1936 NFL Draft
The 1936 National Football League Draft was the first draft of National Football League (NFL). It took place on February 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2][3] The draft was instituted in an effort to end bidding wars among the league's teams by the arbitrary assignment of negotiating rights to amateur players. It was haphazardly decided that the last place team from the previous season would get the first selection, and the process would continue in reverse order of the standings. Under this structure the Philadelphia Eagles, who finished 1935 at 2–9, would select first.[4]
1936 NFL Draft | |
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General information | |
Date(s) | February 8, 1936 |
Location | Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Overview | |
81 total selections in 9 rounds | |
League | NFL |
First selection | Jay Berwanger, HB Philadelphia Eagles |
Mr. Irrelevant | Phil Flanagan, G New York Giants |
Most selections (9) | each team selected nine players |
Fewest selections (9) | each team selected nine players |
Hall of Famers | |
This was the only draft to have nine rounds; the number increased to ten for the 1937 draft. The first player ever drafted, Jay Berwanger, who had previously been awarded the initial Heisman Trophy, never played in the NFL. His rights were traded by the Philadelphia Eagles to the Chicago Bears, as the Eagles felt they would be unable to meet Berwanger's reported demand of $1000 per game.[4] The Eagles received tackle Art Buss from the Bears in exchange for Berwanger's rights.[5] George Halas was unable to convince Berwanger to sign with the Bears. After this, Berwanger got a job in rubber sales. Riley Smith, the second pick, was the first player drafted to play in the NFL.
Breakdown of players selected
The following is the breakdown of the 81 players selected:
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Player selections
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Hall of Famers
- Dan Fortmann, guard from Colgate taken 9th round 78th overall by the Chicago Bears.
- Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1965.[9]
- Joe Stydahar, tackle from West Virginia taken 1st round 6th overall by the Chicago Bears.
- Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1967.[9]
- Wayne Millner, end from Notre Dame taken 8th round 65th overall by the Boston Redskins.
- Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1968.[9]
- Alphonse “Tuffy” Leemans, back from George Washington University taken 2nd Round 18th overall by the New York Giants.
- Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1978.[10]
Notable undrafted players
† | = Pro Bowler[6] |
Original NFL team | Player | Pos. | College | Conf. | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago Bears | Ray Nolting | HB | Cincinnati | Buckeye | |
Philadelphia Eagles | David Smukler | FB | Temple | Ind. |
Schools with multiple draft selections
Selections | Schools |
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7 | Stanford |
6 | Minnesota |
5 | Notre Dame, SMU |
3 | Alabama, Colgate, Princeton, Rice, St. Mary's, TCU |
2 | Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, Washington State |
References
- "History: 1936 Draft". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
- "NFL Draft Locations". www.footballgeography.com. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
- Salomone, Dan (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015". Giants.com. New York Giants. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- "Chicago Bears Granted Option on Jay Berwanger". Milwaukee Journal. February 10, 1936. p. D4. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- "Outstanding Pro Linemen Coming Here With Eagles". Reading Eagle. October 29, 1936. p. 24. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.
- Players are identified as a Hall of Famer if they have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- "Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- "List of 1960s Hall of Fame Inductees". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- "List of 1970s Hall of Fame Inductees". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
External links
- "1936 NFL Draft on Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.