A minor league Lombardi
Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2024 11:58 am
The Lansing All-Stars were charter members of the Midwest Football League. They won the championship in 1964, their third season, but for the most part they weren’t very good, and after going 2-8 in 1966 and 2-9 in 1967 the team folded.
In 1969 the All-Stars returned, presumably under new backing. They hired a new coach, Bob “Turf” Kauffman, and told him to assemble a team. It wasn’t easy; he was starting from scratch, and the revived All-Stars lost their season opener 37-6. They improved a week later, playing a 13-13 tie with Pontiac Firebirds.
And after that they ran the table, winning their last 12 games in a row, then finished the season with a 20-8 victory in the championship game against the Niagara Falls (or Lackawanna) Lancers -– the same team that routed them in the season opener.
Lansing was even better a year later, going undefeated in 10 games and outscoring their opponents 385-77, then winning two playoff games by a combined score of 88-6. They came close to a three-peat in 1971, losing 20-17 in the title game after a 12-1-1 regular season.
The All-Stars’ golden era ended abruptly at that point, as Kauffman left the team for some reason and several key players followed him. He stayed out of the coaching game for two years, but returned in 1974 with the Flint Sabres. The Sabres, a third-place team in 1973, responded by going 9-1 and winning the championship game 15-2.
Kauffman left Flint in the offseason to take a new job as commissioner of the league, but he returned to the field in 1976 as head coach of the Pontiac Arrows. The Arrows were the defending champions after an 8-2 season in 1975; under Kauffman they improved to a 10-0 record. For some reason, the league didn't hold a championship game that year, but if it had taken place, Pontiac would’ve been a prohibitive favorite.
So there you have it: five years, three different teams, regular season record of 53-3-2, plus 5-1 in playoff games.
You’ve probably never heard of Turf Kauffman; I’d never heard of him myself until maybe a month ago, and I don’t have any background information about him. When was he born? Did he play or coach in college? No idea. But I do know one thing: He was a fine coach, one of the best ever in minor league football.
In 1969 the All-Stars returned, presumably under new backing. They hired a new coach, Bob “Turf” Kauffman, and told him to assemble a team. It wasn’t easy; he was starting from scratch, and the revived All-Stars lost their season opener 37-6. They improved a week later, playing a 13-13 tie with Pontiac Firebirds.
And after that they ran the table, winning their last 12 games in a row, then finished the season with a 20-8 victory in the championship game against the Niagara Falls (or Lackawanna) Lancers -– the same team that routed them in the season opener.
Lansing was even better a year later, going undefeated in 10 games and outscoring their opponents 385-77, then winning two playoff games by a combined score of 88-6. They came close to a three-peat in 1971, losing 20-17 in the title game after a 12-1-1 regular season.
The All-Stars’ golden era ended abruptly at that point, as Kauffman left the team for some reason and several key players followed him. He stayed out of the coaching game for two years, but returned in 1974 with the Flint Sabres. The Sabres, a third-place team in 1973, responded by going 9-1 and winning the championship game 15-2.
Kauffman left Flint in the offseason to take a new job as commissioner of the league, but he returned to the field in 1976 as head coach of the Pontiac Arrows. The Arrows were the defending champions after an 8-2 season in 1975; under Kauffman they improved to a 10-0 record. For some reason, the league didn't hold a championship game that year, but if it had taken place, Pontiac would’ve been a prohibitive favorite.
So there you have it: five years, three different teams, regular season record of 53-3-2, plus 5-1 in playoff games.
You’ve probably never heard of Turf Kauffman; I’d never heard of him myself until maybe a month ago, and I don’t have any background information about him. When was he born? Did he play or coach in college? No idea. But I do know one thing: He was a fine coach, one of the best ever in minor league football.