Players Who Were Drafted But Did Not Play

[TodMaher]

I've added pages on my website for every player who was drafted but did not play. Each page contains all available biographical data for each player.

http://www.profootballarchives.com/drafts.html

[Mark L. Ford]

That's a major undertaking and a lot of work went into it-- for instance, here's a sample page on the classic example, the Heisman Trophy winner and number-one overall draft pick who didn't go on

http://www.profootballarchives.com/berw00100.html

I'll have to say though, the more interesting question for me on these folks is not their date of birth nor death, nor their height nor weight, but, "Where did they go?" Many, of course, like Bernie Faloney http://www.profootballarchives.com/falo00200.html spurned the NFL for a career in Canada, and most got waived in training camp. For some, like poor Leon Bender, Oakland's #2 pick in 1998, http://www.profootballarchives.com/bend00260.html, the facts speak for themselves.

[Gary Najman]

That's a major undertaking and a lot of work went into it-- for instance, here's a sample page on the classic example, the Heisman Trophy winner and number-one overall draft pick who didn't go on

http://www.profootballarchives.com/berw00100.html

I'll have to say though, the more interesting question for me on these folks is not their date of birth nor death, nor their height nor weight, but, "Where did they go?" Many, of course, like Bernie Faloney http://www.profootballarchives.com/falo00200.html spurned the NFL for a career in Canada, and most got waived in training camp. For some, like poor Leon Bender, Oakland's #2 pick in 1998, http://www.profootballarchives.com/bend00260.html, the facts speak for themselves.

When the 1984 NFL Draft took place I kept wondering why the Dallas Cowboys took with their last pick this WR from the University of Houston that didn't appear in the Street & Smith's College Football magazine of the previous season. It appear to me (back then) that his destiny was to be cut in the preseason, never to be heard again.

http://www.profootballarchives.com/lewi00880.html


By the way, great work, Tod!

[Andrew McKillop]

Jay Berwanger never played an official down in the NFL but he did make a couple of appearances in NFL exhibition games.

He was a starter in the College All-Stars' backfield when they tied the Detroit Lions 7-7 in the Chicago College All-Star Game. A year later he was listed in the Calumet/Gunners All-Stars' lineup when they lost to the Chicago Bears 34-0. http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1937/09/10/page/21

One of these days I'd like compile a list of all the old College All-Stars that never officially played in the NFL.

[TodMaher]

That's a major undertaking and a lot of work went into it-- for instance, here's a sample page on the classic example, the Heisman Trophy winner and number-one overall draft pick who didn't go on

http://www.profootballarchives.com/berw00100.html

I'll have to say though, the more interesting question for me on these folks is not their date of birth nor death, nor their height nor weight, but, "Where did they go?" Many, of course, like Bernie Faloney http://www.profootballarchives.com/falo00200.html spurned the NFL for a career in Canada, and most got waived in training camp. For some, like poor Leon Bender, Oakland's #2 pick in 1998, http://www.profootballarchives.com/bend00260.html, the facts speak for themselves.

Eventually, I'll be adding non-NFL playing data and yes, transactions, for these players and many more.

[Mark L. Ford]

Eventually, I'll be adding non-NFL playing data and yes, transactions, for these players and many more.

I'll have to say that I've been very impressed by your Pro Football Archives site for many years. It still remains the only site that I know of that has assembled the results of all the games of all the memorable professional football leagues (not just the NFL and AFL, but the other AFLs, the AAFC, the WFL and USFL, the CFL, NFL Europe, and even the Continental Football League), as well as the pre-NFL professional teams. It was invaluable in verification of a couple of books I got published, and I made sure to give an acknowledgment in the introductions.