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 ...
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...
East Division As it had been in the past few years, the fight for the East Division title was close the entire season. Boston and Washington were the clear front runners before the season began, and made their cases for a division title clear as the year progressed. Washington QB Johnnie Sellers put up similar numbers to his MVP year in 1953, which might have been the reason why he would take home his second MVP from his performance this year. The usual cast of weapons on offense allowed him to shine, though an injury to WR Darius Sanderson late in the year would not see him return until the second week of the playoffs. Rookie WR Gene Cockburn excelled in his absence, and might be featured extensively once the regular #1 receiver returns to the lineup. Boston’s elite defense caved in a little bit this season, but that was expected after an elite season like last year. What changed was their offense, which finally got going after a key acquisition in the middle of the year. Former Bernh...
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