Second Season 1969 Pro Season

Our latest vintage pro football season is ready to be enjoyed! Rewind to the pro football summer of '69 and the re-live one of pro football's most memorable seasons with SECOND SEASON Pro Football Game!

As training camps opened in July 1969, the final season of rival pro leagues began in high spirits: the established pro league kicked off a celebration of its 50th anniversary while the upstart league marked the start of its 10th season. For both leagues, the 1969 season was both an exclamation point and an ellipsis: a celebration of what came before and an anticipation of a new beginning in 1970 as a single, unified professional football league. For one, final, glorious campaign, though, the inter-league rivalry remained in full effect!

The '69 season was filled with memorable moments and performances. Minnesota's "Purple People Eater" defense was the talk of the league, and with a leather-tough quarterback and cagey coach—both imported from the Canadian league—the Norsemen bulldozed opponents with sheer force. Los Angeles, Cleveland and Dallas each had their own hard-hitting defenses and efficient, ground-oriented offenses, making for four imposing divisional winners. The strength of the divisional winners kept some strong teams out on the playoffs. '68 league champion Baltimore, led by its versatile running back, didn't get the chance to avenge its title game loss to New York, despite finishing 8-5-1. Detroit, with one of the league's best defenses, also finished out of the running at 9-4-1. Washington, led by the legendary gap-toothed former Green Bay head coach, had its first winning season in 14 years. On the other end of the spectrum, the '69 season sported the rare occurrence of two one-win teams in the same league, same season. Pittsburgh and Chicago played each other in week eight for what turned out to be rights for the first pick of the 1970 draft--Chicago "won," 38-7 giving Pittsburgh the top pick, which they used to select the Louisiana quarterback who would ultimately lead them to four world championships in the '70s.

In the upstart league, reigning champion New York, led by its shaggy-haired, fur-coat wearing quarterback, had a respectable encore season, again winning the eastern division but defeated in the (odd, crossover) semi-finals by western runner-up Kansas City. Oakland had a dominant, quick-strike club that lost just once during the regular season, including a pair of wins over Kansas City. But in the end, KC's sneaky-good defense hit its peak in the playoffs, holding both opponents to fewer than 10 points—an amazing statistic, given the strength of the offensive squads it shut down.

For the fourth and final time, the end of the twin pro seasons saw each of the leagues send its champion to a "world championship" title game. New York had memorably upset Baltimore in the '68 season finale, and Kansas City would do the same against a favored Minnesota team, holding them to a single score in a 23-7 win that forever evened the inter-league series at 2 games each.

That's how the '69 season ended—but now it can begin again, on your tabletop! The 1969 Pro Season for SECOND SEASON can be enjoyed in many different ways. You can have stage an encore of the '69 post-season, re-creating the historical match ups and see if they unfold the same way on your tabletop as they did in real life. Perhaps in YOUR playoffs, Minnesota's defense will silence the Kansas City offense and win the first (and only) world championship for the purple and gold. Or, maybe they'll play a different foe in the Big Game—New York or Oakland, perhaps. Of course, you don't have to limit yourself to just the playoffs. You can re-play your favorite team's full '69 season, from opener to finale, to see how well you stack up to the team's real-life head coach. Or, set up a "Game of the Week" format for each league, summoning your inner Curt Gowdy or Ray Scott to call play-by-play. Whatever you do, you can count on SECOND SEASON to present a faithful re-creation of the historic 1969 pro football season.

Here's what you get with your copy of the '69 Pro Season for SECOND SEASON Pro Football Game: individual team cards for all 26 pro teams (16 from the established league, 10 from the upstart league) presented in classic black-and-white team cards, offense on the front, defense on the back. Each team presents ratings and game data for its top 40+ players, arranged in its most typical starting line-up. (Of course, you always have the flexibility to make changes, and put YOUR choice of players on the field!) Plus, you get individual ratings for over 70 additional "fringe players" who made lesser contributions to their teams during the '69 season. The fringe player group includes a number of key players lost to injury early in the season—you can insert them into the line-up and perhaps change the fortunes of their team. There's an Injury Exemption List, if you're the type of hobbyist who prefers that the year's top performers stay on the field for YOUR season (so you don't have to use the Fringe Players!). You also get an Instant Results Chart that lets you determine a game's winner with a single dice roll, perfect for re-creating the divisional and conference races for a single-team full-season replay! There's a 1969 season summary, with standings and notes. PLUS, as a special bonus, you get a fully-rated 1969 College All-Star team featuring the actual roster of the real-life 1969 College All-Star Game, one of the best games of the long-running series. All this for just $29 postage-paid! Or, get the PDF edition for $21, delivered to your e-mail in-box presented in team colors ready for you to print and play the same day!

Either way, it's classic mid-century pro football fun whenever you want! Order YOUR copy today!