Second Season 1957 Pro Season PDF

You may remember reading in one of last year's newsletters about a new “vintage” football season we'd created, we mentioned that this set would be unlike any pro football release, ever. Well, this is that set. You get all 20 pro teams, from both leagues, and…Wait—what? In 1957, there were only 12 pro teams, right? Correct—THAT’S what makes this set unlike any other that’s preceded it!

The twelve established pro teams are rated based on the actual ’57 pro season. You'll get the powerful Cleveland club, led by it's future HOF running back in his rookie season, which won its division in real-life. They'll be challenged by the veteran New York squad, a roster dotted with legends playing at their prime. In real-life, Cleveland defeated New York twice--but perhaps you can turn the tables and bring the Big Blue the title on your tabletop! Bringing up the rear were several clubs with interesting personalities. Pittsburgh could have contended with a few more touchdowns from its feeble offense. Washington was led by its diminutive signal-caller and was very competitive in the division. Philadelphia never had a chance, cursed with one of the worst passing attacks in modern pro history. But they were better than the eastern Chicago squad, which gave up over 2,000 yards rushing!

Out west, the division race ended in a dead heat between San Francisco and Detroit, both finishing 8-4. In an epic playoff game to decide the title, San Francisco's fans were celebrating their team's big lead at halftime, but Detroit rallied back in stunning fashion to win the game. Detroit leveraged momentum from the comeback win to demolish Cleveland in the league championship game, 59-14. Baltimore and Los Angeles each fielded solid clubs, and Chicago's blitzing defense made it a formidable opponent as well. Only Green Bay was truly out of the running, featuring a handful of players who would later star in the team's renaissance under Vince Lombardi a few years later.

As we were creating the ’57 teams, though, we recognized a number of players who would later migrate to the new American Football League in ’60, and the thought occurred to us, “What if the AFL had launched three years earlier? What would it have looked like? Which players would have had jobs in ’57 who didn’t get that chance in real life?” Many, MANY hours of research later, we've created a set of team cards that we believe answers those questions realistically and in a very compelling manner. We meticulously went through the ENTIRE archive of pro football players from A to Z to find those players who COULD have played pro football in ’57, but who for one reason or another did not. We're excited about the premise: historical players, performing in a totally new context, navigating familiar but uncharted waters. This is NOT what you'd classify as a "fictional" set any more than you'd think of an all-time great or Hall of Fame team as being "fictional." If you are interested in football from the mid-20th century, the era that laid the groundwork for what pro football has become, we promise this will be a wonderful tabletop experience. You'll recognize many of the names on these teams, and will be intrigued and delighted to "see" them in action, writing new pro football history!

The 1957 Pro Season for SECOND SEASON comes in two versions. The printed version sells for $25, and includes all 20 teams presented on black-and-white double-sided team cards. The PDF edition sells for $19, and is presented in team colors. Both editions include introductory notes, league summaries, an optional Injury Exemption List and an Instant Results table for quick-playing games with a single roll of the dice.