The 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas, Nevada will be very different from the first-ever draft held in 1936 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Aside from the fact that Vegas was only 31 years old (founded 1905) at that point, the ’36 NFL Draft wasn’t wasn’t a four-day television extravaganza. Of course, television wasn’t invented until 1927 and there was no such thing as ESPN.
Prior to the first draft, players were free to sign with any club. At that point, the NFL consisted of nine teams — the Boston Redskins, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Pirates.
According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, on May 19, 1935, the league owners adopted a plan for a college player draft that was proposed by Bert Bell, the Eagles owner and future NFL commissioner. The plan called for teams to select players in inverse order of their finish the previous season.
After a 2-9 1935 season, the Eagles, Bell’s team, had the first pick. The club chose Jay Berwanger as the first-ever NFL pick. It was a second “first” for the Iowa native. The previous fall, Berwanger from the University of Chicago was chosen as the first winner of the Heisman Trophy, which when he won it, was known as the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy.
Making his pick interesting was the fact that Berwanger never played a game in the NFL.
The Eagles traded Berwanger to the Bears, because they didn’t believe they could meet his demand of $1,000 per game.
10 Feb 1936, Mon The Mercury (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.comAfter failing to make the U.S. Olympic team as a decathlete for the 1936 Summer Games, Berwanger tried to hammer-out an NFL contract.
Berwanger and Chicago Bears owner George Halas were never able to come-to-terms, In the end, Berwanger asked for $15,000 per year and Halas would only go as high at $13,500.
Since, Berwanger never played in the NFL, I thought it would be interesting to research his high school career at Dubuque High School in Dubuque, Iowa. During his scholastic days, some in the media called him the “Red Grange of Iowa,” the great Pro Football Hall of Famer from outside of Chicago, Illinois.
The first time I was able to find Berwanger’s name in print in high school was at the start of the 1929 season. The then sophomore was listed as a starter in Dubuque’s season opener against Cedar Rapids Washington High School.
21 Sep 1929, Sat The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Newspapers.comBy his junior season, Berwanger was being called a “sturdy” halfback, who could also throw the ball and served as Dubuque’s kicker.
15 Nov 1930, Sat The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Newspapers.comBy his senior season in 1931, Berwanger was being called one of the best to ever play the high school game in the State of Iowa.
Berwanger led Dubuque to an undefeated season in 1931, which led some in the media to declare the team state champs. He closed-out his scholastic career by accounting for 67 points.
Below is the clipping from his final high school game against Davenport High. The victory, in the battle of undefeated teams, gave the Dubuque Tigers the Mississippi Valley Conference title.
23 Nov 1931, Mon The Daily Times (Davenport, Iowa) Newspapers.comListed as a 175-pounder for his senior season, he was named to the All-State team at the end of the season.
13 Dec 1931, Sun The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa) Newspapers.com
