934 by local real estate magnate Bert Hester, who bought the team at the behest of his old friend Donovan Hasenkamp. He made two large changes to the team, the first was the shortening of the name to just the Hawks, and the second was finally bringing the team some sort of success. He brought former Detroit Knights executives to help him scout talent the same way they did it back in the Motor City, and it instantly ...
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 progre...
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 ar...
Comments
Post a Comment