Professional Football Researchers Association

Where you can meet PFRA Members:

Saturday, June 19, 2010, 8AM-5PM. PFRA Meeting. See Coffin Corner for details.

New PFRA Mailing Address:
Professional Football Researchers Association
740 Deerfield Road
Warminster, PA 18974

Updated Information:
Oral History Committee - Updated February 6, 2010 (Added Stanfel, St. Claru, Owens, Tittle, Matson, Wilson, Kilmer, Marchetti, Nomellini)

Members Only - Updated January 9, 2010 (Added Ron Marciniak Interview Transcript)

All-America Football Conference Committee - Updated November 21, 2009 (Updated Bob Dobelstein death information)

The Coffin Corner - Updated November 21, 2009 (Added advertising rates and advertising deadlines)

Hall of Very Good Committee - Updated November 14, 2009 (Added Class of 2009)

Television Commentators Committee - Updated November 6, 2009 (Added 1974-1977)

WHAT'S IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE COFFIN CORNER (Volume 32, Number 1):
The State of the PFRA by Ken Crippen. A discussion of the PFRA, where it stands and its future.

LC Greenwood: The Unofficial Super Bowl Sack King by Tod Maher. A biographical article on the Pittsburgh Steeler, making the argument that Greenwood has the record for the most sacks in a Super Bowl, even though it is not in the record books.

Hall of Very Good. The announcement of the Class of 2009.

Carlisle Indians vs. Massillon Tigers by Tom Benjey. A discussion of the November 15, 1905 game between the Carlisle Indians and Massillon Tigers.

Paul Maguire: The AFL's Coffin Corner Punter by Greg Tranter. A biographical article on the punter/linebacker, who played 11 years in the AFL and NFL.

The 1956 Green Bay Packers by John Collins. A summary of the 1956 season for the Green Bay Packers.

Super Bowl Firsts by Tod Maher. A list of various Super Bowl Firsts, compiled from the official play-by-play accounts of Super Bowls I to XLIII.

2009 Player Deaths. A list of the players who passed away in 2009.

1930: Nagurski's Debut and Rockne's Lesson by PFRA Research. An in-depth look at the 1930 NFL season.

NEW FOOTBALL BOOKS BY PFRA MEMBERS:
From Baltimore to Broadway: Joe, the Jets, and the Super Bowl III Guarantee - by Ed Gruver. From Baltimore to Broadway is the first book that tells the complete story of Super Bowl III, from recollections of the Colts as well as the jets. The outcome of this seeming mismatch would impact far more than just the Jets and the Colts. The AFL had seen its previous two champions, Kansas City and Oakland, humbled by the Green Bay Packers in the first two Super Bowls. Had the Jets been beaten badly by Baltimore, as experts predicted, the worth of the coming merger between the warring leagues would have been damaged and the legitimacy of the Super Bowl as a true championship contest called further into question. Super Bowl III was a moment in time when the sport's past, present and future met in historical intersection. To the men who made it happen, who played a role in its final outcome, Super Bowl III is more than just a game that changed pro football. It's an event that changed their lives and continues to impact them to this day.

Game Changers: 50 Greatest Plays in Buffalo Bills Football History (50 Greatest Plays in Football History) - by Marv Levy and Jeff Miller. Jeffrey Miller has teamed up with Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy for his latest book, “Game Changers: The Greatest Plays in Buffalo Bills Football History” (Triumph). From “The Hit Heard ‘round the World” and “Big Ben” through “Wide Right” and “The Music City Miracle,” Miller and Levy relive the most unforgettable on-the-field moments in Bills history. The authors provide fascinating context for each of the plays, the back story, all the relevant circumstances, and the thoughts of many of those directly involved. Lushly illustrated with color and b&w photos that help you follow the play as it unfolds, “Game Changers” reanimates many of the most thrilling and heart-stopping moments in football.

Gridiron Gauntlet: The Story of the Men Who Integrated Pro Football, in Their Own Words - by Andy Piascik. One year before Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball, four black players joined the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams to become the first African-American pro football players in the modern era. Players who began their careers from 1946 to 1955 reminisce about the violence they faced on and off the field, the world of segregation and the violence it brought, but also of white players and coaches who assisted and supported their careers.

On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell - by Bob Lyons. Bert Bell, a native of Philadelphia, has been called the most powerful executive figure in the history of professional football. He was responsible for helping to transform the game from a circus sideshow into what has become the most popular spectator sport in America. In On Any Given Sunday, the first biography of this important sports figure, historian Robert Lyons recounts the remarkable story of how de Benneville “Bert” Bell rejected the gentility of a high society lifestyle in favor of the tougher gridiron, and rose to become the founder of the Philadelphia Eagles and Commissioner of the National Football League.

The Original Buffalo Bills: A History of the All-America Football Conference Team - by Kenneth R. Crippen. The Buffalo Bills of the National Football League are known for having a fervent fan base, but the city's love affair with their football team dates back more than half a century. As members of the fledgling All-America Football Conference, the Buffalo Bills were one of the strongest teams in the league in 1948 and 1949, their final years of play. The team had such an impact on the city and on professional football that current franchise owner Ralph Wilson, when searching for a home for his American Football League team, settled in Buffalo and named the team in honor of the original Bills.

Quarterback Abstract - by John Maxymuk. Each quarterback's statistical information is presented here, from his scoring totals to his draft status and personal information. Author John Maxymuk has devised a sophisticated rating system that compares the quarterbacks across the decades. Who were they? What were their playing styles? How good were they? A full spectrum of numerical data is presented, from passing and rushing data to fourth-quarter game-winning-drive totals and won-lost records. Maxymuk also provides incisive analysis and interesting anecdotes, fleshing out each field general's personality.

This Day in Football: A Day-by-Day Record of the Events that Shaped the Game - by T.J. Troup. A full football season of facts, history, and nostalgia, this book will tell you the date the record for passes attempted was broken (94 on 11/1/53) as well as the game in which a defensive tackle lined up as a tight end to make the only touchdown reception of his career (William Perry, Chicago Bears, 11/3/85), and much, much more.

FEATURED ARTICLES:
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the American Football League, the PFRA is featuring a few of the articles written over the years, detailing that time on pro football history. This is by no means a complete list of all AFL-related articles. Feel free to browse through our Articles and Coffin Corner section to see everything written about this competitor to the National Football League.

The AFL: A League Too Often Misremembered
By Greg Thomas
1960 was a time of expansion in every phase of American life. People were expanding their houses to include bomb shelters that often became forts for pre-adolescent boys. We were expanding our known universe with flights circling our seemingly smaller planet. We were expanding our nation with a northern star, Alaska and a southern haven, Hawaii. We were expanding the danger of being a fighting man with a little booboo called Vietnam, and we were expanding our country's still youthful vision with the election of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Read More...

The AFL's First Dominating Defense
By Paul Lovett
Usually when one thinks of the American Football League of the 1960’s it revolves around the wide open passing game and stars like Joe Namath and Lance Alworth. If defense is mentioned it usually revolves around the Buffalo Bills squad that won successive titles in 1964 and 1965. Yet before the Bills’ defensive heroics came a defensive team in the AFL that would influence other NFL defenses a few years later (the Rams and the Vikings) with a huge defensive line that simply terrified opposing offenses. That defense belonged to the San Diego Chargers of 1961 – a defense with a record breaking secondary that simply overmatched other early AFL offensive lines and quarterbacks. Read More...

The American Football League Attendance
By Bob Carroll
Most of what's been written about the "war" between the National Football League and the American Football League during the 1960's focuses on player signings. The account of strategies used by both league in obtaining the signatures of young players on often overly-lucrative contracts sometimes reads like a cloak-and-dagger thriller. Were these football players or nuclear weapons? Nevertheless, as entertaining as the war stories are, they represent only one theater of operations.

Of equal -- in fact, greater -- importance was the AFL's struggle to get its attendance up to NFL level. With adequate game attendance, the AFL could sign its share of hotshot collegians, demand a TV contract on a par with the older leagues, and, most important, eventually bring about a merger of the two circuits. Read More...

An AFL Legacy: The Odd-Front Defense
By Ed Gruver
When the National and American Football Leagues merged following the 1969 season, the old AFL gave way to the new AFC. In the decade that followed, the AFC dominated pro football, producing dynasties in Miami and Pittsburgh and changing the way the game is played by popularizing old strategies and introducing new ones. Read More...

Heidi-Ho!
By Bob Carroll
There are exciting games, dull games, sloppy games, and memorable games. Occasionally, there are even great games. Very few games can be described as notorious. Or even infamous. Or worse. Read More...

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

Oral History Committee

Television Commentators Committee

Uniforms of Past Teams Committee

USFL Committee

OTHER NOTABLE WORK BY PFRA MEMBERS:
20YardLine.com