1960 American Football League draft
The 1960 American Football League draft was held on November 23–24, 1959, in Minneapolis,[1][2] shortly after the organization of the league, and lasted 33 rounds.[3] An additional draft of 20 rounds was held by the AFL on December 2.[4]
1960 American Football League draft | |
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General information | |
Date(s) | November 23–24, 1959 & December 2, 1959 |
Location | Nicollet Hotel in Minneapolis |
Overview | |
League | AFL |
Teams were required to fill the 11 squad positions by selecting four backs, two ends, two tackles, two guards, and a center with their first 11 picks.[1][2] Before each position was selected, teams drew lots to determine the selection order.[2] Though professional teams used dedicated offensive and defensive units, the league did not want to go 22 rounds before starting unrestricted drafting.[1]
Territorial draft
The first territorial or "bonus" picks for each team were:
- Boston Patriots ~ Gerhard Schwedes, HB, Syracuse
- Buffalo Bills ~ Richie Lucas, QB, Penn State
- Dallas Texans ~ Don Meredith, QB, SMU
- Denver Broncos ~ Roger LeClerc, C, Trinity
- Houston Oilers ~ Billy Cannon, HB, LSU
- Los Angeles Chargers ~ Monty Stickles, E, Notre Dame
- New York Titans ~ George Izo, QB, Notre Dame
- Minneapolis AFL team 1 ~ Dale Hackbart, QB, Wisconsin
Source:[5]
Regular draft
Boston Patriots | Buffalo Bills |
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Dallas Texans | Denver Broncos |
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Houston Oilers | Los Angeles Chargers |
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New York Titans | Minneapolis dropped out. Oakland Raiders assumed the draftees. |
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Source:[6]
Allocation draft
For the allocation draft, the other seven AFL teams each froze eleven players, and Oakland selected a total of 24 players from the ranks of the other teams' "unfrozen" lists.[4] The number of players originally drafted for the eighth AFL franchise, but who were signed by other teams, combined with the process of the allocation draft, virtually guaranteed that the Raiders would have the worst team in the AFL in its first year. In spite of this, they managed to sign future stars Jim Otto and Wayne Hawkins, two men who played the entire ten years of the American Football League.
Source:[6]
Future Hall of Famers selected by AFL teams
- Jim Otto 1, Center, Miami Hurricanes football – Taken as a "First Selections" by the AFL's Minnesota franchise and retained by the Oakland Raiders. Inducted in 1980.
- Ron Mix 1, Offensive Tackle, USC – Taken as a "First Selections" by the AFL's Boston Patriots. Inducted in 1979.
- Johnny Robinson 1, Defensive back – Dallas Texans, "First Selections", LSU
Other notable players selected by AFL teams
- Tom Day, Defensive End – Buffalo Bills, "Second Selection", North Carolina A&T
- Larry Grantham, Linebacker – New York Titans, "First Selections", Mississippi
- Abner Haynes 2, Halfback – Dallas Texans, "First Selections", North Texas State
- 1 Member of the American Football League All-Time Team.
- 2 1960 AFL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player.
Notable undrafted players
† | = All-Star |
See also
References
- "New Grid Loop's Novel Draft Expected To Avoid Scramble". The Morning Call. November 20, 1959. p. 29. Retrieved July 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- "American Football League drafts 88 players". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. Associated Press. November 24, 1959. p. 13.
- "AFL Sets Dallas Meeting for Dec 4–5". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. November 25, 1959. p. 14. Retrieved July 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Carroll, Bob (1999). Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 1464–1466. ISBN 9780062701749. Retrieved July 30, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
- Boyles, Bob; Guido, Paul (2009). The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia 2009-2010. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 9781602396777. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
- Riffenburgh, Beau (1986). The Official NFL Encyclopedia. New American Library. pp. 482–483. ISBN 0453005241. Retrieved July 30, 2022 – via Internet Archive.