[AH Fiction] The Game of Driveball

[OldNavy1988]

1956 Driveball Seasons

NDA
East
Buffalo Lakers 9-5
Toronto Titans 7-7
Philadelphia Brawlers 6-8
New York Heroes 3-11

West
Chicago Gaels 12-2
Cleveland Mad Hatters 10-4
Milwaukee Voyagers 5-9
Cincinnati Monarchs 4-10

CDA
Colonial
Washington Commanders 11-1
Minnesota Shockers 8-4
New Jersey Rogues 6-6
Detroit Roadsters 6-6
Pittsburgh Knights 3-9
Boston Unicorns 2-10

Frontier
Dallas Metros 10-2
Kansas City Rustlers 9-3
Houston Marshals 8-4
Denver Mountaineers 3-9
Los Angeles Jaguars 3-9
San Francisco Dragons 3-9

Playoff teams in BOLD

After an embarrassing, humiliating loss to the Boston Unicorns in last year's preseason contest, the Chicago Gaels go from worst to first in the Western Division. Of course, with the MLB Cubs playing their home games exclusively during the daytime in this period, the Gaels' home schedule at Soldier Field is played mostly at night. As a result, Gaels home games have already become a weekend primetime staple on WGN-TV.

Meanwhile in the East, the reverse has happened in the Big Apple. With the Heroes finally surpassing the MLB Giants as the main attraction at the Polo Grounds, attendance was still fairly decent despite the Heroes winning just three games. This September, the NFL Giants will vacate the Polo Grounds and move across the river to the more elegant Yankee Stadium. But within the next couple of years, the Heroes could have the Polo Grounds all to themselves as rumors point to Horace Stoneham planning to move the baseball Giants to Minnesota, home to the club's AAA squad, the Minneapolis Millers.

Despite reaching their second playoff appearance in a row, the Toronto Titans haven't been so lucky at the gate. With the NHL Maple Leafs owning the city's hearts, Titans owners are faced with a double whammy. The Titans' lease for CNE Stadium expires after the 1957 NDA season. Since the Montreal Voyageurs moved to Milwaukee in 1952, Titans ticket sales have trended downward, leaving the team on track to be buried in $890,000 CAD in debt.

This year, the Minnesota Shockers move in with the AAA Minneapolis Millers to the state of the art Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington.

NDA Playoffs
East Final at War Memorial Stadium
The East Final was to be the Titans' chance to save not only their season, but their franchise. In the end, their southern rivals were hungrier for a title. Buffalo's potent attack banished the Titans to the history books, possibly for good, with a punishing 36 to 9 victory.

Buffalo 36 - Toronto 9

West Final at Soldier Field
In the Windy City, age has finally caught up to the Mad Hatters, the team that came to define the sport for the last nine seasons. The Gaels' second year forward Marty Ravenscroft slammed the door in Cleveland's face with the winning six point goal.

Chicago 42 - Cleveland 36

Ninth Frosty Mug at Soldier Field
The Gaels would go on to win their first Frosty Mug in seven years. Marty Ravenscroft and second year center Butch Dorfman accounted for much of Chicago's scoring, leading both to share Frosty Mug MVP honors. 45 to 39 was the final score in the Gaels' favor. Apart from the action on the field, this year's Frosty Mug carries greater significance off the field.

CDA Playoffs
Colonial Wild Card at Metropolitan Stadium
Minnesota Shockers 33
New Jersey Rogues 27

New Jersey was the feel good story of the regular season, but it was Minnesota that wrote the final chapter that day.

Frontier Wild Card at KC Municipal Stadium
Houston Marshals 18
Kansas City Rustlers 12

Unlike the wild card game in Minnesota, Houston slowed their game against Kansas City to a snail crawl. A six point goal by forward Chuck Lounsbery with under two minutes to play helped the Marshals escape KC with the win.

Colonial Final at Griffith Stadium
Minnesota 24
Washington 15

Once again, the Commanders collapse when it matters most.

Frontier Final at the Cotton Bowl
Dallas Metros 21
Houston Marshals 18

With his team down by three and just seconds to play, Leslie Brown was the hero for Dallas, punching in the winning six point goal past Houston goalie Ward Belcher.

Third Floyd Cup at the Cotton Bowl
Minnesota Shockers 33
Dallas Metros 27

Minnesota shocks the Dallas crowd by putting the kibosh on the Metros' bid for a three-peat. The hero throughout Minnesota's magical playoff run was rookie forward Harvey Goldberg, a former Golden Gopher quarterback who was unable to find a spot on an NFL roster last fall.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

FAST-GROWING SPORT ARRIVES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

On Tuesday, the owners of the National Driveball Alliance voted unanimously to approve the relocation of the financially troubled Toronto Titans to Seattle for the 1957 season. The Titans owners, buried in debt, placed the team for sale hoping to find a Canadian buyer. When none such suitors arose, in stepped our very own Mortimer Todd, 38, heir to the fortune of Cascade Airlines. "It took me a bit to understand the game, mostly because it is still relatively brand new compared to baseball or football," said Todd. "But I have great confidence that the people of Seattle will come out and buy tickets by the bucket load," he added. The new Seattle club will have a new name, new logo and new colors in time for their '57 debut. Home games will be played at Husky Stadium, normally the home of the University of Washington football program since 1920.

The Seattle Times; September 19, 1956

1957 NDA Realignment

With the Toronto Titans moving roughly 3,000 miles west, the Cleveland Mad Hatters will swap divisions with the former Titans franchise.

Eastern Division
Buffalo Lakers
Cleveland Mad Hatters
New York Heroes
Philadelphia Brawlers

Western Division
Chicago Gaels
Cincinnati Monarchs
Milwaukee Voyagers
Seattle

Seattle will hold a contest to name the team.

For the 1957 season, the New Jersey Rogues of the CDA will play their home games at Palmer Stadium, normally the home of Princeton University's football program.

In downtown Seattle, a parade welcoming the Emeralds was the biggest in town since the Rainiers clinched the PCL pennant two years earlier.

For the NDA expansion draft, which will fill the rosters of the Miami Flamingos and San Diego Admirals, the existing teams will be required to place one goalie, two defenders, two midfielders and two attackers on their unprotected lists. From those 56 players, the Flamingos and Admirals can take between twenty to twenty-five players.

Rumor mill: Buffalo Lakers up for sale; Anheuser-Busch atop the list of potential buyers.

In other sports:
The National Basketball Association approves two moves for the 1957-58 campaign: The Rochester Royals to Cincinnati and the Fort Wayne Pistons to Detroit.

The fate of the Brooklyn Dodgers could fall into the hands of NY parks commissioner Robert Moses, who has been feuding with team owner Walter O'Malley over where to build a new stadium to keep the Dodgers from leaving the Big Apple. Also in baseball, rumors point to Horace Stoneham wanting to move the NY Giants to Minnesota for next season.

Here is how the other sports look in this universe as of 1956-57...

MLB
American League
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Athletics
Washington Senators

National League
Brooklyn Dodgers
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Redlegs
Milwaukee Braves
New York Giants
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St Louis Cardinals

NFL
East
Chicago Cardinals
Cleveland Browns
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Washington Redskins

West
Baltimore Colts
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers

NBA
East
Boston Celtics
New York Knicks
Philadelphia Warriors
Syracuse Nationals

West
Ft Wayne Pistons
Minneapolis Lakers
Rochester Royals
St Louis Hawks

NHL
Boston Bruins
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadiens
New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1957 Season

This year marked the tenth season of the National Driveball Alliance, a feat that defied the naysayers that tried to dismiss the game as a passing fad in its early years.

NDA
Eastern Division
Buffalo Lakers 11-3
Philadelphia Brawlers 9-5
New York Heroes 7-7
Cleveland Mad Hatters 6-8

Western Division
Milwaukee Voyagers 12-2
Cincinnati Monarchs 6-8
Chicago Gaels 3-11
Seattle Emeralds 2-12

CDA
Colonial Division
Pittsburgh Knights 10-2
Boston Unicorns 7-5
Washington Commanders 6-6
Minnesota Shockers 5-7
New Jersey Rogues 4-8
Detroit Roadsters 3-9

Frontier Division
Los Angeles Jaguars 8-4
San Francisco Dragons 8-4
Dallas Metros 7-5
Houston Marshals 6-6
Kansas City Rustlers 5-7
Denver Mountaineers 3-9

NDA Playoffs
Eastern Wild Card at Franklin Field
New York Heroes 12
Philadelphia Brawlers 18

A late rally by Philly forwards Milt Wright and Boyd Sibley helped banish the hated "Zeroes" to the offseason.

Eastern Final at War Memorial Stadium
Philadelphia Brawlers 33
Buffalo Lakers 30

Buffalo fans did not shed a tear when the Lakers waved goodbye for what could be the final time. In fact, they were happy to be rid of miserly team owner Elmer Gottlieb, who had recently been exposed as having harbored unsafe working conditions at his Niagara Motors plant. Only 4,000 came to War Memorial Stadium. With Buffalo leading 30-27 with two and a half minutes left, a defensive foul assessed to Lakers guard Zeke Wolf helped set up a penalty kick for Brawlers forward Bart King. A six point goal sent the Lakers into the dustbin of history. The day after the game, the Lakers officially packed their bags for St Louis, where they will be rechristened as the Showboats under the ownership of Anheuser-Busch.

Western Final at County Stadium
Cincinnati Monarchs 15
Milwaukee Voyagers 39

The Monarchs had absolutely no chance against Milwaukee that day. None whatsoever.

Tenth Frosty Mug at County Stadium
Philadelphia Brawlers 42
Milwaukee Voyagers 27

The Brawlers always had a reputation of being a scrappy bunch, but all that was missing was a championship ring. That all changed on July 6, 1957, when the Brawlers' potent attack shut down the Voyagers' opportunistic defense. Milwaukee did not record a single takeaway in the first half, which came back to bite them in the second as Philly ran up the score. In fact, in that first half, Milwaukee recorded more turnovers in that game than they had all year. To add insult to injury, defensive penalties assessed to the Voyagers only helped Philly increase its lead in the final ten minutes.

CDA Playoffs
Frontier Wildcard at Kezar Stadium
Dallas Metros 18
San Francisco Dragons 9

Dallas had proven to be one of the better clubs in the CDA, while San Francisco had been bitten by the injury bug last season. A defensive struggle ensued at Kezar Stadium, with Muggsy Russo and the Metros coming out on top.

Colonial Final at Forbes Field
Boston Unicorns 18
Pittsburgh Knights 27

With their victory over Boston, the Knights will maintain homefield advantage for the Floyd Cup.

Frontier Final at the Los Angles Memorial Coliseum
Dallas Metros 24
Los Angles Jaguars 33

Inconsistency defined the Jaguars the previous three years. This year, the Jaguars entered the 1957 CDA season hoping to dethrone the Metros as the glamour team in the Frontier Division. The Jags dashed the Metros' Floyd Cup hopes with key defensive stops by veteran guard George Bianchi. Los Angeles took the lead after trailing by 9 in the first half, thanks to a six point goal by forward Elliot Youngquist and a three point over by rookie center Ace Castle.

Fourth Floyd Cup at Forbes Field
Los Angeles Jaguars 36
Pittsburgh Knights 27

The Noble Knights of the Golden Triangle played well in front of the Forbes Field faithful early on. But after halftime, they had virtually no answers when it came to defending the Jags' newfound attack tandem of Castle and Youngquist. Once the Knights' star goalie Page Adair had to leave the game with an ankle injury, Pittsburgh's 12 point lead in the third quarter would evaporate very quickly. On the play in question, Los Angeles midfielder Slick Monahan threw a pass to Elliot Youngquist, which froze the Knights' guards. Youngquist then faked Adair out with a stutter step that led to a six-pointer that launched LA's scoring barrage.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

AMBITIOUS NEW DOMED STADIUM TO KEEP DODGERS IN BROOKLYN

At the eleventh hour, Robert Moses caves and agrees to Walter O'Malley's demands for a new domed ballpark that will allow the Brooklyn Dodgers to stay put in the long run. Construction will begin in early 1958 with completion expected to take place in time for the 1960 baseball season.

As for the NY Giants, they will indeed shift to Minnesota. Here's a sneak peek at their proposed new logo:

Spoiler

​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1958 Driveball Seasons

In several Driveball markets, the tables have turned. In Cincinnati, the NBA Rochester Royals came to town after 12 years in Upstate New York. Suddenly the Monarchs found themselves an afterthought. Meanwhile in Detroit, the Pistons come over from Fort Wayne while the Lions win the NFL crown, pushing the Roadsters further down the totem pole. In Milwaukee, the Braves upset the Yankees to win the 1957 World Series, pushing the Voyagers off center stage.

However, the biggest surprise of the 1958 Driveball season is without a doubt, the unexpected on-field success of the expansion Miami Flamingos. Hostile crowds of about 20,000 welcomed opposing teams to Burdine Stadium, where the Flamingos immediately began setting new Driveball attendance records. In the expansion draft, the San Diego Admirals tried to stock their roster with veterans that would be de-facto mentors the rookies. Miami took a different approach. Flamingos head coach Leslie Archibald, a former assistant for the Gaels during their 1956 title run, sought players aged 26 or younger in hopes of forming a core of players that could grow together and contend for a title.

For fans of the former Toronto Titans franchise, seeing the Seattle Emeralds win the Western Division crown was perhaps the hardest pill to swallow since the Titans left for the Pacific Northwest.

The defending champion Brawlers would suffer a season of injuries that would doom them to a last place finish. Plus, many of the players that were part of last year's Frosty Mug team were let go in the expansion draft, just so the Brawlers could stay afloat.

With the Flamingos and Admirals paying $70,000 each in expansion fees, you can expect the next round of expansion to see new teams pay much more.

NDA Standings
Eastern Division
New York Heroes 12-2
Miami Flamingos 12-2
Cincinnati Monarchs 9-5
Cleveland Mad Hatters 5-9
Philadelphia Brawlers 3-11

Western Division
Seattle Emeralds 11-3
Chicago Gaels 7-7
Milwaukee Voyagers 6-8
St Louis Showboats 4-10
San Diego Admirals 1-13

Over in the CDA, the same twelve teams duke it out for their fifth campaign. The move to Rutgers University's football stadium proved justified for the Rogues, who clinch their second playoff berth in three seasons. Injuries and penalties plagued the once-mighty Metros, who won the first two CDA titles back to back. Now, the Metros will have the second overall pick in the draft behind Boston. The defending Floyd Cup champion Jaguars maintain their dominance in the Frontier Division, but now they must contend with rising teams like the Rustlers and Dragons. And of course, the Shockers, who won the Cup in '56, now find themselves second fiddle to Minnesota's new MLB team.

Colonial Division
New Jersey Rogues 9-3
Detroit Roadsters 8-4
Pittsburgh Knights 8-4
Minnesota Shockers 6-6
Washington Commanders 5-7
Boston Unicorns 1-11

Frontier Division
Los Angeles Jaguars 9-3
Kansas City Rustlers 9-3
San Francisco Dragons 8-4
Houston Marshals 4-8
Denver Mountaineers 3-9
Dallas Metros 2-10

1958 NDA Playoffs

Eastern Wild Card at Burdine Stadium
Miami Flamingos 57
Cincinnati Monarchs 35

Eastern Final at the Polo Grounds
Miami Flamingos 53
New York Heroes 50

The Flamingos easily dethroned the Monarchs in front of their home fans before venturing to the Big Apple for their biggest test of the year. After being tied at 1 apiece, the Heroes jumped out to a 12 point lead in the first half. Shortly thereafter, Miami turned on the ignition with an over by Gene Watson to pull the Flamingos to within nine. Later on, with the Flamingos trailing by six, Jerry Brown and Dennis Stewart each made a pair of tackles that sputtered a promising Hero drive. Halfway through the first half, the Heroes still led, this time 27-17 when Miami center Philip Clark was whistled for a defensive foul on a collision with the Heroes' Spike Whitman after Whitman passed the ball to teammate Clyde Townsend. That penalty set up an over by Heroes pocket Pat Morrison to keep the Heroes ahead 30 to 17. Going into halftime, the Heroes did not give up a single six point goal, yet surrendered five behinds and four overs.

Trailing the Heroes 33-21 early in the second half, the Flamingos retook the wheel when Miami halfback Larry Butler stripped the ball from Heroes forward Vinnie Giordano. That set up an over by Kermit Maynard to pull the Flamingos to within nine points. Later on, with the Flamingos still trailing 44-40, an over by pocket Doug King pulled the Flamingos to within one. With New York up 50-47 in the closing minutes, King booted another over to tie the game. A key steal by full forward Alan Murphy set up Kermit Maynard's over to punch Miami's ticket to the Frosty Mug.

Western Final at Husky Stadium
Chicago Gaels 40
Seattle Emeralds 47

Down 47-29 in the second half, Chicago attempted a valiant comeback. Rookie pocket Milo Bell scored the only goal in the entire game, which accounted for six points in the Gaels' eleven point rally late in the game to keep things close. But it was too little too late. Once again, former Toronto Titan fans watch in disgust as their former club, now known as the Seattle Emeralds, win their first conference crown in their new home.

Eleventh Frosty Mug at Burdine Stadium
July 12, 1958

When the season first began, nobody expected the expansion Miami Flamingos to make any noise. Nor did Driveball prognosticators predict Seattle would do the same. Miami would have plenty of support...and then some. Coming to the Orange Bowl were over 4,000 former Toronto Titan fans who flew south to hate-watch their former team. Thanks to an opportunistic attack and a stingy defense, the Flamingos got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 22-4 lead early in the first half. Seattle tried to chip away at Miami's lead little by little, but the Flamingos played with a heavier chip on their shoulder like they've had all year. At halftime, the Flamingos would lead 38-8.

Five minutes into the second half, Seattle's pocket Wilbur Finkle would give the Ems a glimmer of hope with a six-pointer that cut the deficit 41-14. Ems forward Oscar McGee would tack on an over later on to further cut the deficit 42-26. Another over by McGee brought Seattle to within 13, but the Flamingos punched back with an over of their own by Kermit Maynard to make it 46-30 Miami. Full forward Merlin Pascal tried to tack on a six-pointer to pull the Ems to within ten, but Flamingos goalie Nick Harris instead conceded an over, making it 46-33 Miami. Down 56-37 much later in the game, Pascal made a desperation pass to pocket Herb Constantine to attempt a six-pointer. The first attempt was blocked, but the second went in, making it 56-43. An over by Constantine cut the deficit to ten points, but it would not be enough. Another scoring attempt by Constantine to keep the game close was saved by Harris.

The Flamingos would go on to win the Frosty Mug in only their first year of existence, making them the most successful first year expansion team of all time.

Miami Flamingos 56
Seattle Emeralds 46

MVP: Nick Harris; Flamingos goalie

1958 CDA Playoffs

Frontier Quarterfinal at Kansas City Municipal Stadium
Kansas City Rustlers 30
San Francisco Dragons 0

Chants of "WE WANT FRISCO" were heard all over Los Angeles after the Jaguars disposed of the Houston Marshals in the last game of the regular season. However, those chants were suddenly silenced when the Kansas City Rustlers shut out the San Francisco Dragons 30-0 in the Frontier Quarterfinal.

Frontier Final at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Kansas City Rustlers 15
Los Angeles Jaguars 42

After LA fans were disappointed by their cross-state rivals being eliminated, an anticlimactic Frontier final ensued. The question wasn't whether the Jaguars would win. The question was how many points the Jags would score on their way to their second straight Floyd Cup appearance. LA's defense held the Rustlers to just five overs in an otherwise uneventful playoff.

Colonial Quarterfinal at Briggs Stadium
Pittsburgh Knights 51
Detroit Roadsters 39

Overconfidence was the Roadsters' undoing against the Knights. Very early in the game, Detroit's flashy goalie Theo Moriarty sprained his ankle jumping to stop an over, forcing the Roadsters to put in a young, inexperienced Jesse Saperstein. The overwhelmed backup played like he'd much rather stay in bed, as the Knights would go on to New Jersey with a blowout win.

Colonial Final at Rutgers Stadium
Pittsburgh Knights 30
New Jersey Rogues 27

The Rogues set new CDA attendance records with their move to Rutgers Stadium. The 1958 Colonial Final would ultimately not turn out the way Rogues fans hoped. A low scoring, defensive struggle would see Pittsburgh punch their ticket for a rematch of last year's Floyd Cup.

Fifth Floyd Cup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Pittsburgh Knights 36
Los Angeles Jaguars 24

For the second year in a row, it was time for the Jags and Knights to joust for all the marbles. This time though, it would be the Knights who would exact revenge on the same team that mauled them at Forbes Field in '57. Pittsburgh goalie Page Adair was slightly slower on his feet than he was the year before, but he was now able to rely on a revamped backfield to ensure the Knights' victory. Key defensive fouls called against Los Angeles proved to be both the Jags' Achilles' heel and a blessing for the Knights. The real hero of the day for Pittsburgh was pocket Barney Kowalczyk, who accounted for 15 of the Knights' 36 points on their way to winning the Floyd Cup.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1958 was a nightmare year for sports fans in New York City. First, the Heroes were embarrassed by the expansion Flamingos in the NDA playoffs. Then, the Milwaukee Braves beat the Yankees for the second straight year in the World Series. And last, but not least, the Giants would fall to the Baltimore Colts (above) in a championship game that would elevate the National Football League to the top of the American sports ladder. Of course, this was a time when baseball had been king and Driveball was still a newborn sport, still seen by most as a sideshow.

1959 will be the New York Heroes' final season at the Polo Grounds. At the conclusion of the '59 season, the Heroes will share a new domed stadium in Brooklyn with the MLB Dodgers. The Flushing Meadows site, offered by parks commissioner Robert Moses, is still available to New York City's other sports teams looking to build new facilities.

If you've got a few hundred thousand dollars lying around, there are plenty of professional franchises up for sale. In the NFL, the Chicago Cardinals have been bleeding money for the better part of a decade now, and with folks moving out to the suburbs, it's only a matter of time before this team will have to pull up stakes. In basketball, the Lakers have slumped since the retirement of longtime center George Mikan. A move may be imminent, but there's still a chance to keep the team in Minneapolis. Other NBA teams that could be on the move are the Syracuse Nationals and Philadelphia Warriors. Lamar Hunt, son of Texas oilman HL Hunt, is the front runner to purchase the Chicago Cardinals. Other rumored buyers include Bob Howsam of Denver, Max Winter of Minneapolis, and KS "Bud" Adams of Houston.

Last MLB season, in a controversial move, Horace Stoneham changed the name of his former New York Giants to the Minnesota Twins upon his arrival in the Twin Cities. Stoneham told the Minneapolis Tribune and St Paul Pioneer Press that fans simply wanted something new. Others speculate it was because that, in time, the Giants/Dodgers rivalry would wither away because of the new geographic divide. Eventually, the newly rebranded Twins will develop new rivalries with the Braves, Cardinals and Cubs.

1959 will be the farewell season for Ebbets Field, as the Brooklyn Dodgers will move into an innovative domed stadium for 1960.

Both the National and Continental leagues face expiring TV contracts at the end of the '59 season. The 10th and 11th Frosty Mugs have proven to be the most expensive Driveball telecasts that NBC has ever produced, with both being the first championship sporting events to be televised in color. Should the NDA reach an extension with NBC, the Frosty Mug will still be the lone color telecast while the regular season is still videotaped in black and white. NBC's highest ratings for an NDA game came when the Miami Flamingos shocked the Driveball world and won the Frosty Mug in only their very first year of existence.

In the Continental circuit, ABC's CDA coverage has solely been in black and white. The current deal was negotiated by Jaguars founder Spencer Holbrook, who also had a hand in helping former boss Walt Disney land his TV deal with the same channel. Roone Arledge of ABC indicates the network has enjoyed a healthy relationship with the CDA. Arledge points to strong ratings for CDA games starting at 4pm EDT to support his optimism for an extension that could run through 1964,

Of course, in the days before fans could tape games off their TV sets, the '57, and '58 Mugs, both of which were originally broadcast in color, exist today only in black and white kinescopes, which fans have since uploaded to their YouTube channels. Luckily, a local Miami documentary filmmakers on the Flamingos' payroll was able to capture the triumph of The Fabulous Flamingos of '58 in Kodachrome Color film. That film is easily accessible on the Flamingos' Facebook page as of 2018.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1959 Season

Building on their success from last year, the Miami Flamingos add a division crown to their trophy case after having won the Frosty Mug as a Wild Card.

The New York Heroes' farewell to the Polo Grounds would turn out to be a tearful one, as the Heroes would lose 6 of their last seven of 1959. The final game at the Polo Grounds saw the Heroes lose in embarrassing fashion to the Chicago Gaels.

Eastern Division
Miami Flamingos 11-3
Cleveland Mad Hatters 5-9
New York Heroes 4-10
Philadelphia Brawlers 4-10
Cincinnati Monarchs 3-11

Western Division
San Diego Admirals 13-1
Milwaukee Voyagers 10-4
Seattle Emeralds 8-4
Chicago Gaels 8-4
St Louis Showboats 4-10

To facilitate his appointment to the NDA Commissioner's office, Cubby Dempsey sold the Gaels to then-White Sox owner Bill Veeck for $54,000 in October of 1958.

1959 CDA Standings

Injuries and stupid mistakes put plenty of dents in the defending champion Knights' armor this year. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers would see dramatic improvement in '59, winning eight games after just recording three wins the year prior. The Jaguars, champions of 1957, stumbled through the second half of 1959 but still managed to clinch a playoff spot. After winning only once last year, the Unicorns were picked to finish last place again, but somehow, they snuck into the playoffs.

Colonial Division
Detroit Roadsters 12-2
Boston Unicorns 9-5
New Jersey Rogues 9-5
Minnesota Shockers 5-9
Pittsburgh Knights 4-10
Washington Commanders 3-11

Frontier Division
Kansas City Rustlers 12-2
Denver Mountaineers 9-5
Los Angeles Jaguars 8-6
San Francisco Dragons 5-9
Dallas Metros 4-10
Houston Marshals 4-10

Playoff teams in BOLD.

1959 NDA Tiebreaker

or...

Oh, the Hugh-manity!

Hugh Daniels, a former bench warmer for the VFL's South Melbourne Swans, defied expectations and made a smooth transition from Aussie Rules to Driveball as the brash, cocky rookie forward for the Emeralds. With the game tied at 36 with 10 seconds left, Daniels threw a devastating block against Gaels guard Theo Benedict to open a lane for pocket Herb Constantine to score the game winner. The kick flew over the bar and over the head of Chicago rookie goalie Lou Ricci to win the game for Seattle 39 to 36.

Next, the Ems travel to Miami for their grudge match with the men in magenta.

1959 NDA Playoffs

Semifinal #1 at Balboa Stadium
Milwaukee Voyagers vs San Diego Admirals
June 20, 1959

San Diego fielded 7 rookies on their starting lineup and they didn't disappoint. Among them was sharp shooting pocket Jerome Rosenbach, who would ultimately carry the Admirals on his shoulders. Rosenbach would score 18 points for a 27-18 victory over an overwhelmed and outmatched Voyager squad.

Admirals 27 - Voyagers 18

Semifinal #2 at the Orange Bowl
Seattle Emeralds vs Miami Flamingos
June 21, 1959

Hugh Daniels' big day against the Gaels the previous week would prove to be a fluke. The ejection of Daniels' teammate Mel Coolidge halfway through the second half sent the Ems into a tailspin after leading Miami 27-21 at halftime. The Men in Magenta rallied to take the lead 36-27, with the final insult coming off the foot of Miami's veteran full forward Alan Murphy for a six point goal.

Flamingos 36 - Emeralds 27

Twelfth Frosty Mug at Balboa Stadium
June 28, 1959
3:30 EST
TV: NBC
Announcers: Chris Schenkel and Jimmy Van Allen

About 51 weeks earlier, the Miami Flamingos shocked the entire sports world by winning the Frosty Mug in only their first year of existence. That alone made the 1958 Flamingos the most successful first year expansion team ever, an accomplishment that we may never see again. This year, they face a San Diego Admiral team with too many new faces to count with just two hands.

On this sunny Sunday in June 1959, the city of San Diego was in the national spotlight. Yes, the place was already well known for its zoo and military bases. But now, a franchise in a newborn sport coming of age has already made the self-proclaimed "City in Motion" a potential destination for expansion franchises in other sports.

The Admirals spent an entire year preparing specifically to meet the defending champion Flamingos when it mattered most.

The first half was a gritty, defensive slobberkocker. The Admirals got off to a slow start, trailing 15-9 by halftime. Some wrote off the Admirals because Miami was able to rack up tackled before San Diego could cross their own quarter line for most of the game. Plus, the Admirals three measly overs that half came off of defensive penalties.

In the second half, five Admiral takeaways turned into a 24-15 lead. But then, with 11 minutes to go, Flamingos head coach Leslie Archibald called a time out. Miami returned to basics on their attack, putting up three overs to tie the game at 24 and send the game into Driveball's very first overtime.

After Miami failed to score at the opening of the overtime period, San Diego was one tackle away from turning the ball back over. That was when Admirals pocket Jerome Rosenbach punted the ball over the crossbar and out of the reach of Flamingo goalie Nick Harris to win the game for San Diego 27-24.

Admirals 27 - Flamingos 24​

CDA Postseason

Shortly after the regular season ended, Minnesota Shockers owner Jesse Lindholm fired head coach Casper Donahue after the club's "Floyd Cup or Bust" season yielded only five wins. The Shockers missed the playoffs for the third straight year after winning the Floyd Cup with Donahue in 1956.

Colonial Wild Card
New Jersey developed a reputation for always coming up short when it mattered most. The early signs of that changing came quickly in Boston, where the Rogues took advantage of a porous Unicorn defense all afternoon. The Rogues would go on to win 36-18 in a game the sports writers dubbed the Beantown Blowout.

Frontier Wild Card
Bears Stadium was loud, but perhaps it wasn't loud enough to help the Mountaineers. Coach Lefty Wright's Jaguar squad endured the thin air to quickly dispose of the Mountaineers 44-18.

Colonial Final
Detroit was abuzz with playoff pandemonium. The Lions were one year removed from their NFL title triumph while the Tigers were still in a World Series drought. So it was the Roadsters who were drawing fans to Briggs Stadium on what was supposed to be a special summer weekend. For the Roadsters, the wheels would once again fall off too soon. After the Roadsters jumped out to a 21-15 lead in the first half, the Roadster attack would completely cool down to sub-zero temperatures. New Jersey, led by veteran forward Corky Liebowitz, shredded the once potent Roadster defense with a firework show that put the Rogues ahead 36-21 by the end of the third quarter. Two more overs gave New Jersey a 41-21 blowout win.

Frontier Final
New Jersey wasn't the only team blowing out its competition in the CDA in '59. The Los Angeles Jaguars did the same at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, where they scored 51 points on a completely unfocused and undisciplined Rustler squad. 51-15 was the final in favor of the Jags.

Sixth Floyd Cup at Rutgers Stadium
June 27, 1959
TV: ABC

This year, the Rogues set new Driveball attendance records, selling out every home game for the entire 1959 campaign. Corky Liebowitz has been the face of the franchise since its inaugural season in 1954, and the Rogues organization has received high marks for building their squad around him. Now at age 37, Liebowitz faces the biggest game of his life.

The Jaguars scored first, but it took the old pro mere seconds to guide the Rogues to tie the game at 3 in the first quarter.

The second quarter saw Los Angeles briefly quiet the sold out Jersey crowd with a 15-6 lead at halftime.

The third quarter is where Liebowitz needed to step up, and he did. A six point goal kept the Rogues in the game, pulling them to within 3.

Then in the fourth, a six pointer fist balled by Milt LeClair put the Rogues ahead 18-15. One last defensive stand was all that was necessary to help the Rogues win the Floyd Cup on their home turf. Liebowitz and LeClair would ultimately share MVP honors.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

DRIVEBALL BACK IN BUFFALO FOR '61!
The Knox family's bid to bring the quirky sport of Driveball back to Western New York was approved unanimously by the National Driveball Alliance's owners. The former Lakers franchise called Buffalo home from 1948 until 1957. After 10 seasons, the Lakers were sold to Anheuser-Busch. That led to the beer giant controversially moving the club to its home base in St Louis, where they now compete as the Showboats. It is unclear if whether the new Buffalo franchise will rehash the old Lakers' name, but whatever they are called, they will begin play in the spring of 1961. What we do know is that the new NDA club will share the Lakers' former home, the Rockpile, with the baseball Bisons and the football Bills.

- The Buffalo News

DRIVEBALL COMES TO THE EAST BAY!
The five year old San Francisco Dragons of the Continental Driveball Alliance will have plenty of company almost 20 months from now. The board of directors of East Bay Driveball, Inc announced with great enthusiasm that their bid for an expansion franchise was approved 8-2 by the owners of the older National Driveball Alliance. The new franchise will share Oaks Park with the PCL Oaks starting in the spring and summer of 1961.

- The Oakland Tribune​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1960 Season

National Driveball Alliance

Cincinnati's postseason drought comes to an end in the new decade. The Monarchs' return to playoff contention can be credited to two new rookies, sharpshooting pocket Jean-Luc LeBeau and fleet-footed full forward Eddie Nakamura. These rookies couldn't have come to Cincy at a better time, easing what would've been a long and strenuous rebuilding period.

Rumors of original Monarch defenseman Jim Beaumont's retirement have spread well beyond the Queen City. Beaumount might as well have been the original "King James," leading a Monarch defense through even the leanest years for the franchise. Very often, Beaumont and the Monarchs would play spoiler against eventual championship teams. Beaumont began his Driveball career in 1948, when he was a sidekick to fellow defenseman George Bianchi on the very first Driveball championship team, the Cleveland Mad Hatters. Having spent most of '48 riding the bench, Beaumont would later join the cross-state Monarchs in the following expansion draft. Beaumont is part of a dwindling number of Monarchs still active with the club from the 1950 championship team. One last playoff run would be a nice storybook ending for Beaumont's career. That of course can only come true should the Monarchs grab the Mug.

In Philadelphia, the Brawlers mostly flew under the radar. Most Philadelphians were about to say goodbye to the Phillies for what could be the very last time. The cross-town A's had been saved from relocating a few years earlier. Last year, A's bucked the odds and upset the Milwaukee Braves to win the World Series. The Phils, almost a decade removed from their Whiz Kids season, could be headed to Dallas, Kansas City...maybe California.

EAST
Cincinnati Monarchs 10-4
Miami Flamingos 8-6
New York Heroes 4-10
Cleveland Mad Hatters 4-10
Philadelphia Brawlers 3-11

WEST
Milwaukee Voyagers 13-1
St Louis Showboats 11-3
San Diego Admirals 8-6
Seattle Emeralds 5-9
Chicago Gaels 4-10

Playoff teams in BOLD.

Continental Driveball Alliance

For the first time in its history, the CDA was forced to shorten its season from fourteen to ten games. A standoff among the CDA owners stemmed from whether to extend its current TV deal with ABC or to accept a lower bid from CBS. Spencer Holbrook, owner of the Jaguars argued that CBS's track record with Driveball portrayed the Tiffany Network as sometimes apathetic, sometimes pessimistic towards the fairly new sport. Of course, it was Holbrook who previously negotiated the deal with ABC, while at the same time, helping his former boss Walt Disney reach the Disneyland deal with the same network.

Mickey O'Hare, who owns the Unicorns, argued in favor of CBS. Enough time had passed, O'Hare argued, to give CBS another crack at Driveball despite the network's past treatment of the NDA.

Speaking of Walt, he and Gene Autry are weighing their options, whether to buy one of LA's PCL teams, or bid for an expansion franchise in MLB. Disney has also been mentioned in rumors that he and Holbrook might reunite to buy the NFL Rams from Dan Reeves. All this is still unsubstantiated speculation at this point.

Under the shortened schedule, teams played a home and away with every team in their division and there were no inter-conference games.

There was talk of the Mountaineers having lost the most money of all the CDA's teams. Team owner Pappy Maynard is now sinking in over $7 million USD in debt.

The defending champion Rogues' performance suffered greatly this year. Without the leadership of now-retired Floyd Cup MVP Corky Liebowitz, the Rogues lacked direction, discipline and a winning attitude.

The biggest turnaround appears to have taken place in our nation's capital. Bernie Berman, a journeyman player in the NDA, now has an opportunity to be the savior of a mostly middle-of-the-pack Washington franchise. Since 1948, Berman has played all sides of the ball for the Albany Trappers (1948), Montreal Voyageurs (1949-50) and Chicago Gaels (1951-53) before joining the Commanders in 1954. So basically, Berman is pretty much a late bloomer.

COLONIAL
Washington Commanders 9-1
Boston Unicorns 6-4
Detroit Roadsters 5-5
Minnesota Shockers 4-6
Pittsburgh Knights 4-6
New Jersey Rogues 2-8

FRONTIER
Dallas Metros 7-3
Los Angeles Jaguars 6-4
Houston Marshals 5-5
San Francisco Dragons 5-5
Denver Mountaineers 4-6
Kansas City Rustlers 3-7

Playoff teams in BOLD.

1960 NDA Playoffs

East Final at Crosley Field
Cincinnati Monarchs 15 - Miami Flamingos 9

Cincinnati managed to hold off the heavily favored Flamingos in a game that turned out to be a defensive royal rumble. Having won their game on a Saturday, the Monarchs thought they would be playing an extra home game. They would ultimately be proven wrong the next day.

West Final at County Stadium
Milwaukee Voyagers 48 - St Louis Showboats 15

After having been humiliated by the second-year San Diego Admirals last season, the Milwaukee Voyagers proved invincible at home in 1960. The Voyagers hoped to double their bankroll when the Showboats came to County Stadium for a playoff game. St Louis was probably better off starting their vacation early. The Boats sank early in the first half and would ultimately not recover.

Thirteenth Frosty Mug at County Stadium
June 27, 1960
TV: NBC

Just a few months earlier, the Braves' bid for a World Series three-peat was torpedoed by a Philadelphia Athletics team that came pretty much out of nowhere. Even though the Braves' dreams were crushed, there was still postseason excitement to be had at County Stadium. Milwaukee captain Dwight Taylor, the face of his franchise, was still hungry for his second ring in three tries. Cincinnati hoped a win would give defenseman Jim Beaumont the proper send-off his career deserved.

Off the field, the Monarchs' return to the postseason was overshadowed by controversy. Owner Benjamin Franklin Alexander was accused of stiffing employees of his construction companies on overtime and denying breaks for the last 6 years. On the day after this game, the lawsuit filed by current and former employees of Alexander Construction Co, Inc will go to trial in a Hamilton County courtroom.

Over in Milwaukee, Voyagers owner Wolfgang Herzog faces a difficult decision. He must now choose between folding his family's soft drink and snack business, or to sell his remaining assets to Miller Brewing and be financially secure in his autumn years.

Of course, with every sporting event, there must be a winner and a loser. The Voyagers' attack antagonized Beaumont all day, tricking him into mental mistakes that turned into points for Milwaukee.

The Voyagers would ultimately win 36 to 21. For both teams, just being in the Frosty Mug was bittersweet at best. For both franchises, uncertain futures lay ahead.

Milwaukee Voyagers 36 - Cincinnati Monarchs 21

MVP: Dwight Taylor (Voyagers)​

1960 CDA Playoffs

Wild Cards

Colonial Wild Card at Boston University Field
Boston Unicorns 21 - Detroit Roadsters 12

Frontier Wild Card at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Jaguars 33 - Houston Marshals 24

Colonial Final at Griffith Stadium
Boston Unicorns 27 - Washington Commanders 9

Washington captain Bernie Berman was kept pretty quiet by a feisty Unicorn defense with a gigantic chip on its shoulder. The blowout was so bad that only about 500 fans stayed through the whole game while the rest left early.

Frontier Final at the Cotton Bowl
Dallas Metros 30 - Los Angeles Jaguars 27

Besides Muggsy Russo, very few players remain from Dallas's back to back Floyd Cup winning teams. Now, with Muggsy getting older and his body starting to break down, the younger Metro players hoped to finally bring that third ring to the Metroplex. Unlike the playoff game back east, the action at the Cotton Bowl proved to be much more exciting. Los Angeles led for most of the game until Dallas rookie forward Harvey Bickerstaff filled in for the injured Norm Fitzroy. As the third quarter dragged on, the Jags' 27-9 lead evaporated further and further until Dallas finally tied the game halfway into the fourth. A Jags penalty set up the winning over by Bickerstaff with 2 minutes to go.

Seventh Floyd Cup at the Cotton Bowl
TV: ABC
Boston Unicorns 30 - Dallas Metros 21

For five seasons, the Boston Unicorns had been mired in inconsistency. Five seasons had passed since Boston last reached the Floyd Cup, only to be turned away by Dallas. The Unicorns would win the rematch by forcing Harvey Bickerstaff into making costly mental mistakes. Each time Boston would cross the Metros' quarter line, the Dallas faithful booed as loud as possible. Revenge was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. The summer of 1960 became a summer of celebration in Boston, especially with the Celtics and Unicorns winning titles in their respective sports.

MVP: Otto Hirsch (Unicorns)​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1960-61 Offseason

1960 Expansion Draft results

As is the case with most expansion drafts, one team focuses on veterans, the other on youth. It was Buffalo who took the veteran route. And with that, the selected Art Tempest, the longtime Mad Hatter, as their first expansion pick. The Squirrels selected Hugh Daniels, the sensational Australian forward who suddenly found himself at odds with Emeralds management.

OAKLAND SQUIRRELS
Goalie - Arnold Podoloff (CHI)
Fullback - Herman Fisher (MIA)
Halfback - Sheldon Sparks (MIL)
Halfback - Clifton Lloyd (SD)
Guard - John Bradley (CIN)
Guard - Roger Blake (PHI)
Wing - Jack Turner (SEA)
Wing - Irvin Floyd (NY)
Center - Gene Schwartz (STL)
Half Forward - Clyde Lowe (SD)
Half Forward - Jonathan Murphy (NY)
Full Forward - Clark Boswell (MIA)
Quarter Forward - Clifford Page (CHI)
Quarter Forward - Hugh Daniels (SEA)

BUFFALO LAKERS
Goalie - Tubby Breslin (NY)
Fullback - Lou Darby (STL)
Halfback - Alex Montague (CLE)
Halfback - Harold Bell (MIA)
Guard - Gregory Dean (CIN)
Guard - Keith Brady (NY)
Wing - James Osborne (PHI)
Wing - Ervin Mason (CLE)
Center - Hubert Hodges (STL)
Half Forward - Dustin Gross (CHI)
Half Forward - Kelly Haynes (PHI)
Full Forward - Art Tempest (CLE)
Quarter Forward - Ricky Burton (MIL)
Quarter Forward - Pete Harper (SD)

Darby and Hodges have a history with Buffalo. Both were on the 1957 squad, the last that the Lakers fielded until this coming season. Also, both stayed with the original Lakers when the club moved to St Louis to become the Showboats. So in a way, this could potentially turn out to be the righting of a wrong.

Harold Bell, selected by Buffalo, was on the Flamingos' roster during Miami's magical 1958 Frosty Mug run. However, Bell's defensive numbers dropped off as Miami would bow out to Cincinnati in last year's playoffs. Bell hopes to prove to Miami head coach Les Archibald that he made a mistake.

Montague and Tempest were instrumental in Cleveland's back-to-back Frosty Mug victories in the mid-50's. But for Ervin Mason, aspirations for a title turned to frustration as his fellow Mad Hatters grew older and losing replaced winning.

In other sports
The Los Angeles Chargers of the AFL move to San Diego.

The MLB Philadelphia Phillies move to Kansas City and become the Kansas City Monarchs.

Also in baseball, the Washington Senators move to Dallas/Ft Worth and become the Texas Rangers.

The NBA will welcome the expansion Los Angeles Stars for the 1961-62 season. The team will be owned and operated by Jack Kent Cooke along with Arthur Kim.

To facilitate the new NBA club, the PCL Hollywood Stars rebrand as the Hollywood Moguls.

Sports Leagues as of 1961

Baseball
MLB
American League
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Athletics
Texas Rangers

National League
Brooklyn Dodgers
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Kansas City Monarchs
Milwaukee Braves
Minnesota Twins
Pittsburgh Pirates
St Louis Cardinals

Pacific Coast League
Hollywood Moguls
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Oaks
Portland Beavers
Sacramento Solons
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Seals
Seattle Rainiers

Basketball
NBA
East
Boston Celtics
New York Knicks
Philadelphia Warriors
Syracuse Nationals

West
Cincinnati Royals
Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Stars
Minnesota Lakers
St Louis Hawks

Driveball
NDA
East
Buffalo Lakers
Cincinnati Monarchs
Cleveland Mad Hatters
Miami Flamingos
New York Heroes
Philadelphia Brawlers

West
Chicago Gaels
Milwaukee Voyagers
Oakland Squirrels
San Diego Admirals
Seattle Emeralds
St Louis Showboats

CDA
Colonial
Boston Unicorns
Detroit Roadsters
Minnesota Shockers
New Jersey Rogues
Pittsburgh Knights
Washington Commanders

Frontier
Dallas Metros
Denver Mountaineers
Houston Marshals
Kansas City Rustlers
Los Angeles Jaguars
San Francisco Dragons

Football
NFL
East
Baltimore Colts
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Washington Redskins

West
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
San Francisco 49ers
St Louis Cardinals

AFL
East
Boston Patriots
Buffalo Bills
Houston Oilers
New York Titans

West
Dallas Texans
Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders
San Diego Chargers

Hockey
NHL
Boston Bruins
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadiens
New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs

CANADA TO GET ITS OWN DRIVEBALL LEAGUE BY '63

A group of enthusiastic Canadian businessmen, eager for a piece of the Driveball pie, have come together to create their own entity. The new league does not have a name yet, but the perspective owners hope for their new venture to take the field as early as 1963. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are front runners for franchises. Other cities will be announced later.

MLB/PCL MERGER TALKS

For the upcoming baseball season, the championship will take on a new format. The American and National League champions will still face each other in a best of seven playoff. The winner will face the PCL champion in a best of seven World Series. However, Commissioner Ford Frick has been under intense pressure to bring baseball back to Washington, DC ASAP.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1961 Season

NDA

The biggest surprises of the 1961 NDA season were the league's two newest franchises. Oakland sought to recreate the sudden success the Flamingos enjoyed three years earlier. And they would do so with the scoring of their first ever draft choice, Ken Ito, the quarter forward out of Stanford. Ito possesses the lightning quickness and pinpoint shooting accuracy the Squirrels sought in building their roster for their inaugural season.

For the 1961 season, the Squirrels played their home games at Oaks Park, which they share with the PCL Oaks.

Injuries late in the season saw the Lakers slip to second in the East behind a rejuvenated Brawler squad. Center Hank Twardzik of Notre Dame was Buffalo's first draft choice since 1957. From the start, Twardzik had a steep hill to climb on the field, helping the Lakers scratch out wins in extremely tight games. In the locker room, Twardzik, then 21, was one of the very few young faces on a squad stacked with grizzled veterans. The Lakers' first points since '57 were scored on opening day by another rookie, full forward Norm Ferguson of Columbia.

The biggest disappointment this year were the Miami Flamingos. Picked to win their division at the start of the season, Miami would be subjected to a nightmare season filled with injuries, costly penalties and questionable coaching decisions.

Many Driveball experts warned Seattle would regret putting Hugh Daniels on the expansion draft. And they were proven right thanks to the Ems' poor performance this year. On five occasions, the Ems were shut out. Two of those shutout losses were to the expansion Squirrels. Daniels, now with Oakland, torched his former team without a second thought in both meetings.

Standings
East
Philadelphia Brawlers 10-2
Buffalo Lakers 8-4
Cleveland Mad Hatters 8-4
Cincinnati Monarchs 5-7
Miami Flamingos 4-8
New York Heroes 4-8

West
Oakland Squirrels 11-1
San Diego Admirals 7-5
St Louis Showboats 7-5
Milwaukee Voyagers 3-9
Chicago Gaels 3-9
Seattle Emeralds 2-10

Playoff teams in BOLD.

NDA Playoffs
Eastern Wild Card at War Memorial Stadium
Cleveland Mad Hatters 42 - Buffalo Lakers 33

The newly reborn Buffalo Lakers would suffer an early and abrupt playoff exit. After several losing seasons, the Cleveland Mad Hatters, the original dynasty of the sport, have returned to the postseason with a newly rejuvenated roster. Full Forward Vinny Greco, in his second year with Cleveland, accounted for about 60% of the Hatters' points for most of 1961. Against Buffalo in the Wild Card, Greco was met with little resistance, as the Lakers' backfield had been depleted by injuries.

Western Wild Card at Balboa Stadium
St Louis Showboats 36 - San Diego Admirals 9

San Diego captain Jerry Rosenbach was kept completely quiet by the St Louis defense all afternoon. In fact, the blowout was such that Balboa Stadium was almost completely empty before the final whistle.

Eastern Final at Franklin Field
Philadelphia Brawlers 33 - Cleveland Mad Hatters 30

At Franklin Field, the Brawlers' veteran captain Jimmy Pendleton punched Philly's ticket to the Frosty Mug. A late defensive penalty assessed to the Hatters set up Pendleton's game winning over with just seconds to play.

Western Final at Oaks Park
St Louis Showboats 18 - Oakland Squirrels 27

Oakland management used the '58 Flamingos as their model for a team that could be successful right out of the gate. Former Emerald Hugh Daniels was picked up by Oakland in the expansion draft. Grateful for the new opportunity, Daniels has made the most of his first season with the brand new franchise. On a few key defensive series, Oakland kept the Boats inside their own quarter line, setting up another championship milestone. The Squirrels would now become the second expansion team since the aforementioned '58 Flamingos to reach the Frosty Mug in just their very first year of existence.

14th Frosty Mug at California Memorial Stadium
Philadelphia Brawlers 18 - Oakland Squirrels 24
MVP: Hugh Daniels (Squirrels)

Because of Oaks Park's relatively tiny size, the Frosty Mug for 1961 was moved to the larger Memorial Stadium on the UC Berkeley campus. It was here that the East Bay would ultimately enjoy its very first professional sports championship. Defensive mental mistakes by the Brawlers late in the game helped the Squirrels fulfill their "win now" destiny in front of their home fans.

CDA

1961 was the CDA's first season with its newly signed television contract with CBS, which promises a higher fee than ABC was willing to pay for each of the 12 CDA teams.

After many years of standing alone, the Kansas City Rustlers now have some company at KC Municipal Stadium. The former Philadelphia Phillies have arrived, under new ownership and a new name, the Kansas City Monarchs. At the Monarchs' home opener, mayor H Roe Bartle threw out the ceremonial first pitch in royal garb. That same day, outfielder Richie Ashburn recorded KC's first base hit in a 3-2 victory over the St Louis Cardinals.

Already the home to the MLB Twins and CDA Shockers, Metropolitan Stadium will now welcome a third tenant come September, the Vikings of the National Football League. Nonetheless, the Shockers have made it back to the CDA postseason for the first time since 1956.

Washington, led by veteran midfielder Bernie Berman, have made it back to the postseason for the second straight year. Although it is the Commanders' final season at Griffith Stadium, Berman hopes to make this one special with another playoff run.

The team that suffered the biggest drop off this year were the Boston Unicorns. Otto Hirsch, last year's Floyd Cup MVP, tore an ACL early in Boston's home opener against New Jersey. As a result, Hirsch was forced to miss the remainder of the season.

COLONIAL
Washington Commanders 9-3
Minnesota Shockers 8-4
Detroit Roadsters 7-5
Pittsburgh Knights 5-7
New Jersey Rogues 4-8
Boston Unicorns 1-11

FRONTIER
Los Angeles Jaguars 9-3
Dallas Metros 7-5
Kansas City Rustlers 7-5
Houston Marshals 6-6
Denver Mountaineers 5-7
San Francisco Dragons 4-8

Playoff teams in BOLD.

Oh yeah and I forgot to mention, after the scandal involving team owner Benjamin Franklin Alexander, the NDA seized control of the Cincinnati Monarchs. So far, no buyers for the team have surfaced as of June 1961.

CDA Playoffs

Colonial Wild Card at Metropolitan Stadium
Detroit Roadsters 21 - Minnesota Shockers 9

Detroit embarrassed the Shockers in the most anticlimactic way at the Met. So much so that the Minnesota crowd booed their own team off the field when the game ended.

Frontier Wild Card at the Cotton Bowl
Kansas City Rustlers 36 - Dallas Metros 15

The Cotton Bowl was sold out for this playoff game. But for the team that won the first two Frosty Mugs, the party would be spoiled by an early playoff exit. Muggsy Russo, who had been the face of the Dallas franchise almost from the beginning, will likely part ways with the Metros after such a devastating loss.

Colonial Final at Griffith Stadium
Washington Commanders 33 - Detroit Roadsters 11

Dennis Gaffigan, the rookie quarter forward who helped Detroit steal a victory in Minnesota the week before, was way over his head in Washington. The Commander defense, led by guard Bill Livingston and fullback Giancarlo Zappa, made life difficult for the Gaffer every time he crossed the Washington quarter line.

Frontier Final at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Jaguars 39 - Kansas City Rustlers 21

The KC defense that clowned Dallas the previous week was no match for LA's rookie full forward Bruno Diaz, formerly a quarterback at San Diego State. A devastating injury to Ace Castle elevated Diaz to the starting lineup in the waning weeks of the regular season. Prior to Diaz's sudden rise, the Jags were staring at a wild card berth and no playoff games at home. Next thing we know, the Jags would go on to win the remainder of their games to steal top spot in the Frontier.

Eighth Floyd Cup at Bears Stadium (Denver, CO)
Los Angeles Jaguars 30 - Washington Commanders 36
TV: CBS
MVP: Bernie Berman (Commanders)

For the very first time, the CDA held its Floyd Cup championship game at a neutral site. This year, Bob Howsam, owner of the AFL Broncos and Western League Bears, rolls the dice on the CDA championship game in desperation for more money. Howsam's financial woes have prevented him from purchasing the CDA Mountaineers shortly after founder Pappy Maynard placed the franchise for sale earlier this year. Plus, his bigger dream of bringing an MLB team to the Mile High city is pretty much in jeopardy.

This year's Floyd Cup was the very first to be televised by CBS as part of its Eye on Driveball package. In the booth was longtime play by play man Ray Scott, with former Rogues captain Corky Liebowitz.

Even in defeat, Jags rookie Bruno Diaz knows he still has a long career ahead of him. To say that this was the loss that hurt him the most would be putting it lightly.

On other side of the ball, Washington's veteran center Bernie Berman finally won the ring that eluded him in the NDA. Never again would people call him "Bad Luck Bernie." Never again would his toughness be called into question. Never again would anyone doubt his ability to lead his team to greatness. As of 1961, Berman, now 35, is the last of the 1948 Albany Trappers still active in either Driveball league.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1961-62 Offseason

Meet David Dixon (below), 38 year old businessman from New Orleans.

Earlier this year (1961), he was unsuccessful in his bid to purchase the Oakland Raiders of the AFL. Now, with the upstart sport of Driveball maturing into the mainstream of American sports, sooner or later, New Orleans will have a team of its own. The NDA and CDA both concluded their respective 1961 campaigns last month. Each league has a team up for sale, with Dixon rumored to be one of the interested buyers.

Up for sale in the NDA are the Cincinnati Monarchs, who are now in serious financial trouble because of lawsuits filed against owner and construction mogul Benjamin Franklin Alexander. Over in the CDA, the Denver Mountaineers have already burned through two owners. The first was Pappy Maynard, who once owned most of the movie palaces in the Denver area. The second and most recent was Denver Broncos founder Bob Howsam, who bought the team midway through the 1961 campaign and whose money ran out too soon.

For the 1963 Season, the Canadian Driveball League will field ten teams in the following markets:

EASTERN DIVISION
Hamilton, Ontario
Ottawa, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Montreal will field two teams; one for the Anglophone, the other for the Francophone community.

WESTERN DIVISION
Calgary, Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Regina, Saskatchewan
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Vancouver, British Columbia

In other sports

The Washington Grays and Houston Astros join the National League in expansion.

George Preston Marshall sells the Washington Redskins to Art Modell (below):

 

[OldNavy1988]

1962 Season

NDA
​

East​

Buffalo Lakers 8-4
Cincinnati Monarchs 7-5
Miami Flamingos 7-5
New York Heroes 5-7
Philadelphia Brawlers 4-8
Cleveland Mad Hatters 4-8

West
Chicago Gaels 9-3
St Louis Showboats 9-3
Oakland Squirrels 7-5
Milwaukee Voyagers 6-6
San Diego Admirals 5-7
Seattle Emeralds 1-11

CDA
Colonial
Washington Commanders 11-1
Detroit Roadsters 8-4
Minnesota Shockers 6-6
New Jersey Rogues 6-6
Pittsburgh Knights 3-9
Boston Unicorns 2-10

Frontier
Dallas Metros 10-2
San Francisco Dragons 9-3
New Orleans Revelers 8-4
Kansas City Rustlers 4-8
Los Angeles Jaguars 3-9
Houston Marshals 2-10

This year, New Orleans welcomed the former Denver Mountaineers with open arms. In fact, the energy and atmosphere of the renamed Revelers' new hometown propelled the club into a wild card playoff berth. For the moment, the Revs have things pretty easy in the Big Easy. A Colorado judge allowed the former Mountaineers to leave Denver a year early, but that doesn't mean the legal battles are over. Gerald Phipps, who bought the Denver Broncos from Bob Howsam, is suing the CDA for collusion. Phipps alleges the CDA refused to listen to his pitch to save the Mountaineers while being wooed by eventual Revs owner David Dixon.

Over in the NDA, newly elected Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen joined executives from Delta Airlines and The Coca-Cola Company to pitch the Georgia state capitol's potential as a Driveball market to the NDA owners. Rankin Smith, an executive for the Life Insurance Company of Georgia, is expected to purchase the cash-strapped Cincinnati Monarchs before the 1963 season, but he faces a competing bid from Taft Broadcasting, who hopes to keep the Monarchs in Cincy.

Playoffs
NDA​

East Wild Card at Crosley Field​

Miami 9 - Cincinnati 3

West Wild Card at Busch Stadium
St Louis 27 - Oakland 18

East Final at War Memorial Stadium
Buffalo 33 - Miami 24

West Final at Soldier Field
St Louis 18 - Chicago 12

Frosty Mug at Busch Stadium
Buffalo 56 - St Louis 52
MVP: Mike Crowley (Lakers full forward)

When the Lakers returned to Buffalo, the reborn franchise promised they'd win a championship before St Louis. Consider that a promise delivered, as the '62 Lakers bring home the very first professional sports championship for Western New York. Mike Crowley was 10 years old and growing up in Rochester when the original Lakers debuted. When his dreams of becoming a basketball player fizzled out, Mike turned to Driveball after graduating from Syracuse.

CDA​

Colonial Wild Card at Briggs Stadium​

Minnesota 18 - Detroit 15
(Overtime)

Frontier Wild Card at Kezar Stadium
San Francisco 33 - New Orleans 21

Colonial Final at DC Stadium
Washington 36 - Minnesota 27

Frontier Final at the Cotton Bowl
Dallas def San Francisco

Ninth Floyd Cup at the Rose Bowl
Washington 53 - Dallas 50

Bernie Berman, 36, the longtime face of the Washington Commanders organization, goes out on top in his final game as a player.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

INVESTMENT GROUP BUYS STRUGGLING DRIVEBALL TEAM; INTENDS TO MOVE

As some of you know, the Cincinnati Monarchs of the National Driveball Alliance have struggled on the field, at the gate and off the field. Owner and founder Benjamin Franklin Alexander put the team for sale a year ago due to worsening salary scandals. Taft Broadcasting hoped to buy the team with the goal of keeping them in Cincinnati. However, that group's efforts have failed.

Atlanta, the new rising star in the Deep South, could be the Monarchs' future home should a winning hand be dealt to new owner Bill Bartholomay and the Chicago based LaSalle Corporation. However, Bartholomay cannot move the Monarchs just yet. The team still has at least three years left of its rent agreement with the MLB Reds for Crosley Field. Also, Bartholomay will need the approval of eight of the NDA's 12 team owners to make his dream come true.

The Atlanta Constitution

February 4, 1963​

IN OTHER SPORTS
Baseball as of 1962
American League
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Athletics
Texas Rangers

National League
Brooklyn Dodgers
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros (Expansion)
Kansas City Monarchs
Milwaukee Braves
Minnesota Twins
Pittsburgh Pirates
St Louis Cardinals
Washington Grays (Expansion)

Pacific Coast League
Hollywood Moguls
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Oaks
Portland Beavers
Sacramento Solons
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Seals
Seattle Rainiers​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1963 Driveball Results

In the NDA...

A knee injury sustained by Jerry Rosenbach sank the Admirals early on. Off the field, the Admirals have picked up problems of another kind on their radar. The AFL Chargers, who came over from Los Angeles two years ago, have pushed the Ads off center stage. Also taking attention away from the Ads was the Padres' PCL pennant triumph last October. That victory was the Pads' second PCL pennant in the last nine seasons.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the Flamingos announce that after winning just four games in '63, head coach Les Archibald will be on the hot seat for '64.

Bill Bartholomay, the new owner of the Cincinnati Monarchs, sees his team win only three games in his first season in charge. Of course, as part of the deal to buy the team, the Monarchs must play '64 and '65 in Cincinnati before they can opt out of their Crosley Field rent agreement with the MLB Reds. Bartholomay's goal in LaSalle Corp's purchase of the Monarchs late last year is to eventually move the franchise to Atlanta. He also hopes to move the MLB Milwaukee Braves to the same city.

NDA
Eastern Division
New York Heroes 11-1
Philadelphia Brawlers 10-2
Buffalo Lakers 5-7
Cleveland Mad Hatters 4-8
Miami Flamingos 4-8
Cincinnati Monarchs 3-9

Western Division
Seattle Emeralds 8-4
Chicago Gaels 8-4
Oakland Squirrels 7-5
St Louis Showboats 7-5
Milwaukee Voyagers 3-9
San Diego Admirals 2-10

Over in the CDA, the league celebrated its tenth season. However, that same celebration was tempered by bitter court battles with the City of Denver over the relocation of the once financially troubled Mountaineers. A Colorado judge had allowed the Mounts to leave a year earlier than planned. For Denver fans, the pill has become much harder to swallow as their former franchise, now in New Orleans, has made its second straight playoff appearance.

In our nation's capital, the retirement of center Bernie Berman after the '62 season has sent the Commanders into a tailspin. The absence of Berman's leadership gave rise to a team that was unable to do much right for most of the '63 campaign.

The Detroit Roadsters were sold mid-season to department store giant SS Kresge Corporation. Last year in nearby Garden City, Kresge, under the leadership of CEO Harry Cunningham, opened its very first discount store, which they call "K-Mart." That store opened two months before Minnesota-based Dayton-Hudson opened a discount shop of their own which can be easily identified by a unique bullseye sign.

CDA
Colonial Division
New Jersey Rogues 8-4
Detroit Roadsters 7-5
Boston Unicorns 7-5
Minnesota Shockers 5-7
Pittsburgh Knights 4-8
Washington Commanders 4-8

Frontier Division
San Francisco Dragons 9-3
New Orleans Revelers 9-3
Kansas City Rustlers 7-5
Dallas Metros 6-6
Houston Marshals 5-7
Los Angeles Jaguars 1-11

Playoff teams in BOLD.

1963 NDA Playoffs

Wild Card at Franklin Field
St Louis 3 - Philadelphia 39

Grizzled veteran Jimmy Pendleton provided Philadelphia enough punch to sink the Showboats in a blowout win.
Wild Card at Soldier Field
Oakland 9 - Chicago 12

A low scoring affair that was dominated by defense. Homefield advantage and lucky bounces helped the Gaels breeze past the Squirrels. Oakland captain Hugh Daniels had to leave the game halfway through the first half after spraining his ankle during a scrum.
Semifinal at the Dodger Dome
Philadelphia 12 - NY Heroes 18

An old geographic rivalry is renewed in Brooklyn as the Heroes clinch yet another Frosty Mug berth. The Brawlers led 12-0 at halftime, but defensive penalties helped the Heroes tie things up early in the second half. The knockout blow that won the game for New York came off the foot of second year full forward Alex Grigorian.
Semifinal at Husky Stadium
Chicago 27 - Seattle 21

Last year, the Ems flew off the radar with the Century 21 Expo grabbing most of the attention. This year, Seattle hoped a revamped midfield would provide some reinforcement to an attack that ran out of ammo too soon in too many games in '62. Towards the end of the game, the Ems hoped to protect a 21-18 lead...when suddenly, Chicago forward Maurice Schumer found an opening in Seattle's defense, faked out Ems goalie Dale Freleng, and fist-balled the ball into the net to give the Gaels the three point lead. On Chicago's next offensive series, Schumer assisted half forward Mickey McDonald on the game winning over.
Frosty Mug XVI at the Dodger Dome
Chicago 36 - New York 42

Even though the Heroes had homefield advantage for the Frosty Mug, over 5,000 lucky Gaels fans won tickets to the game from a raffle held by the Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV. However, luck wasn't enough to lift the Gaels past the hometown Heroes.

The leader for the Heroes was once again full forward Alex Grigorian. The 23 year old out of UCLA, along with third year quarter forward Tony Kowalczyk, accounted for most of New York's 42 points in this year's Frosty Mug.

TRIVIA: To accommodate the Frosty Mug, the Brooklyn Dodgers moved their previously scheduled home stand against the Washington Grays to the end of the MLB regular season.

MVP - Alex Grigorian (FF; Heroes)

1963 CDA Playoffs

Frontier Wild Card at Tulane Stadium
Rustlers 18 - Revelers 48

The Rustlers bid farewell to Kansas City Municipal Stadium with a victory over the Los Angeles Jaguars in the final week of the season. However, that celebration would be short lived as KC suffers yet another early playoff exit. This time, it was the upstart New Orleans Revelers that sent KC home early. On the field, it was an ugly blowout with New Orleans running up the score thanks to four takeaways.

Colonial Wild Card at Tiger Stadium
Unicorns 21 - Roadsters 27

Detroit demonstrated courage and grit after trailing 21-9 at halftime. Otis Robbins, a rookie center from Michigan State, directed traffic for the Roadsters' attack in relief of the injured Paul Franklin. Two 6-point goals by Vernon Hall in the third quarter and another by Sherman Lieber in the fourth won the game for Detroit.

Frontier Final at Kezar Stadium
Revelers 18 - Dragons 30

If you told the San Francisco fans hours before this game that their team would host another playoff game the following week, they would've probably accused you of jinxing their beloved Dragons. A revamped defense would win the game for San Francisco. In goal for the Dragons was Xavier Arroyo, aka "Mister X." Arroyo's 43 saves and cat-like reflexes frustrated the Revs' attackers. So the only way New Orleans could score was to kick as high as possible, but most over attempts were still within Mr X's reach. The Dragons' fans stormed the field and mobbed their heroes, but the San Francisco Chronicle warned the next day that their celebration could be premature.

Colonial Final at Rutgers Stadium
Roadsters 21 - Rogues 27

By now, most of Northern New Jersey has embraced the Rogues while everything south of Trenton is still very much Brawler Nation. On this playoff game, the Rogues' faithful set a new franchise attendance record. Thousands more watched on CBS, with Rogues' legend Corky Liebowitz calling the game with Ray Scott. The game itself turned out to be much closer than what prognosticators expected. The Rogues fell behind early, trailing the Roadsters by 12 at halftime. In the second half, the Rogues attack heated up while Detroit's Otis Robbins became a non-factor.

10th Floyd Cup at Kezar Stadium
Rogues 6 - Dragons 39
TV: CBS
Announcers: Ray Scott and Corky Liebowitz

Before the season began, the CDA awarded the tenth Floyd Cup to San Francisco. The league office had no way of knowing the Dragons would get this deep in the postseason. Also, before the '63 season began, many Driveball experts predicted that San Francisco wouldn't be all that great.

The Dragons took control of the game early and never let up. San Francisco shut out the Rogues at halftime, only for New Jersey to score two measly overs in the third quarter.

Surprisingly, very few Dragon fans left Kezar Stadium early. This despite their heroes pretty much having the Floyd Cup wrapped up with a bow on top long before the final siren.

Once that siren blared through Kezar Stadium's crackling loudspeakers to signal the game's end, all of San Francisco was suddenly aglow. As they did the week before, fans stormed the field, tore down the goals and mobbed the players.

The inaugural season of the Canadian Driveball League

1963 Standings
Eastern Division
Ottawa Lumberjacks 8-2
Les Castors de Montreal 7-3
Montreal Trappers 5-5
Toronto Titans 4-6
Hamilton Maulers 3-7

Western Division
Edmonton Barons 9-1
Winnipeg Aces 5-5
Saskatchewan Stags 5-5
Calgary Bighorns 4-6
Vancouver Ravens 0-10

Playoff teams in BOLD

The regular season would see the Edmonton Barons win the first seven games of their existence. The only defeat for Edmonton came at the hands of the Winnipeg Aces. Going into Week 8 at 3-4, Winnipeg needed that win to qualify for a wild card spot. Although Saskatchewan finished 1963 with an identical record, the Aces got in thanks to a higher point differential.

The action on the field was very much the same as the leagues in the United States, except with longer, wider fields. In the interest of distinguishing their game from the NDA and CDA, the CDL Board of Governors will meet in the days leading up to the Dominion Cup to discuss possible rule changes.

The very first Montreal Derby would see both teams split the regular season series, with each winning on their home turf. Les Castors will move on to the playoffs while the golf course awaits the Trappers' arrival.

1963 CDL Playoffs

EAST FINAL AT LANSDOWNE PARK
Les Castors de Montreal 38
Ottawa Lumberjacks 27

WEST FINAL AT CLARKE STADIUM
Winnipeg Aces 44
Edmonton Barons 30

DOMINION CUP AT CNE STADIUM
Winnipeg Aces 33
Les Castors de Montreal 36

The two best teams in the CDL's regular season were toppled in both playoff games. That would set up a Dominion Cup between two teams who were predicted to finish dead last in their respective divisions.

Of course, the first Dominion Cup lacked the pomp and circumstance of a Grey Cup. But that didn't stop 30,000 from packing CNE Stadium.

Also on hand was the camera crew of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, who used cameras like the one above to bring the Dominion Cup to millions of homes up and down the great white north. The TV broadcast of this year's Dominion Cup still exists in the form of black and white kinescopes.

As for the game itself, it was a back and fourth affair with neither team able to gain an edge. An over by Montreal's quarter forward Jean-Yves Berlioz sent the game into overtime at 33 apiece. Once the sudden death period began, Winnipeg was stopped inside their own quarter line. That set up the game winning over, which came off the foot of Les Castors' full forward Pierre-Louis Duchamp, who was promptly named the game's MVP.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

WARRING DRIVEBALL LEAGUES CALL TRUCE

What began as a postwar novelty sport has rapidly grown into a show more dramatic than all three networks' soap operas. Among Driveball's biggest supporters the last fifteen years are the hearty bunch who flock to AFL and NFL stadiums in the fall. Yet those same grid supporters have little use for the seemingly archaic game of baseball come spring time.

Since 1948, two leagues have sprang up with 24 teams dotting the good ol' US of A.

The merger of the Continental and National Driveball Alliances has been negotiated primarily by the following parties:

- Spencer Holbrook, owner and founder of the Los Angeles Jaguars (CDA)

- Killian "Cubby" Dempsey, commissioner of the NDA and former owner of the Chicago Gaels.

- August A Busch, Jr, owner of the St Louis Showboats (NDA)

- Cotton Leavelle, owner and founder of the Houston Marshals (CDA)

- Bill Bartholomay, owner of the Cincinnati Monarchs (NDA)

- Sonny Werblin, owner of the New York Heroes (NDA)

- David Dixon, owner of the New Orleans Revelers (CDA)

Of course, such a deal must come with approval from Congress. To secure enough votes, the two leagues pledged to grant replacement teams for Cincinnati and Denver. The Denver franchise, a charter member of the CDA, moved to New Orleans last year. During their time in Denver, the former Mountaineers franchise ran on a shoestring budget. They often traded away their best players to stay afloat, giving fans little hope for the future. Once the AFL Broncos came to Denver, the Mountaineers were quickly forgotten in their own city. In the club's final years in Colorado's capital, the Mountaineers were often greeted by empty seats at Mile High Stadium. The few that continued to show up by 1961 did so with signs saying "Down with Dixon," even after David Dixon bought the team. Dixon, who was planning a spring-time football league, bought the Mountaineers with every intention of moving the club to his home state of Louisiana.

As of this year, the Cincinnati Monarchs have not yet moved. After the 1965 season, owner Bill Bartholomay intends to move the franchise to Atlanta, where he also hopes to move his baseball team, the Milwaukee Braves. Currently, the Monarchs have a rent agreement with the Cincinnati Reds for Crosley Field. Stipulations of the rent deal call for the Monarchs to compensate the Reds should Bartholomay elect to opt out the final year of said deal. It'll be a messy divorce as Ohio politicians plan to take the NDA to court later this year.

Also at issue is what to call the newly united league. The CDA and NDA have been at odds the last nine years. So in the next two years before the merger is finalized, there will be long debates, along with a few fists thrown, before any agreement is made to name the unified league. In the meantime, there will be a common college draft and inter-league exhibition games in the pre-season.

In any case, the merger was made official after President Kennedy (below) signed legislation to approve the deal. The merger will be fully completed in time for the 1966 campaign.

The New York Times
July 17, 1963

In other sports

The Dallas Texans of the AFL move to Kansas City and become the Chiefs.

Also in the AFL, the New York Titans change their name to the New York Jets.

After the Warriors moved to San Francisco, Philadelphia welcomes another NBA team. The Syracuse Nationals move to the City of Brotherly Love and become the Philadelphia 76ers.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

1964 Season

NDA

When the press let slip that the Monarchs would opt out of the final year of its rent deal with the Reds, most disgruntled Cincinnati fans stayed away. As a result, Crosley Field was nearly a ghost town when the Monarchs had home games. The final blow for Cincy was dealt by in-state rival Cleveland. It was in the final month of the season that the Mad Hatters' fans took over Crosley to watch their team demolish the Monarchs, one last time, 54 to 15. What began as a game the Mad Hatters needed to win to qualify for a wild card spot ultimately turned out to be the last Monarchs' home game.

For 1965, the Monarchs will finally move to Atlanta, where team owner Bill Bartholomay has been planning to move the MLB Milwaukee Braves.

Eastern Division
Philadelphia Brawlers 8-4
Miami Flamingos 7-5
Cleveland Mad Hatters 6-6
New York Heroes 5-7
Cincinnati Monarchs 5-7
Buffalo Lakers 3-9

Western Division
Oakland Squirrels 10-2
San Diego Admirals 9-3
St Louis Showboats 6-6
Chicago Gaels 5-7
Milwaukee Voyagers 4-8
Seattle Emeralds 4-8

CDA

Oddities: Roadsters full forward Dave DeBusschere was not the first athlete to play both Driveball and basketball, but he would eventually become the most famous to do so.

Citing declining health, Jaguars founder Spencer Holbrook, now 62, told the Los Angeles Times he would hand day-to-day operations of the club to his sons Peter (b. 1925), Charlie (b. 1932) and Warren (b. 1936).

Jacob Lieber, 65, will step down as the Washington Commanders' chairman of the board. In his place will come a 41 year old construction contractor named Abe Pollin. Lieber is unmarried and has no children.

Buzz Fitzsimmons (now 46), the Bay Area socialite billionaire who owns the San Francisco Dragons, has his eyes set on buying both National Periodical Publications and Walt Disney Productions, with hopes of merging both to form one entertainment juggernaut. Mr Fitzsimmons made his fortune as a member of a wealthy family that came to dominate the local fish-processing business with canneries in San Francisco, Oakland, Monterey and Santa Cruz.

The New Orleans Revelers reach the playoffs for the third year in a row, inflicting another dose of anguish on the fans they left behind in Denver.

Colonial Division
Detroit Roadsters 8-4
Pittsburgh Knights 8-4
Boston Unicorns 7-5
Minnesota Shockers 6-6
Washington Commanders 5-7
New Jersey Rogues 3-9

Frontier Division
Houston Marshals 10-2
New Orleans Revelers 7-5
San Francisco Dragons 6-6
Kansas City Rustlers 5-7
Los Angeles Jaguars 4-8
Dallas Metros 3-9

Playoff teams in BOLD.

1964 NDA Playoffs

East Wild Card at the Orange Bowl
Cleveland Mad Hatters 15 - Miami Flamingos 33

For a team like the Cleveland Mad Hatters, whose fans had been accustomed to winning for so long, an early playoff exit was worse than finishing a season with a losing record. To use the hot summer sun to their advantage, the Flamingos wore their white jerseys and magenta shorts, forcing Cleveland to don its home reds. The pain of an embarrassing defeat would pass however, as Cleveland sports fans would still have plenty to cheer for as the Browns eventually won the NFL title later that fall. Anyways, after that playoff loss, the Mad Hatters fired Herb Vlasic, the only general manager in the club's 16+ year history. A replacement will be found during the offseason.

West Wild Card at Balboa Stadium
St Louis Showboats 24 - San Diego Admirals 9

The Boats bounced back from having been bounced by Philly in last year's playoffs. For San Diego, team captain Jerry Rosenbach was kept quieter than a mouse by the St Louis defense. Clearly, Rosenbach has not been the same since injuring his knee early last year. The decision by Admiral head coach Pete Van Buren to put Rosenbach back in the lineup early in the '64 season was heavily criticized by San Diego Union sportswriter Jack Murphy. In his column, Murphy called Van Buren "reckless" for not giving Rosenbach enough time to heal.

East Final at Franklin Field
Miami Flamingos 27 - Philadelphia Brawlers 30

Miami tied the game late at 27 apiece. When the siren sounded to signal the end of regulation, most casual fans assumed the game would go into overtime, but the officials allowed Philly's seldom-used quarter forward Ollie Herman to take one last kick, which would prove long and high enough for the winning over. Miami coach Les Archibald was furious. As players from both teams shook hands, Archibald cursed out the officials who kept trying to tell him the post-siren kick was perfectly legal. On their way back to the locker room, the Flamingos were pelted with hot dog wrappers and soda cups by the Philly faithful.

West Final at Frank Youell Field
St Louis Showboats 30 - Oakland Squirrels 36

Frank Youell Field was sold out for this playoff game, which the Squirrels ultimately won. Oakland's 9 point lead chipped away late in the game, with St Louis trying all they could to stay in it. Squirrels halfback Freddie Ryman deflected a pass intended for Boats forward Leon Cranston in Oakland's defensive zone to win the game and a berth in the Frosty Mug.

17th Frosty Mug at Frank Youell Field
Philadelphia Brawlers 39 - Oakland Squirrels 21

Oakland's victory the week before gave the Squirrels home field advantage for this year's Frosty Mug. On this day however, the Brawlers would act as party crashers, taking control of the game early and silencing the otherwise rambunctious Frank Youell Field crowd.

MVP: Ollie Herman (Brawlers)

CDA Playoffs

Colonial Wild Card at Forbes Field
Boston Unicorns 18 - Pittsburgh Knights 27

Early in 1964, the Knights joined the Steelers and Pirates in lobbying for a new stadium to replace the rapidly aging Forbes Field. Little did Knights fans know the something magical would happen. At 3-4 and staring at elimination from playoff contention, the Knights won five straight to qualify for a wild card. More than a few lucky bounces were all that was necessary to help the Knights beat the Unicorns for what turned out to be the last home game of '64.

Frontier Wild Card at Tulane Stadium
San Francisco Dragons 12 - New Orleans Revelers 33

The defending Floyd Cup champion San Francisco Dragons limped their way into the playoffs with key injuries on defense. Goalie Xavier Arroyo was out for the first two months with a torn hamstring. Both of SF's starting rovers, Bill Thornton and Guy Llewellyn, were each placed on IR a week apart. Their replacements, Steve Palawski and Ken Julian, proved to be a downgrade, giving up way too many easy overs.

Meanwhile, New Orleans knew that while three playoff appearances in a row was good, the window to a championship was starting to close.

Colonial Final at Tiger Stadium
Pittsburgh Knights 36 - Detroit Roadsters 30

Dave DeBusschere had a decent game that day, but despite putting up 5 overs and 7 assists, his Roadsters still fell short of beating the Knights. After the game, DeBusschere quietly elected to concentrate solely on basketball, having been signed by the Detroit Pistons as their new player-coach beginning in late October.

Frontier Final at Jeppesen Stadium
New Orleans Revelers 27 - Houston Marshals 21

Even though the Marshals enjoyed a comfortable home field advantage this year, at least 700 New Orleans fans came to Jeppesen Stadium to cheer on their team. The Revelers reveled in having knocked out the defending champs the week before. Now it was time for a bigger test in Texas. The New Orleans/Houston rivalry dates back to when the Revelers were still in Denver, but has only intensified when the former Mountaineers migrated south a few years back. Houston took an early lead in the first half, but the Revelers would come back to shred the Marshal defense with back-to-back six pointers that gave NOLA the lead. Houston tried to keep the game as close as they could, but New Orleans would escape Jeppesen with a win and a trip to the Floyd Cup.

Eleventh Floyd Cup at the District of Columbia Stadium
New Orleans Revelers 18 - Pittsburgh Knights 15

New Orleans lead 15-3 at halftime. In the second half, the Knights attempted a valiant comeback, tying the game at 15 apiece with four minutes left in regulation. Once again, an important game would come down to a post-siren kick. The man to do the honors was Revelers half-forward Buddy Riley. Riley's first attempt was blocked, but a defensive penalty gave him another chance. Riley booted the over that won the game for New Orleans.

MVP: Buddy Riley (Revelers)

1964 CDL Season

Vancouver was still pretty bad, but this year, the Ravens finally won for a change. In fact, their 17 game losing streak ended in week 8, at which point they'd win three straight to end the season.

The biggest drop off came from the defending champion Les Castors. The Frenchmen promised their fans a return trip to the Dominion Cup. But all that would soon be derailed by a mountain of injuries. Only the Ottawa Lumberjacks, who also qualified for last year's playoffs, had a bigger drop off from '63.

The most improved team this year would be the Hamilton Maulers, who tied the Trappers for first place in the East. A coin toss gave Montreal's English squad the tiebreaker.

Also improving from last season was Saskatchewan, thanks to an overhauled corps of forwards.

East
Montreal Trappers 8-2
Hamilton Maulers 8-2
Les Castors de Montreal 2-7-1
Ottawa Lumberjacks 2-8
Toronto Titans 1-9

West
Saskatchewan Stags 7-2-1
Winnipeg Aces 7-3
Edmonton Barons 6-4
Calgary Bighorns 5-5
Vancouver Ravens 3-7

Playoff teams in BOLD.

1964 CDL Playoffs

West Wild Card
Winnipeg 18 - Edmonton 9

Once again, the Barons posted a winning record but have yet to get over the playoff hump.

West Final
Winnipeg 21 - Saskatchewan 27

After coming up short last season, the Stags were able to record their first playoff victory in front of a raucous Taylor Field crowd.

East Final
Hamilton 27 - MTL Trappers 36

For the second time, Montreal will be represented in the Dominion Cup. This time, its the English Montrealers who will be cheering on the Trappers. All the fans of Les Castors can do is to hate-watch or root for the Trappers to lose.

2nd Dominion Cup
Saskatchewan 21 - MTL Trappers 45

Castors fans hoping to see the Trappers fall on their face were bitterly disappointed with the results of this year's Dominion Cup. And it wasn't even close.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

Professional sports as of 1964-65

Driveball
(New alignments effective starting with the 1965 season)
National Driveball Alliance
East
Atlanta Aviators
Miami Flamingos
New York Heroes
Philadelphia Brawlers

Central
Buffalo Lakers
Chicago Gaels
Cleveland Mad Hatters
Milwaukee Voyagers

West
Oakland Squirrels
San Diego Admirals
Seattle Emeralds
St Louis Showboats

Continental Driveball Alliance
Colonial
Boston Unicorns
New Jersey Rogues
Pittsburgh Knights
Washington Commanders

Heartland
Detroit Roadsters
Kansas City Rustlers
Minnesota Shockers
New Orleans Revelers

Frontier
Dallas Metros
Houston Marshals
Los Angeles Jaguars
San Francisco Dragons

Canadian Driveball League
East
Hamilton Maulers
Les Castors de Montreal
Montreal Trappers
Ottawa Lumberjacks
Toronto Titans

West
Calgary Bighorns
Edmonton Barons
Saskatchewan Stags
Vancouver Ravens
Winnipeg Aces

Baseball
American League
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Athletics
Texas Rangers

National League
Brooklyn Dodgers
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Kansas City Monarchs
Milwaukee Braves (Moving to Atlanta in 1966)
Minnesota Twins
Pittsburgh Pirates
St Louis Cardinals
Washington Grays

Pacific Coast League
Hollywood Moguls
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Oaks
Portland Beavers
Sacramento Solons
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Seals
Seattle Rainiers

Football
NFL
East
Baltimore Colts
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Washington Redskins

West
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
San Francisco 49ers
St Louis Cardinals

Expansion
Atlanta Falcons (Coming in 1966)

AFL
East
Boston Patriots
Buffalo Bills
New York Jets
Houston Oilers

West
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders
San Diego Chargers

Expansion
Miami Dolphins (Coming in 1966)

CFL
East
Hamilton Tiger Cats
Montreal Alouettes
Ottawa Rough Riders
Toronto Argonauts

West
BC Lions
Calgary Stampeders
Edmonton Eskimos
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Basketball
NBA
East
Boston Celtics
Cincinnati Royals
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers

West
Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Stars
Minnesota Lakers
San Francisco Warriors
St Louis Hawks

Expansion
Chicago Bulls (Coming in 1966-67)

Hockey
NHL
Boston Bruins
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadiens
New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs

Under Construction as of 1965

Oakland Alameda County Coliseum
Future home of the Raiders (AFL), Oaks (PCL) and Squirrels (NDA)

The Delta Dome (Portland, OR)
Future home of the PCL Beavers

Anaheim Stadium
Future home of either an NDA expansion team or one of LA's PCL teams.


The Forum (Inglewood, CA)
Future home of the NBA Stars and a potential NHL expansion team.

San Diego Stadium
Future home of the AFL Chargers, PCL Padres, NDA Admirals and the SDSU Aztecs football program

Proposed sites for future facilities for either the PCL Angels, the NFL Rams or CDA Jaguars
Gilmore Stadium redevelopment

Chavez Ravine site

 

[OldNavy1988]

1965 NDA/CDA Regular Season

Atlanta welcomed the Aviators with open arms. In their home opener, the Aviators set a new Driveball attendance record. A standing room only crowd converged on Atlanta Stadium to see the Aviators take flight against the eventual Eastern Division champion Miami Flamingos. The first points scored in Aviators history came from a three point over, off the foot of 3rd year full forward Don Van De Kamp. Coincidentally, it was Van De Kamp who scored the Cincinnati Monarchs' final points last season. Atlanta won in convincing fashion 30 to 21. After that game however, Miami would bounce back winning 9 in a row while Atlanta tail-spun to the first pick of next year's draft.

On the same weekend, the CDA turned a few heads. On April 10, the San Francisco Dragons defeated the Los Angeles Jaguars 27 to 18 in the very first regular season Driveball game to be telecast in color. Those who did own a color TV set that year got to see their first glimpse of the Dragons' new cardinal red and mustard uniforms, adorned with a new abstract dragon logo on the chest. Of course, this was a time when most master tapes of televised sporting events were taped over. But somehow, someway, somebody, possibly some dude that worked for CBS affiliate KPIX, snuck into the network's truck outside Kezar Stadium and grabbed the master tape as soon as the game was over. It'll probably another 50 years or so before the tape bandit's identity is revealed.

The following Sunday, the Houston Marshals became the third Driveball team to play in a dome. The domes in Brooklyn and Kansas City were quickly put to shame by the self-proclaimed Eighth Wonder of the World; The Astrodome. Once center Freddie Weaver scored the Marshals' first over in his team's new home, the stadium's scoreboard operator couldn't resist pressing the button to summon the scoreboard spectacular (below) normally reserved for Astros home runs:

By the way, the Marshals blew out the Dallas Metros 48 to 15 that afternoon.

NDA Standings
East
Miami Flamingos 9-3
New York Heroes 7-5
Philadelphia Brawlers 4-8
Atlanta Aviators 2-10

Central
Chicago Gaels 7-5
Milwaukee Voyagers 7-5
Cleveland Mad Hatters 3-9
Buffalo Lakers 2-10

West
San Diego Admirals 10-2
Seattle Emeralds 8-4
Oakland Squirrels 7-5
St Louis Showboats 6-6

CDA Standings
Colonial
Pittsburgh Knights 7-5
Boston Unicorns 5-7
Washington Commanders 5-7
New Jersey Rogues 4-8

Heartland
Minnesota Shockers 8-4
New Orleans Revelers 7-5
Detroit Roadsters 3-9
Kansas City Rustlers 3-9

Frontier
Houston Marshals 10-2
San Francisco Dragons 8-4
Los Angeles Jaguars 6-6
Dallas Metros 6-6

PLAYOFF TEAMS IN BOLD

1965 NDA Playoffs

Tiebreaker at Milwaukee County Stadium
Milwaukee def Oakland 33-30

Wild Card at Soldier Field
Chicago def Milwaukee 55-41

Wild Card at Husky Stadium
New York def Seattle 36-27

Semifinal at Balboa Stadium
Chicago def San Diego 48-40

Semifinal at the Orange Bowl
New York def Miami 38-21

18th Frosty Mug at Soldier Field
New York def Chicago 39-33

The eighteenth Frosty Mug was the culmination of a post-season filled with more officiating mistakes than a human being could count. With five seconds left in a tie ballgame, the Heroes won their second Frosty Mug in the last three years. The winning score came when the Heroes' hotshot half forward Warren Lucas fist-balled the ball past Chicago's rookie goalie Rocky Giannini. This marks the Heroes' fourth Frosty Mug, having previously won the Mug in 1951, '55 and '63.

MVP: Warren Lucas (Full Forward; Heroes)

1965 CDA Playoffs

Tiebreaker at the LA Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles def Dallas 30-15

Wildcard at Forbes Field
Pittsburgh def Los Angeles 18-15

Wildcard at Kezar Stadium
San Francisco def New Orleans 24-15

Semifinal at Metropolitan Stadium
Minnesota def Pittsburgh 33-24

Semifinal at the Astrodome
Houston def San Francisco 36-30

12th Floyd Cup at the Truman Dome (Kansas City, MO)
Minnesota def Houston 27-18

The 1965 CDA postseason proved to be a long, tedious snoozefest. Fans hoping to see the top seeds Minnesota and Houston fall victim to underdogs would have to wait till next season when the two leagues finally merge.

This year's Floyd Cup would be the very first to be televised in color. In the broadcast booth, CBS would assign Ray Scott along with former Rogues captain Corky Liebowitz.

At the Floyd Cup in Kansas City, the Shockers and Marshals were tied at 18 apiece in the final quarter. That's when Minnesota's defense stripped the ball out of Freddie Weaver's hands in the Shockers' defensive zone. Weaver terrorized the Shockers most of that game, but was finally kept quiet when Houston needed him the most. The Marshals' bench could only watch helplessly as the Shockers' center Ken Ungar freeze the left side of Houston's defensive zone with a stutter step. Ungar then connected with a wide open Luigi D'Amato for a six pointer that gave Minnesota the 24-18 lead. D'Amato added a post-siren over to make it 27-18, giving the Shockers their first championship in a decade.

MVP: Luigi D'Amato (Half-forward; Shockers)​

1965 CDL Standings

Eastern Division
Ottawa Lumberjacks 11-1
Toronto Titans 7-5
Les Castors de Montreal 3-9
Hamilton Maulers 2-10
Montreal Trappers 2-10

Western Division
Edmonton Barons 10-2
Saskatchewan Stags 9-3
Vancouver Ravens 6-6
Calgary Bighorns 5-7
Winnipeg Aces 5-7

The Vancouver Ravens continue to improve on the field and at the gate, but their performance wasn't enough to clinch them a playoff spot in 1965. You can expect the Ravens to be a lot more fun to watch in 1966.

Meanwhile, down in the oil patch, the Edmonton Barons have never had a losing season after just three seasons of play. However, they still have yet to strike it rich in the postseason.

CDL Playoffs
West Final at Clarke Stadium
Stags 36 - Barons 27

Edmonton fans were so sure that the Barons would win that they were already writing the lyrics for Dominion Cup rally songs. Apparently somebody forgot to remind them they still had that extra meeting with those guys in green. Late in the second half, Saskatchewan rover Douglas Hendrickson leveled Barons' star midfielder Theo Gomez on what should have been called a defensive foul. No whistle would be blown. Edmonton fans began pelting the Stags' bench with Molson Canadian bottles. The game continued on despite the chaos. The Stags used the unruliness of the Edmonton crowd as motivation for their 9 point victory over the Barons.

East Final at Landsdowne Park
Toronto 12 - Ottawa 18

In a game dominated mostly by defense, the Titans tied the game at 12 with just 5 minutes to play. On their last possession, the Lumberjacks methodically drove the length of the field. The CBC announcers likened the Jacks' back and forth passing to schoolyard games of "keep-away." This was due to Jacks' coach Sparky Feldman's strategy of such back and forth passing to both run out the clock and keep the Titans off-balance. The winning six pointer was scored by Ottawa's seldom used half forward Jonathan "Red" Oppenheimer.

Dominion Cup
Stags 30 - Lumberjacks 33

Saskatchewan tied the game with just 4 minutes to play and thought the game was going to go into overtime. Apparently someone forgot to tell them that the rule book allowed Red Oppenheimer of the Lumberjacks to attempt one last kick after the siren. Red nailed the post-siren over to bring the Dominion Cup to the Canadian capital.

MVP: Red Oppenheimer (HF; Lumberjacks)​

 

[Unknown]

I'm assuming Kennedy still gets shot as OTL; IMO, the circumstances of his going to Texas (to heal a rift in the Texas Democratic Party) are still the same, so it'll likely still happen ITTL...