Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

The latest issue of The Coffin Corner is now available for immediate download from the PFRA website. The issue contains:

PFRA-ternizing. The results of the 2021 PFRA election are officially announced, an update on the upcoming book in the PFRA Great Teams series, and a fond farewell to Ken Crippen and Mark Ford, the dynamic duo of the PFRA management team, as they wind up their terms.

Otis Armstrong: A Season to Savor by Joe Zagorski. A game-by-game recounting of the unexpected 1974 season from the diminutive Denver Broncos running back who stole the league rushing title that year from the dominant days of the Buffalo Bills' O. J. Simpson.

1951 NFL Season in Review by Andy Piascik. A look back at the incredible NFL season 70 years ago as twelve teams battled for the title. Four teams from the National Conference (the Rams, Bears, Lions and 49ers) fought until the final day of the regular season for the top spot, and a new rivalry emerged between the Browns and the Giants in the American Conference. At the end of the year the Rams met the Browns in the first NFL Championship Game to be nationally televised. Top games and individual performances are also highlighted.

Buck Shaw’s San Francisco 49ers by John Collins. The tenure of the Niners head coach for nine years is discussed and reevaluated as Shaw guided the franchise throughout their time in the AAFC and into their early years of the NFL, fielding competitive teams but always falling short, including six second place finishes.

Every article looks very interesting!

Just read it and still feel Buck Shaw should be in the HOF. His teams were snakebit by the great Browns teams and he still took separate teams to championship games, being the only coach to beat Vince Lombardi in the postseason --Loser Bowl doesnt count--

He won too many games and coached too many HOF players to be denied. When he took his 49er team to the postseason in 1949, the team had to play and beat the NY Yankees without the team receiving a game check due to the shenanigans of owner Tony Morabito. Morabito fired Shaw after the 1954 season but with western powers, Detroit, LA and the Bears floundering later on in the decade, the 49ers might have finally had their chance to win the division had he continued to coach. Instead, the team only made noise in 1957. In 1958, Shaw went to the eastern division and brought a team out of the doldrums ...

Brian wolf wrote:...Buck Shaw... being the only coach to beat Vince Lombardi in the postseason --Loser Bowl doesnt count--

I know I'll die alone on this hill but... yes, yes it does count.
Or at least it did.

How JuggernautJ ?

The Playoff Bowls are merely an after-the-fact exhibition game ... basically a two-team pro bowl for player pension funds. Its doubtful the networks or owners contributed much but I am not sure. Bernie Parrish the former Brown, thought these "games" just lined the owner's pockets ...

"The ten Playoff Bowls were official third place playoff games at the time they were played."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playoff_B ... ayoff_Bowl

JuggernautJ wrote:"The ten Playoff Bowls were official third place playoff games at the time they were played."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playoff_B ... ayoff_Bowl

Yes, for three consecutive seasons (1960-62) we Detroit fans could proudly chant "We're number 3! We're number 3!"

But you're right. I'd forgotten that aspect of the game.

RichardBak wrote: Yes, for three consecutive seasons (1960-62) we Detroit fans could proudly chant "We're number 3! We're number 3!"

But you're right. I'd forgotten that aspect of the game.

That's one of the reasons I appreciate George Wilson.
Arguably, his Lions were the 3rd best team in the NFL in the early 60's. Considering the competition that's pretty darn good.

JuggernautJ wrote:

RichardBak wrote: Yes, for three consecutive seasons (1960-62) we Detroit fans could proudly chant "We're number 3! We're number 3!"

But you're right. I'd forgotten that aspect of the game.

That's one of the reasons I appreciate George Wilson.
Arguably, his Lions were the 3rd best team in the NFL in the early 60's. Considering the competition that's pretty darn good.

One of those big "if only" scenarios involves Don Shula moving from Lions def. coordinator to HC instead of going to Baltimore and Wilson moving upstairs to GM. Detroit finished first or second 9 times between 1951 and 1962, won 3 NFL titles, and were 8-1 in postseason during that stretch (including the 3 Playoff Bowl wins). That success may have continued for many years under a Shula/Wilson regime.

Instead we got Russ Thomas, Harry Gilmer, and other mediocrities. That was as big a shitshow as the current Russian campaign in Ukraine.

After reading John Collins excellent article on Buck Shaw, I never realized how close the Lions got to playing in the 1951 Championship game. The 49ers stopped them on the final sunday. If only the Lions could have beaten the Yanks during the season ... Great article as well from Andy Piascik.

The big question is, were there any major player injuries resulting from what the the Packers players called the "Sh*t Bowl" that affected their next season ?