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Now that I have built up a history for my universe, I am now going to start looking at things a little closer in the college game by choosing a player or two each season to follow along. Until those players reach the NFL I will continue to do just a quick recap of each NFL season so I am reversing the order here and starting with the 1947 NFL summary before moving to the college game. 1947 NFL RECAP There was plenty of hype surrounding Heisman Trophy winning back Gene Stokes from North Carolina so it came as just a mild surprise when the Chicago Bears nabbed him first overall. In 4 seasons as a Tar Heel, Stokes gained 6,142 yards and rushed for 62 touchdowns. As a senior, his 1,935 yards lead the Tar Heels to an undefeated season. The reason it was seen as a little unexpected was not to due to Stokes' obvious talents, but rather due to the fact that the Bears already had two very strong backs in Mack Johnson, who just prior to the draft was signed from Philadelphia where he rushed for 1,208 yards last season, and returning star Joe Aller, who carried the ball for 975 yards a in 1946. There just did not seem to be enough carries to go around for the three of them. (NOTE - Stokes likely would have gone in the second round as he was projected but as the author I wanted a good storyline so I made him the first overall draft pick, forgetting that the Bears had just signed Johnson in free agency. We will have to see how it plays out.) The Bears cross-town rival Cardinals also added a quality college runner to their roster with the 4th round selection of Stan Crimmins out of UCLA. Crimmins had 3 consecutive 1000 yard rushing seasons for the Bruins including a school record 1,662 as a senior. He would be expected to push 10 year veteran Pinch McWilliams (1,084 yards last season) for playing time. Despite winning back to back League Championships the Detroit Lions received little respect in the pre-season as Baltimore was heavily favoured to dethrone the Lions as West Division champs. The East was seen as being a wide open race with Pittsburgh, the Cardinals, Washington and the New York Giants all seen as contenders. As it would turn out the two Chicago teams both enjoyed dominant years and each finished atop their respective divisions. The Bears took some time to get going, dropping two of their first three games but after that they did not lose again and finished with a league best 9-2-1 record. The Bears three pronged running attack worked as Johnson led the entire league with 1,193 yards rushing while Aller added 811 and the rookie Stokes was eased into the pro game with 211 yards on 60 carries. The Los Angeles Rams ended a three year playoff drought by finishing second in the West Division at 7-4-1. Two losses and a tie in their final four games ended any hopes LA had of homefield advantage for the playoffs. Last year's top two teams in the West, Detroit and Baltimore, both stumbled to 5-7 seasons. After an opening week win over hapless San Francisco, the Colts dropped their next 5 in a row while the Lions started strong, winning their first three games and 4 of 5 but faded quickly. In the East Division, the Chicago Cardinals raced out to a 5-0 start but then dropped 3 straight before righting the ship and finishing strong to hold off Washington for first place. A week eleven 23-6 victory at home over Washington in which rookie back Stan Crimmins rushed for a career best 115 yards and two touchdowns sealed the division for the Cardinals. For Crimmins it was like his college days all over again as he took hand-offs from former UCLA teammate Biggs Holley, who as a second year pro had a very strong season quarterbacking the Cardinals. Holley looks like he has the potential to become a star in the near future but a late season injury made him unavailable for the playoff opener. As for Washington, veteran running back Marv Gipe, who won a Heisman Trophy and multiple National Championships at Notre Dame a decade ago,(Editor's Note: Likely prompting the phrase in Notre Dame to 'Win one for the Giper") led the Redskins resurgence and revitalized what was an anemic offense a year ago. The 8th year pro, who came over in the off-season from Los Angeles, failed to top the 1000 yard mark for the 5th consecutive season but came very close gaining 991 yards. FINAL 1947 NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE STADINGS EAST DIVISION W L T WEST DIVISION W L T Chi Cardinals 8 3 1 Chi Bears 9 2 1 Washington 8 4 0 Los Angeles 7 4 1 Cleveland 7 4 1 Baltimore 5 7 0 Pittsburgh 5 6 1 Detroit 5 7 0 New York 4 8 0 Green Bay 3 6 3 Philadelphia 3 7 2 San Francisco 2 8 2 PLAYOFFS The Chicago Cardinals and Washington had split their two regular season meetings with each team winning on homefield and the two squads were very familiar with one another when this one got underway. In a windy and wet afternoon in Chicago so both defenses dominated the contest. With fourth year quarterback Harry Maier ineffective, Washington's Marv Gipe could not seem to find any running room all game and was held to just 63 yards rushing. The Chicago offense, playing without injured QB Biggs Holley, also struggled early but the Cardinals did get a pair of field goals in the first half to go up 6-0 thanks in no small part to the running of rookie Stan Crimmins. The second half was much the same for Washington and the best the Redskins could do was a single field goal to cut the Chicago lead to 6-3. That's how the game ended as the Cardinals, led by 118 rushing yards from Crimmins advanced to the title game for the second straight year. Across town at Soldier Field, the West Division champion Chicago Bears were getting all they could handle from the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams led 13-7 late in the game but Chicago pulled out the victory thanks to a 6 yard touchdown pass from Whitey Riddle to Billy Beverage with just 3:51 remaining on the clock. Jim Moore's extra point, not a certainty in tricky weather conditions, split the uprights and lifted the Bears to the title game with a 14-13 victory despite an outstanding day from former Cardinals running back Buck Carrier, who had a game high 85 yards rushing for Los Angeles. The Rams dominated the time of possession and passing yardage as well with LA QB Spider Grant's 152 yards in the air more than double the passing yardage of the Bears Riddle but it was the Bears who would advance to the title game. 1947 NFL TITLE GAME A Bears-Cardinals matchup was something that had already occurred twice in the past. The Bears had beaten their cross-city rivals on both occasions, in 1934 and 1936, by identical 27-7 scores. The Bears also hold the regular season bragging rights between the two teams, leading the all-time series 8 wins to 4. The Bears entered the game with everyone healthy while the Cardinals would be missing gargantuan tackle Chip Bickel, who was injured in the win over Washington. QB Biggs Holley was not at 100% but was determined to play. Special teams played a key role early as a huge punt return gave the Cardinals excellent field position on their first drive and while they did have a first and goal on the Bears 7 yard line, the Bears defense held and forced the Cardinals to settle for an early 3-0 lead. The Bears, having little success on the ground, tried to establish a passing game on their third series but on a second and ten from their own 19 Bears QB Whitey Riddle had a pass attempt picked off by Cardinals defensive back Norm Shaw. However, once again the Bears defense came up big, sacking Biggs Holley and forcing the Cardinals to come away empty as on 4th down they attempted a long field goal which was no good. Midway through the second quarter the Bears finally strung together a few first downs, enough to get into field goal range and tie the game at three. However, as the half came to a close Biggs Holley completed 3 straight passes and, mixed in with a Stan Crimmins 14 yard scamper, allowed the Cardinals to kick a field goal of their own and go back ahead by a 6-3 count. It was just a terrible first half of offense by the Bears, who were outgained 162 yards to 60, but they could take comfort going into the locker room at the break down only 3 points. The second half played out very much like the first. Howard Montague would add a third field goal for the Cardinals, who continously marched the ball in to Bears territory only to have the Bears stand tall and keep the Cardinals from further extending their lead. Meanwhile, the Bears offense could do very little. A last ditched Bears effort fell short when Riddle was sacked for the third time in the game on a 4th down at the Cardinals 27 yard line in the final minute, securing a 9-3 victory and an NFL Championship for the Chicago Cardinals. With Riddle unable to complete passes with any sort of consistency the Bears were forced to rely on the ground game and the Cardinals were ready, holding Mack Johnson to just 55 yards rushing on 27 carries. Heisman Trophy winner Gene Stokes was only entrusted with the ball for a single carry. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Stan Crimmins gained 99 yards on 20 carries for the Cardinals and was named MVP of the title game. His former UCLA and current Cardinals teammate QB Bugs Holley, also had a strong game, completing 16 of 22 pass attempts for 172 yards. Despite the poor showing in the title game, Bears running back Mack Johnson was named league MVP after rushing for a league high 1,193 yards. Crimmins was the offensive rookie of the year and with him, and Holley, the Cardinals looked to be in the running for several more titles. Next up, we begin the 1947 college season.

Hey Kim, I understand you totally. I would suggest that you stay for next update at least, where there will be more micromanagment. I am all for more activity on forums/chat, but that should be integrated in game better. Speaking of season, Paul, there is still open race for top point player. DeNobile vs Andersen. Lets see what happens today, funny how regular season ends on new year's eve

niceeeeeeeee

If there's one thing that is a complete mystery in GPHM it is how to raise your team's Winner Instinct (WI). Although I thoroughly enjoy the fact that the Admins have only shared a fraction of the information, leaving managers to figure it out for themselves... I also enjoy the conversations it creates - so why not try to crack the code together... or use the information contained here to crack the code on your own and keep it to yourself I feel like getting this value perfect is like piecing together a puzzle. There are many factors and you need the perfect balance of those factors, including: Big Games trait, Ego Trait, Team Captains, Reputation of Players & Certain attributes of players. Below are the "official" notes from the Help Files. http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/10834-team-spirit-done/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/10844-roster-captains-and-lineup-done/ Here's what I gather from the two links above: - WI is mostly impacted by the Big Games trait. You need quite a bit of Heroic/Determined players, but not too many as it will create disputes within your team. You will also need some Anxious/Nervous, but not too many. - In line with the above, you also need some Arrogant/Cocky players to boost your WI, but too many will negatively impact your Teamwork. - Team Captains have a large influence on WI. From other help files, it is known that Player Reputation and the Spirit Attribute factor into the Captains influence on a team, so if your Captains have a larger influence on your WI, then those values may also have an impact on your team's WI. Other personal observations, related to the above: - I always struggled with WI (couldn't get it above a blue rating) as I mostly focused on Teamwork being Harmony (Friendly/Compassionate players). It wasn't until I acquired some Arrogant & Cocky players that my WI rose to a green rating. (Others have shared this opinion - see links below). - When I have more Stars (players with higher reputation) on my team, my WI is higher. Below are some other links to various conversations around WI that have been created over time. As you can see... if you are confused about this rating, you are not alone! There are some interesting opinions in these threads, so if you are truly interesting in this topic, be prepared to do some reading. http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7564-q-about-winner-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7400-teamwork-winner-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/9702-improve-winning-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7242-winners-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/10669-trait-preference/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7461-winner-insticnt/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/8247-traits/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7957-team-spirit/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/9702-improve-winning-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/8759-so-nervous-i-peed-a-little/ Below are a few opinions from the link above that stood out to me. I can't confirm whether they are true or not. They could be 100% correct or way off. - Captains with Heroic or Determined Big Games trait increase WI. - Only players in the immediate lineup impact WI, not affiliate or scratched players. In another thread, the exact opposite was also stated. - Big Games of Goalies factor more than Skaters. - Don't worry about WI at all. It is not required to be successful. - WI is established over time as players get to know each other. - Big games is overrated. An Anxious/Nervous player can be just as clutch as a Heroic/Determined player. - Line placement matters (i.e. 1st line players impact more than 2nd line and so on). Personally, the questions I keep asking are "when does WI come into play?" and "how much does it even impact gameplay?". I have seen nervous goalies play lights out in the playoffs and win it all. I have also seen team's with Heroic WI get relegated. But I am sure the opposite happens much more, so it is yet to be known exactly how much this rating matters overall. As with most things in this game, it is chance based, so I'm sure it does have an impact. Managers just need to figure out for themselves how much emphasis to put on getting the perfect team chemistry. Enjoy.

A FICTIONAL HISTORY OF FOOTBALL I am not sure how long I will keep this dynasty going as I am sure there will be some fixes I will want to take advantage of in future beta releases forcing me to restart it but I am really enjoying seeing how things are unfolding in my college league so I felt I wanted to start a dynasty report to document it. I have done similar writings with the same style for baseball with OOTP in which my primary focus is on the history of the game over a longer period. I will follow a similar format here although I have not made too many attempts at a football dynasty in the past. I always like to build a history before I dive into things so in this one I quick simmed my college league from 1915 to 1945 (1920-45 for the NFL) to build up a history for my league. I then slow things down a bit in 1946 with the plan to look at things in a little more detail by focusing on a key recruit or two at the time and following their career through the college ranks and hopefully in to the pro game which I am also simming in the same manner. My college league will have 82 teams set up in conference alignments from the early 1970s. I capped it at 82 teams primarily because I like to run a smaller pro league and prefer to have a few less rookies entering the draft each year but also because it made creating schedules for my 82 team college league a little easier than if there were another 40 or so teams. The college league will not evolve, it will always remain with the same alignment due to game restrictions. My pro league will evolve somewhat close to what the real-life NFL did (but not exact). I am going with a 12 team league to start in 1920 and, while all but Green Bay, will move at some point, the same 12 team format will continue until we get to the AFL and expansion as we enter the 1960s. To begin this dynasty here is a look at the early days (pre-1946) in both the college ranks and the NFL

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: THE EARLY DAYS 1915-1945 The first National Champion was the Oregon Ducks, who went 11-1 in a 1915 season that culminated for them with a 31-14 victory over Wisconsin in the first Rose Bowl. That would prove to be the high point for the Ducks who over the next three decades would only win the Pacific 8 Conference title two more times and lose in the Rose Bowl on both occassions, falling to Michigan State in 1917 and Michigan in 1936. The Badgers would rebound from a loss in that first Rose Bowl to go 12-0 the following season and become the first school to go undefeated in a season. North Carolina State would duplicate that feat the following year and become a mini-dynasty with three straight National Titles starting in 1917. As impressive as the Wolfpack run was it would be the Texas Longhorns under legendary coach Chet Hazlett who became college football's first true powerhouse. Hazlett guided the Longhorns from that inaugural 1915 campaign until his retirement following the 1930 season. Under his tutilege, the Longhorns would go 164-24 and win 6 Nationals Titles while finishing second three other times. After his retirement, Texas would get one more title under new coach Bob Trice, but that was in 1932 with a team still dominated by Hazlett's recruits. Aside from a 10-2 1941 season that culminated in a Cotton Bowl loss to 12-0 Tennessee, Texas would never be relevant in National Title discussion again. Nebraska had a strong program under coach Duke Lewandowski during the same period but the Cornhuskers could never surpass Texas. However, one of Lewandowski's co-ordinators would be the one to end the Longhorn dynasty. Joe LaChance joined Notre Dame as head coach in 1930 after serving as a co-ordinator for Lewandowski in the 1920s. LaChance had nation's best recruiting class in 1932 and 1933, laying the foundation for powerful team with a #2 ranking and a Cotton Bowl loss to Texas in 1932. Texas went down from there while Notre Dame hit new heights with a 1933 National Title led by Heisman winning back Earl Beavers. It would be the first of 4 straight National Titles for Notre Dame that had 3 different backs win the Heisman in that period. Like Texas, Notre Dame's dynasty would come to an end when their coach retired. LaChance stepped down after the 1940 season. Long-time Texas A&M DC Stan Stidham took over for 1941 at Notre Dame but was gone after 1945 as the school struggled. The Irish would bring in Ival Scarborough for 1946. He was a co-ordinator under LaChance in Notre Dame from 1931-36 before going on to HC duties at Ohio State(37-41), Colorado (1943) and most recently Wake Forest (44-45). Scarborough was beneficiary of the #2 recruiting class (behind USC) going into the 1946 season so perhaps future is looking up for the Irish. As the decade changed to the 1940's it was Tennessee and Virginia that emerged as the dominant teams in college football. Starting in 1938 the Vols and Cavs would combine for 9 National Titles in 9 years. Punch Stone would bring up the revival at Virginia, leading them to 11 bowl games and 3 National Crowns in his 13 years at the school since 1933. Tennessee immediately saw its fortunes turn for the better whe Jerry Theriot took over as coach in 1938. The building blocks were in place after an 8-3 season in 1937, but Theriot led the Volunteers to an 11-1 season and their first National Title in his first season at the helm. Since then, Tennessee has won 2 more National Titles and made 8 straight bowl appearances including 6 New Year's Day appearances. Ben Gentle won his second Heisman Tophy in 1944 and led Tennessee to a 20-10 win over Texas Tech in the Sugar Bowl and a 12-0 season, giving the Vols their third National Title in 7 years. Tennesse had some help that year as they won the title because two other unbeatens lost bowl games including Penn State falling to Oklahoma 31-7 in the Orange Bowl and #1 ranked entering the bowls Virginia losing 46-43 in overtime to Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. It was the first loss in 3 years for Virginia, unbeaten in 1942 and 1943 winning back to back National titles and 3 in 4 years. Here are the National Champions by year Next up will be a look at the early days of the NFL.

We will and it should be possible to both edit the playbook for a team, and also add new plays and formations. Most likely it will be a part of one of the next couple of releases

Birmingham Stallions 3 0 7 15 -- 25 Michigan Panthers 14 0 7 0 -- 21 First Quarter Michigan - Alexander 1 run (Lindell kick), 1:42 Birmingham - Dawson 50 FG, 10:26 Michigan - Price 53 pass from Brooks (Lindell kick), 14:15 Second Quarter No scoring Third Quarter Birmingham - Booker 30 pass from Manning (Dawson kick), 10:27 Michigan - Price 98 kickoff return (Lindell kick), 10:50 Fourth Quarter Birmingham - Manning 2 run (Dawson kick), 3:41 Birmingham - Williams 1 run (Fletcher pass from Manning), 8:59 Michigan was ahead by 10 points late in the 3rd quarter when Birmingham defense stepped up while the offense scored two late touchdowns to secure victory. The story of the game was the Birmingham rushing attack (186 yards) which allowed Birmingham to possess the ball for close to 38 minutes. Michigan's offense was a dumpster fire gaining only 174 total yards due to a stiff Birmingham defense. Michigan WR Peerless Price is proving to be the best free agent signing in the early 2002 season. He has been a revelation so far. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS Passing Cmp Att Yds %% TD INT QB1 Peyton Manning 22 38 316 57.9 1 1 Rushing Att Yds Avg TD Fmb HB1 Ricky Williams 17 86 5.1 1 0 HB3 Cecil Collins 3 42 14.0 0 0 QB1 Peyton Manning 10 30 3.0 1 0 WR1 Deion Branch 2 15 7.5 0 0 FB1 Jim Finn 2 13 6.5 0 0 HB2 Ron Dayne 1 0 0.0 0 0 Receiving Rec Yds Avg TD Fmb Trgt WR3 Tim Dwight 4 97 24.3 0 0 6 WR1 Deion Branch 3 80 26.7 0 0 5 TE1 David Martin 6 66 11.0 0 0 9 WR2 Marty Booker 5 55 11.0 1 0 7 WR4 Reggie Wayne 2 11 5.5 0 0 4 HB1 Ricky Williams 2 7 3.5 0 0 2 Defense Tck Sck Int Fmb TD Knk Saf LB4 Danny Clark 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 S2 Ed Reed 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 LB1 London Fletcher 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 CB4 Nick Harper 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 CB2 Allen Rossum 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 LB3 Will Witherspoon 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 DT1 Russell Davis 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 S1 Ahmed Plummer 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 CB3 Rich Coady 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 S4 Scott Shields 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 LB5 Orlando Huff 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 DT2 Justin Bannan 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 DE2 Eric Hicks 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 DE1 Kenny Mixon 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 LB2 Morlon Greenwood 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 MICHIGAN PANTHERS Passing Cmp Att Yds %% TD INT QB1 Aaron Brooks 8 17 125 47.1 1 0 Rushing Att Yds Avg TD Fmb HB1 Shaun Alexander 7 33 4.7 1 1 FB1 Cecil Martin 4 25 6.3 0 0 HB2 Shawn Bryson 1 5 5.0 0 0 WR1 Peerless Price 1 5 5.0 0 0 HB3 Kevan Barlow 6 -2 -0.3 0 0 QB1 Aaron Brooks 8 -12 -1.5 0 0 Receiving Rec Yds Avg TD Fmb Trgt WR1 Peerless Price 1 53 53.0 1 0 1 TE1 Jim Kleinsasser 2 28 14.0 0 0 2 WR2 Antwaan Randle El 2 27 13.5 0 0 4 HB1 Shaun Alexander 1 8 8.0 0 0 1 WR3 Dane Looker 1 6 6.0 0 0 1 FB1 Cecil Martin 1 3 3.0 0 0 2 Defense Tck Sck Int Fmb TD Knk Saf CB3 Jimmy Williams 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 LB1 Joey Porter 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 CB1 David Macklin 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 CB2 Renaldo Hill 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 DE2 Andre Wadsworth 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 S1 Will Allen 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 LB3 Greg Favors 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 S2 Earl Little 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 S3 Antuan Edwards 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 LB4 Warrick Holdman 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 DE1 Brandon Whiting 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 DT1 Anthony McFarland 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 DT3 Martin Chase 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 S4 David Gibson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 LB5 Shawn Barber 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 DE3 Jason Peter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 PLAYS OF THE GAME Michigan WR Peerless Price 53yd TD Catch Birmingham WR Marty Booker 30yd TD Catch Michigan WR Peerless Price 98yd Kickoff Return TD Birmingham HB Ricky WIlliams 1yd TD (Game Winning Score)

Just wanted to say that I really appreciate that these legacy games are available for download. Thanks very much!

I am shawn, im not really sure how to word this but i hope this forum has an amazing community!

It's crazy how accurate Erzac's preseason power rankings were this season. Ironically, with the exception of his team and yours, who seemed to swap places. At least in the East. I'll start caring about the West when their managers start participating in the forums/chats... and win a title. Until then, the West can shove it