2027 PFRA CONVENTION
July 14-19, 2027
Dayton, OH
Watch this space for additional details about the convention.
The 2027 PFRA (Professional Football Researchers Association) Convention will be held in Dayton, Ohio at the Drury Inn & Suites Dayton North located at 6616 Miller Lane, Dayton, Ohio 45414 during the weekend of July 14-19, 2027. The Convention sessions will take place during the evening of Friday July 16 and all day Saturday July 17 with add-on activities on Thursday July 15, Friday July 16, and Sunday July 18. The theme of the 2027 Convention will be A Celebration of Southern Ohio's Pro Football Legacy. The fee for the Convention will be $75 for PFRA members and member spouses and $100 for non-members. The fee includes admission to the Convention, a Friday evening meal, and Saturday luncheon. To register for the 2027 Convention click on the 2027 Convention link on the PFRA website homepage and then use the PayPal link on the 2027 PFRA Convention page. Convention logo T-shirts will be available for purchase at a later date.
The Convention host hotel also will be the Drury Inn & Suites Dayton North The Drury will charge the PFRA a special group discount rate of $145 per night for their standard rooms (2 Queen beds for up to 4 people) for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and $170 per night for Friday and Saturday evenings (for 1 King bed or 2 Queen beds for up to 4 people).
Parking at the hotel is free.
Hotel amenities include the following:
Complimentary Hot Breakfast - Enjoy scrambled eggs, oatmeal, fresh fruit, potatoes, pastries, the all-important coffee and more. Hot, fresh, and, best of all, free. Free hot breakfast is served daily from 6:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. on weekdays and 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. on weekends.
Complimentary Evening Drinks and Snacks** - Join us from 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. every evening to enjoy complimentary hot food and cold beverages at our 5:30 Kickback®. The Hotel features a rotating menu of hot food, beer, wine, mixed drinks and soft drinks.
Complimentary Wi-Fi Throughout the Hotel - Get the score, check social media, or respond to emails from anywhere in the hotel.
On-Site Facilities - Take advantage of the business center, fitness center or pool while away from home. Print boarding passes, finish a presentation or check e-mail in the hotel's business centers.
To book the Drury Inn & Suites Dayton North at the special group discount rate go to the following link...
Drury Inn & Suites Dayton North
Reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-325-0720 and referring to the PFRA group number 10186116.
Individual reservations must be cancelled prior to 12:00 p.m. on the day before the reservation's confirmed date of arrival in order to avoid a non-refundable fee equal to one night's room rate plus tax. Hotel requires a valid payment card and photo ID to be presented at check in. Check In Time: 3:00 p.m. Check Out Time: 11:00 a.m. Arrangements may be made forbaggage storage with the Hotel's front desk staff. June 15, 2027 is the cut-off date for the special group discount rate. Reservations made after that date will be subject to prevailing rates and availability.
The Convention itinerary will include our usual mix of speakers and tours.
The following speakers have agreed to make presentations at the Convention.
Michelle Memmer Artim is the great granddaughter of Alfred Louis Nesser and was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. When she is not busy researching and advocating for Nesser football history, she is an artist and designer who draws inspiration from the people and places around her. She currently lives in Twinsburg, Ohio with her loving and supportive husband, two sons, and poodle. Michele will give a presentation on the The First Family of Football.
Joe Ziemba is a long-time member of PFRA, specializing in the history of pro football in the Chicago area. Joe will give a presentation on his latest book entitled From the NFL to Bataan and Back: The Heroic Journey of the Cardinals' Motts Tonelli
Bert Gambini is a news content manager in the media relations division at the University at Buffalo. Prior to that role, he spent more than two decades working in Buffalo radio, including 18 years as a program host at NPR member station WBFO. His research interests include the evolution of football, rival leagues, and the 1970s. He will make a presentation about Paul Brown.
Chris Willis will make a presentation about NFL Pioneers: Kathleen Rubadue and Carl Storck. Chris has worked at NFL Films as Head of the Research Library since 1996. His first book, Old Leather: An Oral History of Early Pro Football in Ohio,1920-1935, was published in 2005. Old Leather was given the 2005 Nelson Ross Award by the Professional Football Researchers Association for recent Achievement in Football Research and Historiography. Over the past three decades Willis has written nine books on pro football including, The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr (in 2010); Dutch Clark: The Life of an NFL Legend and the Birth of the Detroit Lions (in 2012); Walter Lingo, Jim Thorpe and the Oorang Indians: How a Dog Kennel Owner Created the NFL's Most Famous Traveling Team (2017); in 2019 Red Grange: The Life & Legacy of the NFL's First Superstar was published. And his most recent book was The NFL's 60-Minute Men: All-Time Greats of the Two-Way Player Era (1920-1945) published by McFarland & Co. in 2024.
Ben Carpenter is a retired high school principal, a former football coach, and the Assistant Executive Director of the PFRA. Ben was the recipient of the PFRA's 2025 Bob Carroll Memorial Writing Award for the year's best original article published in The Coffin Corner. He lives in Fullerton California with his wife, Joan. Ben will give a presentation about The Football Bookshelf: The Art of Discovering, Collecting, and Preserving Football History.
Two add on activities have been added to the schedule, one for early arrivals on Thursday and one on Friday. A Sunday add on is also planned.
The Thursday July 15 add on activity for early arrivals is a side trip to Portsmouth and Ironton to tour the historic football stadiums and sites in both cities Attendees of the tour will leave the Drury at 10AM and arrive back in the evening.
The Friday July 16 add on activity is a tour of Triangle Park and Carillon Park in Dayton including the site of the first NFL game and the Triangles locker room beginning at 10AM.
Additional details regarding the add ons including cost, etc. will be announced.
Please stay tuned to The PFRA Coffin Corner Magazine, PFRA Website, and PFRA Forum for additional details and announcements. If you have any questions regarding the PFRA, the 2027 Convention, Convention add ons, or hotel reservations please contact 2027 Convention Organizer George Bozeka by email at sundaygolfer48@aol.com, or by phone at 330-867-1950 or 330-571-0112.
