Virginia-Carolina Football League

Last updated
Virginia-Carolina Football League
Sport Football
Founded1937
Ceased1937
No. of teams5
Country United States
Last
champion(s)
Richmond Rebels
Related
competitions
Dixie League

The Virginia-Carolina Football League was a short lived professional American football minor league formed in 1937 by clubs from Virginia and one team from North Carolina. The VCFL was a regional minor league, that was formed behind the backbone of the Richmond Rebels, an association of players that walked off the Dixie League Richmond Arrows after their salary demand were not answered. The league featured five teams, with one additional team from Roanoke, Virginia, the Roanoke Rassler-Dazzlers, as an independent member. [1]

Contents

VCFL attendance was generally in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 fans per game (about half of what the Dixie League) and media attention was insignificant, resulting in league disbandment after only one season. [2]

History

On November 15, 1936, Dixie League's Richmond Arrows team coach (Dave Miller) and the players walked off the team in an effort for more pay. When Arrows manager hired a new head coach and players (to join the five who didn't strike) to finish the season, [3] the striking player decided to form their own team, called Richmond Rebels.

At first they tried to form an all Virginia league, which would contain teams in Norfolk (Tars), South Norfolk (Acs), Portsmouth (Sewanee), Lynchburg and Roanoke, but when the last two dropped before season start, a team from Durham, North Carolina (Bobcats) was invited. Roanoke, would later elected to participate as an "unofficial entry" and played all "exhibition" scheduled, were named "Rassler-Dazzlers" because they employed several professional wrestlers, while all teams rosters were stocked from local colleges. [2] The Bobcats featured the most recognizable name, Back Clarence Stasavich, who would later coach Lenoir–Rhyne to an NAIA championship in 1960.

The 1937 season

Because the Richmond team had more experience from the other league members, it was apparent from the get go that they simply outclassed its competition, and they finish the season with six wins in six games (and one "exhibition" 0-0 drew with Portsmouth). Their biggest test was in week five, when they met the previously undefeated Durham Bobcats, and beat them 7-0 at Tate Field before a crowd estimated at 2,000.

The league did not attempt to compile statistics or pick an all-star team, although Rebels player-coach (FB) Marcel (Mush) DeLotto considered to be the best player in the VCFL. [2]

Results

Pre-Season
Richmond Rebels 7 vs. South Norfolk Aces 0
Week 1
Richmond Rebels 28 vs. Portsmouth Sewanee 0
Week 2
Richmond Rebels 27 vs. Norfolk Tars 0
South Norfolk Aces 6 vs. Durham Bobcats 13
Roanoke Rassler-Dazzlers 29 vs. Portsmouth Sewanee 6 (exhibition)
Week 3
Richmond Rebels 33 vs. South Norfolk Aces 0
Durham Bobcats 14 vs. Portsmouth Sewanee 0
Roanoke Rassler-Dazzlers 6 vs. Norfolk Tars 3 (exhibition)
Week 4
Norfolk Tars 0 vs. Durham Bobcats 0
Portsmouth Sewanee vs. South Norfolk Aces (forfeit)
Week 5
Norfolk Tars 0 vs. Portsmouth Sewanee 0
South Norfolk Aces 6 vs. Roanoke Rassler-Dazzlers 0 (exhibition)
Richmond Rebels 7 vs. Durham Bobcats 0
Week 6
Richmond Rebels 28 vs. Portsmouth Sewanee 7
South Norfolk Aces 8 vs. Norfolk Tars 7
Durham Bobcats 21 vs. Roanoke Rassler-Dazzlers 0 (exhibition)
Week 7
South Norfolk Aces 13 vs. Norfolk Tars 6
Richmond Rebels 0 vs. Portsmouth Sewanee 0 (exhibition)
Week 8
Richmond Rebels 21 vs. South Norfolk Aces 0
Durham Bobcats 20 vs. Portsmouth Sewanee 0
Norfolk Tars 0 vs. Roanoke Rassler-Dazzlers 0 (exhibition)
Week 9
Roanoke Rassler-Dazzlers 19 vs. Norfolk Tars 12 (exhibition)
Portsmouth Sewanee 13 vs. South Norfolk Aces 6

Standings

This table shows both league and non-league unofficial standings.

The Richmond Rebels were considered "Champions" after finishing the season undefeated.

TeamWLTPct.PFPANotes
Richmond Rebels6001.0001447
Durham Bobcats311.7504713
Portsmouth Sewanee A.C241.3332096
South Norfolk Acs250.2853393
Norfolk Tars042.0001369
Roanoke Rassler-Dazzlers321-5448exhibition games only

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk Tides</span> Minor League Baseball team

The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapeake Bay. The team plays their home games at Harbor Park, which opened in 1993. The Tides previously played at High Rock Park in 1961 and 1962, Frank D. Lawrence Stadium from 1961 to 1969, and at Met Park from its opening in 1970 until the end of the 1992 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durham Bulls</span> Minor League Baseball team in Durham, North Carolina

The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Squires</span> Basketball team in Roanoke, Virginia

The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roanoke Dazzle</span> Basketball team in Roanoke, Virginia

The Roanoke Dazzle were an NBA Development League team based in Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.. In operation from the inaugural D-League season of 2001–02 through the 2005–06 season, the Dazzle marked the return of professional basketball to Roanoke since the Virginia Squires called Roanoke home in the 1970s. Playing their home games at the Roanoke Civic Center, their logo design featured a star moving on rail tracks around a basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berglund Center</span>

Berglund Center is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to the Roanoke Dazzle basketball team, as well as the Roanoke Express and Roanoke Valley Vipers ice hockey teams. Currently, it is the home of the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs of the Southern Professional Hockey League, Virginia Tech, Radford University and Roanoke College men's ice hockey teams. The arena is also the home of the annual boys basketball games between Roanoke's two city high schools, Patrick Henry High School and William Fleming High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Roads Admirals</span> Defunct minor professional ice hockey team

The Hampton Roads Admirals were a professional ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). They played in Norfolk, Virginia at the Norfolk Scope Arena from 1989 until 2000, when the owners purchased an expansion American Hockey League franchise that became the Norfolk Admirals. In 2015, the AHL Admirals were relocated and the ECHL returned to Norfolk with the current Norfolk Admirals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Hockey League (1973–1977)</span> American minor level ice hockey league

The Southern Hockey League was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league that operated from 1973 to 1977. The league was formed when the Eastern Hockey League split in two; the southern teams became the Southern Hockey League, and the northern teams became the North American Hockey League. It was the first professional hockey league to operate wholly within the Southern United States, and followed the establishment of the Atlanta Flames in the National Hockey League; and also the Richmond Robins and the Tidewater Wings in the American Hockey League. The Southern Hockey League was a feeder league for the recently started World Hockey Association. Tedd Munchak was appointed the league's first commissioner, and was owner of the Greensboro Generals. The championship trophy of the league was named the James Crockett Cup, after local figure Jim Crockett Sr. The league disbanded during its fourth season, when four of its seven teams folded due to financial issues.

The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States.

The 1998 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the North Carolina Tar Heels from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The 53rd edition of the Gator Bowl, it was played at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 1, 1998. The game was the final contest of the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 42–3 victory for North Carolina.

The "Dixie League" was a professional american football minor league founded in 1936 originally as the "South Atlantic Football Association", with six charter member teams in the Middle Atlantic states of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Like the American Association (nicknamed the 'A.A.', which was another minor league in pro football that formed in 1936,, its popularity rivaled that of another earlier established "major league" grouping, the National Football League of 1922. Unlike most professional football minor leagues, the "Dixie League" had a relative stability in membership during the "Great Depression" in the years prior to World War II, maintaining a five or six-team lineup membership of franchises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1895 North Carolina Tar Heels football team</span> American college football season

The 1895 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina during the 1895 college football season. They played nine games with a final record of 7–1–1. The team captain for the 1895 season was Edwin Gregory. The team went 3–0–1 on a 6-day, 4 game road trip.

The 1893 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina in the 1893 college football season. They played seven games with a final record of 3–4. The team captain for the 1893 season was A. S. Bernard. William J. "Yup" Cook was hired as the first full-time coach.

The Virginia League (1894–1896) was a minor league baseball organization active in central Virginia.

Ryan Ryan was an important minor league baseball figure. At that level, he played, managed, served as a team owner and league president, and worked in multiple team front offices. At the major league level, he scouted for the Cleveland Indians.

The 1900 Virginia Orange and Blue football team represented the University of Virginia as an independent during the 1900 college football season. Led by second-year coach Archie Hoxton, the team went 7–2–1 and claims a Southern championship. The team was captained by tackle John Loyd. The Orange and Blue defeated Sewanee, to give the Tigers its first loss since 1897.

The 1918 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute, now known as Virginia Tech, in the 1918 college football season. The 1918 team went 7–0 and claims a South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA) championship. It is the only team in school history that finished the season with a perfect record.

The 1900 VPI football team represented Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute in the 1900 college football season. The team was led by their head coach Eugene Davis and finished with a record of three wins, three losses, and one tie (3–3–1).

The 1903 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina in the 1903 college football season. The team captain for the 1903 season was G. Lyle Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Rhythm</span> Basketball team

The Richmond Rhythm were a professional basketball team based in Richmond, Virginia from 1999 to 2001. The team played in the International Basketball League. They played their home games at Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Minor League Baseball teams were based in Portsmouth, Virginia, in various seasons between 1895 and 1968. Early, Portsmouth teams, called the Portsmouth Truckers, Portsmouth Pirates and Portsmouth Browns were Virginia League members based in Portsmouth, playing between 1895 and 1928. The Portsmouth Cubs were affiliates of the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies, playing in the Class B level Piedmont League from 1935 to 1955. The team became the Portsmouth Merrimacs from 1953 to 1955.

References

  1. Bob Gill, with Tod Maher. Outsiders: Minor League And Independent Football, 1923-1950, p. vii. St. Johann Press, 2006. ISBN   187828245X
  2. 1 2 3 "The 1937 Virginia-Carolina Football League" (PDF).
  3. "A History of the Dixie League" (PDF).