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 and is currently headed by an executive committee led by its president, Ken Crippen, and executive director Mark L. Ford. Membership in the organization includes some of professional football's foremost historians and authors.
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.
The Coffin Corner is a bimonthly magazine devoted to topics in professional football history. Membership in the organization includes six issues of The Coffin Corner, as well as access to the "Members Only" section of their website, which contains detailed research on a multitude of subjects.
The PFRA's research is mostly divided into committees:
All-America Football Conference(chair: Ken Crippen)
All-ProThis committee researches AP and UPI awards and All-Pro teams. (chair: John Hogrogian and John Turney)
Hall of Very Good CommitteeHighlights outstanding players not in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame. (chair: Andy Piascik)
Linescore CommitteeResponsible for compiling linescores for all professional games played since 1920. (chair: Gary Selby)
GamebooksAims to collect game books from every NFL game ever played. (chair: Karl Schindl)
Membership CommitteeFor the PFRA's internal purposes.
Pre-NFL Pro Football CommitteeResearches 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 CommitteesResearches professional football in upstate New York. This committee includes several subcommittees, including Buffalo football teams of the 1920s (chair: Jeffrey Miller), Rochester Jeffersons (John Steffenhagen), Buffalo Indians (Darin Paine), AAFC Bills (Kenneth Crippen), the Empire Football League (EFL commissioner Dave Burch), and Watertown Red & Black (Crippen). (chair:
Jeffrey J. Miller)
StadiumsCompiles all stadiums used by professional football teams.
BroadcastingCompiles all local and national television and radio announcers for every NFL and AFL game ever broadcast since 1939. (chair: Tim Brulia)
UniformsCompiles all information on NFL, AFL and AAFC uniforms from 1933 to the present. (chair: Tim Brulia)
Canadian Football League(chair: Brian Marshall)
United States Football League(chair: Paul Reeths)
World Football League(chair: Richie Franklin)
Other LeaguesAny professional football leagues not covered by one of the other committees. (chair: Mark Ford)
Oral HistoryChronicles PFRA interviews with former NFL players. (chair: Kenneth Crippen)
NFL OfficialsCompiles a list of all NFL officials, their positions and their uniform numbers. (chair: Gary Najman-Vainer)
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 have been:
2016 - Mark L. Ford2015 - Jack Clary2014 - Pete Fierle2013 - Cliff Christl2012 - Chris Willis2011 - Ken Crippen2010 - Pete Palmer2009 - Bob Carroll2008 - Ralph Hickok2007 - Vince Popo2006 - Emil Klosinski2005 - John Gunn2004 - Jeffrey J. Miller2003 - John Hogrogian2002 - Ken Pullis2001 - Tod Maher2000 - Mel "Buck" Bashore1999 - Stan Grosshandler1998 - Seymour Siwoff1997 - Total Sports Publishing1996 - Don Smith1995 - John Hogrogian1994 - Jim Campbell1993 - Robert Van Atta1992 - Richard Cohen1991 - Joe Horrigan1990 - Bob Gill1989 - Joe Plack1988 - David NeftThe Nelson Ross Award is presented annually by the PFRA for "outstanding achievement in pro football research and historiography." Past winners include:
2016 - James C. Sulecki, for his book The Cleveland Rams: The NFL Champs Who Left Too Soon, 1936-19452015 - Ted Kluck, for his book Three-Week Professionals: Inside the 1987 NFL Players’ Strike2014 - William J. Ryczek, for his book, Connecticut Gridiron: Football Minor Leaguers of the 1960s and 1970s2013 - Ivan Urena, for his book, Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide 1933 to the Present2012 - Dan Daly, for his book, The National Forgotten League2011 - Mark Speck, for his book ...and a Dollar Short: The Empty Promises, Broken Dreams and Somewhat-Less-Than-Comic Misadventures of the 1974 Florida Blazers2010 - Kate Buford, for her book Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe2009 - Robert Lyons, for his book On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell2008 - Sean Lahman, for his book The Pro Football Historical Abstract2007 - Andy Piascik, for his book The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns2006 - Matthew Algeo, for his book Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles -- "The Steagles" -- Saved Pro Football During World War II2005 - Chris Willis, for his book Old Leather: An Oral History of Early Pro Football in Ohio, 1920-19352004 - Michael MacCambridge, for his book America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured A Nation2003 - Mark L. Ford, for his book NFLX: NFL Exhibition Games 1950 to 20022002 - Bob Gill, Steve Brainerd, and Tod Maher, for their book Minor League Football, 1960-19852001 - William J. Ryczek, for his book Crash of the Titans: The Early Years of the New York Jets and the AFL2000 - 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 NFL1998 - Keith McClellan, for his book The Sunday Game: At the Dawn of Professional Football1997 - Tod Maher & Bob Gill, for their book The Pro Football Encyclopedia1996 - John Hogrogian, for his book All-Pros: The First 40 years1995 - Phil Dietrich, for his book Down Payments : Professional Football 1896-19301994 - Rick Korch1993 - Myron J. "Jack" Smith, Jr., for his book Professional Football: The Official Pro Football Hall of Fame Bibliography1992 - John M. Carroll, for his book Fritz Pollard: Pioneer in Racial Advancement1991 - Tod Maher, for his book Wiffle: The World Football League Chronicle1990 - Pearce Johnson, for his book Professional Football in Rhode Island and Its National Connections1989 - Bob Gill1988 - Bob Braunwart