Professional Football Researchers Association

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The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/historian Bob Carroll and six other football researchers. It now boasts nearly a thousand members, including many prominent football writers,

The PFRA publishes books and a bimonthly magazine, The Coffin Corner, devoted to topics in professional football history. The organization also gives out awards each year for outstanding achievement in the field of football research.

[edit] Committees

The PFRA's research is mostly divided into committees:

All-America Football Conference: (chair: Andy Piascik)
All-Pro: This committee researches AP and UPI awards and All-Pro teams. (chair: John Hogrogian and John Turney)
Football, Culture and Social Movements Committee: Discusses the involvement of football and social movements such as civil rights. (chair: Gretchen Atwood)
"Hall of Very Good Committee": Highlights outstanding players not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (chair: Andy Piascik)
Linescore Committee: Responsible for compiling linescores for all professional games played since 1920. (chair: Gary Selby)
Membership Committee: For the PFRA's internal purposes.
Pre-NFL Pro Football Committee: Researches all professional football prior to 1920, such as the Ohio League and the New York Pro Football League. (chair: Roy Sye)
Western, Central and Northern New York Committees: Researches professional football in upstate New York. (chair: Kenneth Crippen)
Empire Football League: (chair: EFL Commissioner Dave Burch)
Stadiums: Compiles all stadiums used by professional football teams. (chair: Bill Pepperell)
Broadcasting: Compiles all local and national television and radio announcers for every NFL and AFL game ever broadcast since 1939. (chair: Tim Brulia)
Uniforms: Compiles all information on NFL, AFL and AAFC uniforms from 1933 to the present. (chair: Tim Brulia)
United States Football League: (chair: Paul Reeths)

[edit] Ralph Hay Award

The Ralph Hay Award, named after the Canton bulldogs owner whose showroom was the site of the NFL's first organizational meeting, is awarded for "lifetime achievement in pro football research and historiography." Past winners include:

2008 - Ralph Hickok
2007 - Vince Popo
2006 - Emil Klosinski
2005 - John Gunn
2004 - Jeffrey Miller
2003 - John Hogrogian
2002 - Ken Pullis
2001 - Tod Maher
2000 - Mel "Buck" Bashore
1999 - Stan Grosshandler
1998 - Seymour Siwoff
1997 - Total Sports Publishing
1996 - Don Smith
1995 - John Hogrogian
1994 - Jim Campbell
1993 - Robert Van Atta
1992 - Richard Cohen
1991 - Joe Horrigan
1990 - Bob Gill
1989 - Joe Plack
1988 - David Neft

[edit] Nelson Ross Award

The Nelson Ross Award is presented annually by the PFRA for "outstanding achievement in pro football research and historiography." Past winners include:

2008 - Sean Lahman, for his book The Pro Football Historical Abstract
2007 - Andy Piascik, for his book The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns
2006 - Matthew Algeo, for his book Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles -- "The Steagles" -- Saved Pro Football During World War II
2005 - Chris Willis, for his book Old Leather: An Oral History of Early Pro Football in Ohio, 1920-1935
2004 - Michael MacCambridge, for his book America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured A Nation
2003 - Mark Ford
2002 - Bob Gill, Steve Brainerd, and Tod Maher, for their book Minor League Football, 1960-1985
2001 - William J. Ryczek, for his book Crash of the Titans: The Early Years of the New York Jets and the AFL
2000 - Paul Reeths, for his book "The USFL Chronicle"
1999 - Joe Ziemba, for his book When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL
1998 - Keith McClellan, for his book The Sunday Game: At the Dawn of Professional Football
1997 - Tod Maher & Bob Gill, for their book The Pro Football Encyclopedia
1996 - John Hogrogian, for his book All-Pros: The First 40 years
1995 - Phil Dietrich, for his book Down Payments : Professional Football 1896-1930
1994 - Rick Korch
1993 - Myron J. "Jack" Smith, Jr., for his book Professional Football: The Official Pro Football Hall of Fame Bibliography
1992 - John M. Carroll, for his book Fritz Pollard: Pioneer in Racial Advancement
1991 - Tod Maher, for his book Wiffle: The World Football League Chronicle
1990 - Pearce Johnson, for his book Professional Football in Rhode Island and Its National Connections
1989 - Bob Gill
1988 - Bob Braunwart