COFFIN CORNER VOLUME 47 NUMBER 2 IS NOW AVAILABLE IN MEMBERS ONLY. THE ISSUE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:
PFRA-ternizing. Executive Director Lee Elder presents his annual “State of the PFRA” report to members and discusses the continued growth of the organization along with the many accomplishments from the previous year, including an update on the membership drive, the continued activity of the regional chapters, a progress report on the next two books in the Great Teams series, the completion of 18 episodes of the official podcast, the new staffing at the Coffin Corner, and an amazing 662 pro football bios published by the Biography Committee.
2024 PFRA Awards. The official announcement of the Ralph Hay Award for lifetime achievement in pro football research and historiography, the Nelson Ross Award for recent achievement in pro football history, the Bob Carroll Memorial Writing Award for the best Coffin Corner article, and the Jack Clary Award for service to the organization.
The Hall of Very Good Class of 2024 by Matt Keddie, Andy Piascik, Jay Thomas, and John Turney. Career highlights of last year's class are listed for Henry Ellard, Jim Lachey, Albert Lewis, Jerry Mays, Lydell Mitchell, Marvin Powell, and Pat Swilling. Vote totals for all 2024 candidates are also included.
By the Writer’s Timepiece by Robert Sproule. An account of an 1891 Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU) game between the Hamilton Tigers and the Toronto Foot-Ball Club from a Toronto Mail reporter, who used a pocket watch to record the exact time of each score, providing a rare insight into the pace and play-by-play action of the match. This timekeeping method did not reappear in newspapers until the 1930s, making this a unique historical record of early football in Canada.
Ten Things You Probably Don’t Know About the Montreal Alouettes by Sheldon Mulman. The top ten list travels north of the border for the first time and answers such questions as where the Alouettes nickname came from, who the first African American in the CFL was, and how many Heisman Trophy winners have played for the team. Familiar NFL names pop up such as Marv Levy, Mike Sherman, Bill Polian and Alex Webster. There's even a bonus round of five tidbits of trivia at the end of the article to reward the faithful reader!