New PFRA Mailing Address:
Professional Football Researchers Association
184 Oregon Lane
N. Huntingdon Twp, PA 15642

Updated Research:
Television Commentators Committee - Updated June 20, 2009    (Added 1984-1986)

All-America Football Conference Committee - Updated May 3, 2009    (Added Allocation Draft)

Linescore Committee - Updated May 3, 2009    (Updated 1925, 1938, 1974 and 1996)

Oral History Committee Added - May 3, 2009

WHAT'S IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF COFFIN CORNER (Volume 31, Number 4):
PFRA Committees by Ken Crippen. An update on several of the various PFRA Committees, including the Bylaws Committee, Oral History Committee, All-America Football Conference Committee, Hall of Very Good Committee, Linescore Committee, USFL Committee, Uniforms of Past Teams Committee and the TV and Radio Commentators Committee.

PFRA Elections by Ken Crippen. A call for nominations for PFRA officers.

The Packers Crash Through: 1929 by Bob Carroll and PFRA Research. A summary of the 1929 NFL season.

1946 All-America Football Conference All-Rookie Team by John Collins. An opinion on who should be on the All-Rookie team for the inaugural year of the All-America Football Conference.

Violet and Walter by Tracy Thibeau. The story of Violet Bidwill Wolfner's tenure as the owner of the Chicago Cardinals. Walter Wolfner took over football operations when he married Violet, and the team fell apart.

The NFL World Championship Game: December 24, 1950 by Bob Follensbee. The 1950 NFL Championship Game pitted the Cleveland Browns against the Los Angeles Rams. At stake was the reputation of the NFL against the former All-America Football Conference team. The game would turn out to be a passing duel between Otto Graham and Bob Waterfield.

WHAT'S BEING DONE BY PFRA COMMITTEES:
All-America Football Conference Committee

Central and Northern New York Committee

Hall of Very Good Committee

Linescore Committee

Pre-NFL Pro Football Committee

Western New York Committee

Rochester Jeffersons Subcommittee

Television Commentators Committee

Uniforms of Past Teams Committee

USFL Committee

FEATURED ARTICLES:
Millville Football & Athletic Club
By John Fenton
The borough of Millville is situated midway between Philadelphia and the South Jersey shore.  During the 1920's this self-proclaimed “hub of South Jersey" supported an interesting mix of agriculture and industry.  It was also home to the Millville Football & Athletic Club.  First taking to the gridiron in 1921, the “Big Blue” quickly established itself as one of the premier football teams in the state.  By the end of the 1923 season the team had staked a claim to the mythical championship of New Jersey.  It reasserted that claim the following year, and as the 1925 campaign approached fans had high expectations.  Among the club’s rivals a desire to topple the champions from their lofty pedestal was equally strong…  Read More...

The Steam Roller
By John Hogrogian
The state of Rhode Island sits squarely in the shadow of Boston as far as major-league professional sports is concerned. Ocean State residents generally take a rooting interest in the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins. But more than half a century ago, in 1928, Rhode Island had its own National Football League champions, the Providence Steam Roller. The story of that team is the story of an era of professional football much different from that of today.

In the Roaring Twenties, the American public found a host of popular heroes in its sporting greats. Standing with Charles Lindbergh on the pedestal of unalloyed admiration were such men as baseball player Babe Ruth, boxer Jack Dempsey, and tennis player Bill Tilden. College football players also shared in this adulation, with Red Grange of Illinois, Ernie Nevers of Stanford, and the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame national figures because of their gridiron exploits. College football was an immensely popular spectator sport, with teams such as Notre Dame, Stanford, Yale, and Dartmouth drawing huge followings both in person and through the newspapers and newsreels.  Read More...

NFL Competitors: 1926-1975
By Stephen Hensley
"There is a great public demand to see the game." Those are the words of W.H. "Big Bill" Edwards, the commissioner of the new American Football League in 1926. This was the first attempt to set up a rival league opposite the National Football League. It would not be the last. In all there have been six major attempts to wrestle parts of the market from the NFL. A couple were successful but for the most part the attempts have been failures. Yet all of them started out with the same premise that Big Bill Edwards expounded over a half century ago, "There is a great public demand to see the game."

The first of these leagues was the American Football League (a name to be used several more times) which was founded in 1926 because Harold "Red" Grange was denied a franchise with the NFL in New York City. After turning pro with the Chicago Bears late in the 1925 season, Grange had led the Bruins through a 19-game, coast-to-coast tour which had been a financial lifesaver for all of pro football. Grange's manager, promoter Charles C. "Cash and Carry" Pyle, believed that Grange had enough fan appeal to start his own team. But the move was blocked by Tim Mara, owner of the year-old New York Giants. Although most of the NFL teams were willing to approve the move, Mara would not sanction another team in the Giants' area.  Read More...

Paul Brown
By Jack Clary
Paul Brown.

OTHER NOTABLE WORK BY PFRA MEMBERS:
20YardLine.com

Buffalo All-Americans/Bisons Historical Society

Cold, Hard Football Facts

Football Project

Ghosts of the Gridiron

Hickock Sports

Official Site of the Dayton Triangles

Pro Football Archives

Rock Island Independents