COFFIN CORNER VOLUME 45 NUMBER 5 IS NOW AVAILABLE IN MEMBERS ONLY. THE ISSUE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:
PFRA-ternizing. The 2023 results for the PFRA’s elective offices are reported with all the incumbents winning reelection, the inductees into this year’s Hall of Very Good’s Class are also announced, an update on the 1964 Buffalo Bills book, and the news of the latest episode of the Official PFRA Podcast showcasing two authors with football biographies on Hall of Fame coach George Allen.
Hammond’s $20,000 Football Team: The 1919 All-Stars by Chris Serb. The story of the Northwest Indiana pro football team a year before the founding of the NFL and their financially troubled owner Paul Parduhn, along with the famous players they employed including Bert Baston, Paul Des Jardien, Paddy Driscoll, and, most famously, a young George Halas, who got his start in professional football with the All-Stars, that played their home games in Weeghman Park, later known as Wrigley Field, in nearby Chicago.
Setting the Bar: Interim Head Coaches Who Took Their Teams to the Playoffs by Ben Carpenter. Since the advent of pro football’s postseason in 1933, only four teams have made the playoffs with different head coaches than those that started the season. All four are highlighted here—the 1942 Chicago Bears, who were led by co-head coaches Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos after George Halas was called to duty in World War II; the 1952 Los Angeles Rams, led by Hamp Pool; the 1961 Houston Oilers, who won an AFL championship with interim coach Wally Lemm; and the 2021 Las Vegas Raiders, coached by Rich Bisaccia after Jon Gruden was fired.
2023 PFRA Bookshelf by John Maxymuk. The annual bibliography of pro football books published this year, including those by PFRA members Lee Elder, Gregg Ficery, Dan Pompei, Tommy Phillips, Mike Richman, Mike Sando, and Greg Tranter.