National Football League draft
The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania .[ 1] [ 2] Perhaps as a tip of the hat to wartime sensibilities, the 1944 draft was officially called the "1943 Preferred Negotiations List" by the league.[ 3]
With the first overall pick of the draft, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Angelo Bertelli .
Although there were 32 rounds in the 1944 draft, each of the league's 11 teams selected 30 players, for a total of 330 players picked.[ 4] The five worst-finishing teams picked alone in rounds 2 and 4, while the five best-finishing teams plus the expansion Yanks picked alone in rounds 31 and 32.
By agreement of league owners, the new Yanks franchise received the first pick of the first round and then dropped to 11th in the order of draft selection, making their next choice at 27.[ 5] As a mechanism for reestablishing the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers as individual entities after their wartime merger-of-convenience as the so-called Phil-Pitt Steagles in 1943, these teams selected fourth and ninth alternately in the 1943 draft.[ 6] This had the effect of giving Pittsburgh picks 10, 15, 31, and 41 at the top of the draft and Philadelphia picks 5, 20, and 36.
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
28
Chicago Cardinals
Jack Tavener
Center
Indiana
29
Brooklyn Tigers
Rudy Sikich
Tackle
Minnesota
30
Detroit Lions
George Betteridge
Back
Utah
31
Pittsburgh Steelers
Art McCaffray
Tackle
Pacific
32
New York Giants
Herb Kane
Tackle
East Central (OK)
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
33
Chicago Cardinals
Bill Blackburn
Center
Rice
34
Brooklyn Tigers
Verne Ullom
End
Cincinnati
35
Detroit Lions
John Greene
Tackle
Michigan
36
Philadelphia Eagles
Joe Parker
End
Texas
37
New York Giants
Vic Maitland
Tackle
Hobart
38
Green Bay Packers
Bill McPartland
Tackle
St. Mary's (CA)
39
Washington Redskins
Ed Doherty
Quarterback
Boston College
40
Chicago Bears
Abe Croft
End
SMU
41
Pittsburgh Steelers
George Owen
Guard
Wake Forest
42
Cleveland Rams
Bob Waterfield
Quarterback
UCLA
43
Boston Yanks
Larry Rice
Center
Tulane
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
55
Chicago Cardinals
Rodger Smith
Back
Texas Tech
56
Brooklyn Tigers
Bob Graiziger
Guard
Minnesota
57
Detroit Lions
Paul Briggs
Tackle
Colorado
58
Philadelphia Eagles
Vic Kulbitski
Back
Minnesota
59
New York Giants
Herm Frickey
Back
Minnesota
60
Green Bay Packers
Jack Tracy
End
Washington
61
Washington Redskins
Hal Fischer
Guard
Texas
62
Chicago Bears
Darwin Seeley
Center
Stanford
63
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jesse Freitas
Back
Santa Clara
64
Cleveland Rams
George Cheverko
Back
Fordham
65
Boston Yanks
Mike Andrews
End
NC State
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
88
Chicago Cardinals
Lou Saban
Back
Indiana
89
Brooklyn Tigers
Aldo Cenci
Back
Penn State
90
Detroit Lions
Herb Hein
End
Minnesota
91
Pittsburgh Steelers
Val Jansante
End
Duquesne
92
New York Giants
Ernie Beamer
End
Duke
93
Green Bay Packers
Bob Koch
Back
Oregon
94
Washington Redskins
Bob Sneddon
Back
St. Mary's (CA)
95
Chicago Bears
Bill Starford
Center
Wake Forest
96
Philadelphia Eagles
John Perko
Guard
Minnesota
97
Cleveland Rams
Bob Shaw
End
Ohio State
98
Boston Yanks
Angelo Sisti
Tackle
Boston College
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
99
Chicago Cardinals
Fran Griffin
Tackle
Holy Cross
100
Brooklyn Tigers
John Bicaninch
Guard
Minnesota
101
Detroit Lions
Paul White
Back
Michigan
102
Philadelphia Eagles
Elliott Ormsbee
Back
Bradley
103
New York Giants
Carl Grate
Guard
Georgia
104
Green Bay Packers
Virgil Johnson
End
Arkansas
105
Washington Redskins
Bill Aldworth
Tackle
Minnesota
106
Chicago Bears
Lin Houston
Guard
Ohio State
107
Pittsburgh Steelers
Carl Buda
Guard
Tulsa
108
Cleveland Rams
Joe Andrejco
Back
Fordham
109
Boston Yanks
Gene Long
Guard
Kansas
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
110
Chicago Cardinals
Leo Daniels
Back
Texas A&M
111
Brooklyn Tigers
Jim Tyree
End
Oklahoma
112
Detroit Lions
Jack Lescoulie
Guard
UCLA
113
Pittsburgh Steelers
Sam Gray
End
Tulsa
114
New York Giants
Tommy Mont
Back
Maryland
115
Green Bay Packers
Roy Giusti
Back
St. Mary's (CA)
116
Washington Redskins
Bill Joslyn
Back
Stanford
117
Chicago Bears
J. P. Moore
Back
Vanderbilt
118
Philadelphia Eagles
Earle Parsons
Back
USC
119
Cleveland Rams
Pat Filley
Guard
Notre Dame
120
Boston Yanks
Ed Fiorentino
End
Boston College
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
121
Chicago Cardinals
Bobby Dobbs
Back
Tulsa
122
Brooklyn Tigers
Jim Wright
Center
SMU
123
Detroit Lions
Doug Rehor
Back
Dickinson
124
Philadelphia Eagles
Bob Hanzlik
End
Wisconsin
125
New York Giants
Ray Poole
End
Ole Miss
126
Green Bay Packers
Bill Baughman
Center
Alabama
127
Washington Redskins
Charley Walker
Center
Kentucky
128
Chicago Bears
Bill Duffey
End
Georgetown
129
Pittsburgh Steelers
Bob Longacre
Back
William & Mary
130
Cleveland Rams
Bob Erickson
Back
Washington
131
Boston Yanks
Mike Zeleznak
Back
Kansas State
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
132
Chicago Cardinals
Van Hall
Back
TCU
133
Brooklyn Tigers
John Genis
Tackle
Illinois
134
Detroit Lions
Bill Pritula
Center
Michigan
135
Pittsburgh Steelers
Les Zetty
End
Muhlenberg
136
New York Giants
Bert Corley
Center
Mississippi State
137
Green Bay Packers
Don Griffin
Back
Illinois
138
Washington Redskins
Boyd Clement
Center
Oregon State
139
Chicago Bears
Joe Hartley
Tackle
LSU
140
Philadelphia Eagles
Jim Talley
Center
LSU
141
Cleveland Rams
Mel Maceau
Center
Marquette
142
Boston Yanks
John Maskas
Tackle
VPI
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
143
Chicago Cardinals
Jack Carpenter
Tackle
Missouri
144
Brooklyn Tigers
Spook Murphy
Back
Mississippi State
145
Detroit Lions
Jim Molich
End
Fresno State
146
Philadelphia Eagles
Dom Fusci
Tackle
South Carolina
147
New York Giants
Ollie Poole
End
Ole Miss
148
Green Bay Packers
Bert Gissler
End
Nebraska
149
Washington Redskins
Jim Gaffney
Back
Tennessee
150
Chicago Bears
Bill Milner
Guard
Duke
151
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jim Myers
Guard
Tennessee
152
Cleveland Rams
Bud Hubbell
End
Tennessee
153
Boston Yanks
John Bond
Back
TCU
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
154
Chicago Cardinals
Charley Csuri
Tackle
Ohio State
155
Brooklyn Tigers
Doug Essick
End
USC
156
Detroit Lions
Jules Yakapovich
Back
Colgate
157
Pittsburgh Steelers
Joe Gottlieb
Back
Duquesne
158
New York Giants
Ralph Ellsworth
Back
Texas
159
Green Bay Packers
Lou Shelton
Back
Oregon State
160
Washington Redskins
Ted Ossowski
Tackle
Oregon State
161
Chicago Bears
Buckets Hirsch
Back
Northwestern
162
Philadelphia Eagles
Johnny Green
End
Tulsa
163
Cleveland Rams
John Aguirre
Tackle
USC
164
Boston Yanks
Roger Antaya
Guard
Dartmouth
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
165
Chicago Cardinals
Joe Magliolo
Back
Texas
166
Brooklyn Tigers
Red Maley
Back
SMU
167
Detroit Lions
Jack Helms
Tackle
Georgia Tech
168
Philadelphia Eagles
Jackie Freeman
Back
William & Mary
169
New York Giants
Ed Schneider
Tackle
Washburn
170
Green Bay Packers
Charley Cusick
Guard
Colgate
171
Washington Redskins
Tom Davis
Back
Duke
172
Chicago Bears
Ed Ryckeley
End
Georgia Tech
173
Pittsburgh Steelers
Hugh Davis
Back
Michigan State
174
Cleveland Rams
Aubrey Clayton
Back
Auburn
175
Boston Yanks
Marshall Shurnas
End
Missouri
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
176
Chicago Cardinals
Walt Szot
Tackle
Bucknell
177
Brooklyn Tigers
Don Willer
Tackle
USC
178
Detroit Lions
Elmer Madarik
Back
Detroit
179
Pittsburgh Steelers
Bill Sullivan
End
Villanova
180
New York Giants
Marcel Gres
Tackle
Texas
181
Green Bay Packers
Hugh Cox
Back
North Carolina
182
Washington Redskins
John Batorski
End
Colgate
183
Chicago Bears
Howdy Plasman
Back
Miami (FL)
184
Philadelphia Eagles
Joe Kane
Back
Penn
185
Cleveland Rams
Ziggy Zamlynski
Back
Villanova
186
Boston Yanks
Reldon Bennett
Tackle
LSU
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
187
Chicago Cardinals
Jack Adams
End
Presbyterian
188
Brooklyn Tigers
Howard Callanan
Back
USC
189
Detroit Lions
Bill Eubank
End
Mississippi State
190
Philadelphia Eagles
Tony Schiro
Guard
Santa Clara
191
New York Giants
Neil Brooks
Back
Washington
192
Green Bay Packers
Kermit Davis
End
Mississippi State
193
Washington Redskins
Clyde Ehrhardt
Center
Georgia
194
Chicago Bears
Bear French
Tackle
Purdue
195
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jimmy Woodside
Center
Temple
196
Cleveland Rams
Bob McBride
Guard
Notre Dame
197
Boston Yanks
Art Faircloth
Back
NC State
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
198
Chicago Cardinals
Ray Kuffel
End
Marquette
199
Brooklyn Tigers
George Doherty
Tackle
Louisiana Tech
200
Detroit Lions
Ray Ahlstrom
Back
St. Mary's (CA)
201
Pittsburgh Steelers
Bill Miller
Back
Penn
202
New York Giants
Pete Kane
Back
Geneva
203
Green Bay Packers
Bob Johnson
Center
Purdue
204
Washington Redskins
Dave Brown
End
UCLA
205
Chicago Bears
Paul Taylor
Back
USC
206
Philadelphia Eagles
Norm Michael [ 8]
Back
Syracuse
207
Cleveland Rams
Joe Yackanich
Tackle
Fordham
208
Boston Yanks
Tony Bilotti
Guard
St. Mary's (CA)
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
209
Chicago Cardinals
Jack West
End
Texas
210
Brooklyn Tigers
Mike Mihalic
Guard
Mississippi State
211
Detroit Lions
Alex Kapter
Guard
Northwestern
212
Philadelphia Eagles
Eddie Kulakowski
Tackle
West Virginia
213
New York Giants
Kit Kittrell
Back
Baylor
214
Green Bay Packers
Jim Cox
Tackle
Stanford
215
Washington Redskins
Bill Ivy
Tackle
Northwestern
216
Chicago Bears
Hank Margarita
Back
Brown
217
Pittsburgh Steelers
Bob Lawson
End
Holy Cross
218
Cleveland Rams
John Creevey
Back
Notre Dame
219
Boston Yanks
Bill Furman
Tackle
Washington & Lee
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
220
Chicago Cardinals
Jack Esorcia
Back
Illinois State
221
Brooklyn Tigers
Ted Cook
End
Alabama
222
Detroit Lions
Vick Clark
Back
Texas Western
223
Pittsburgh Steelers
Hank Caver
Back
Presbyterian
224
New York Giants
Roy Renfro
Guard
Fresno State
225
Green Bay Packers
Cliff Anderson
End
Minnesota
226
Washington Redskins
Bruce Babcock
Back
Rochester
227
Chicago Bears
Ed Davis
Back
Oklahoma
228
Philadelphia Eagles
Al Postus
Back
Villanova
229
Cleveland Rams
David Paul Jones
Back
Arkansas
230
Boston Yanks
Clare Morford
Guard
Oklahoma
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
231
Chicago Cardinals
Don Buffmire
Back
Northwestern
232
Brooklyn Tigers
Bucky Gillenwater
Tackle
Texas
233
Detroit Lions
Max Fischer
Center
Oklahoma
234
Philadelphia Eagles
Milt Smith
End
UCLA
235
New York Giants
John Dubzinski
Guard
Boston College
236
Green Bay Packers
John Wesley Perry
Back
Duke
237
Washington Redskins
Bill Reinhard
Back
California
238
Chicago Bears
Dick Jamison
Tackle
USC
239
Pittsburgh Steelers
Paul Carter
Tackle
Michigan State
240
Cleveland Rams
Jim Pharr
Center
Auburn
241
Boston Yanks
Dilton Richmond
End
LSU
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
242
Chicago Cardinals
Bob Nanni
Tackle
Duke
243
Brooklyn Tigers
Jack Baldwin
Center
Centenary
244
Detroit Lions
Chuck Jacoby
Back
Indiana
245
Pittsburgh Steelers
Dick Holben
Tackle
Muhlenberg
246
New York Giants
Howard Beyer
Center
Michigan State
247
Green Bay Packers
Pete DeMaria
Guard
Purdue
248
Washington Redskins
Ed Bauer
Guard
South Carolina
249
Chicago Bears
Jack Bortka
Back
Kansas State
250
Philadelphia Eagles
Earl Klapstein
Tackle
Pacific
251
Cleveland Rams
Joe Warlick
Back
Mississippi State
252
Boston Yanks
Courtney Lawlor
Back
Richmond
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
253
Chicago Cardinals
John McGinnis
End
Notre Dame
254
Brooklyn Tigers
Dick Manning
Back
USC
255
Detroit Lions
Bob McCarthy
End
St. Mary's (CA)
256
Philadelphia Eagles
Bob Frisbee
Back
Stanford
257
New York Giants
Ben Babula
Back
Fordham
258
Green Bay Packers
Len Liss
Tackle
Marquette
259
Washington Redskins
Smokey Martin
Back
Cornell
260
Chicago Bears
Roy Ruskusky
End
St. Mary's (CA)
261
Pittsburgh Steelers
Howard Tippee
Back
Iowa State
262
Cleveland Rams
Bert Gianelli
Guard
Santa Clara
263
Boston Yanks
Howard Debus
Back
Nebraska
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
264
Chicago Cardinals
Warren Hodges
Tackle
Kansas
265
Brooklyn Tigers
Ray Grierson
End
Illinois
266
Detroit Lions
Stan Hendrickson
End
Colorado
267
Pittsburgh Steelers
Charley Malmberg
Tackle
Rice
268
New York Giants
Theophilus Andrew Fitanides
Back
New Hampshire
269
Green Bay Packers
Ray Jordan
Back
North Carolina
270
Washington Redskins
Lee Gustafson
Back
Oregon State
271
Chicago Bears
Harry Franck
Back
Northwestern
272
Philadelphia Eagles
Ed Eiden
Back
Scranton
273
Cleveland Rams
Charley Kuhn
Back
Kentucky
274
Boston Yanks
Bill Portwood
End
Kentucky
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
275
Chicago Cardinals
Bill Earley
Back
Notre Dame
276
Brooklyn Tigers
Joe Golding
Back
Oklahoma
277
Detroit Lions
Fred Bouldin
Back
Missouri
278
Philadelphia Eagles
Barney Burdick
End
Creighton
279
New York Giants
Andy Bires
End
Alabama
280
Green Bay Packers
Al Grubaugh
Tackle
Nebraska
281
Washington Redskins
Nick Pappas
Tackle
Utah
282
Chicago Bears
Jack McKewan
Tackle
Alabama
283
Pittsburgh Steelers
Russ Ashbaugh
Back
Notre Dame
284
Cleveland Rams
Jim Smith
Tackle
Colorado
285
Boston Yanks
Harold Collins
Guard
Southwestern (TX)
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
286
Chicago Cardinals
Bob Davis
Guard
Oregon
287
Brooklyn Tigers
Bob Zimny
Tackle
Indiana
288
Detroit Lions
Dick McElwee
Back
West Virginia
289
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pat Petroski
Guard
Miami (FL)
290
New York Giants
Tom Rock
End
Columbia
291
Green Bay Packers
A. B. Howard
End
Mississippi State
292
Washington Redskins
Lindsey Bowen
End
Rice
293
Chicago Bears
Charlie Mitchell
Back
Tulsa
294
Philadelphia Eagles
Nick Daukas
Tackle
Dartmouth
295
Cleveland Rams
Ray Donelli
Back
Duquesne
296
Boston Yanks
Aubrey Gill
Center
Texas
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
297
Chicago Cardinals
Vince DiFrancesca
Tackle
Northwestern
298
Brooklyn Tigers
Marty Frohm
Tackle
Mississippi State
299
Detroit Lions
Bob Derleth
Tackle
Michigan
300
Philadelphia Eagles
Pasquale Darone
Guard
Boston College
301
New York Giants
Walt Cyhel
Tackle
Creighton
302
Green Bay Packers
Paul Paladino
Guard
Arkansas
303
Washington Redskins
Bill Gustafson
Tackle
Washington State
304
Chicago Bears
Pat Boyle
Guard
Wisconsin
305
Pittsburgh Steelers
Joe Tosti
End
Scranton
306
Cleveland Rams
John Hughes
End
Mississippi State
307
Boston Yanks
Chet Wasilewski
Back
Holy Cross
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
308
Chicago Cardinals
Lloyd Ott
Center
NC State
309
Brooklyn Tigers
Howard Blose
Back
Cornell
310
Detroit Lions
George Dick
End
Kansas
311
Pittsburgh Steelers
Len Seelinger
Back
Wisconsin
312
New York Giants
Francis Nelson
Back
Baylor
313
Green Bay Packers
Bob Butchofsky
Back
Texas A&M
314
Washington Redskins
Bill Yablonski
Center
Holy Cross
315
Chicago Bears
Bernie Pepper
Tackle
Missouri
316
Philadelphia Eagles
Bill Clark
Tackle
Colorado College
317
Cleveland Rams
Dick McPhee
Back
Georgia
318
Boston Yanks
Gus Letchas
Back
Georgia
Pick #
NFL team
Player
Position
College
319
Green Bay Packers
Russ Deal
Guard
Indiana
320
Washington Redskins
Buster Hollingbery
Center
Washington State
321
Chicago Bears
Karl Vogt
Tackle
Villanova
322
Philadelphia Eagles
Pete Pasko
End
East Stroudsburg
323
Cleveland Rams
Jim McLeod
End
LSU
324
Boston Yanks
Ralph Calcagni
Tackle
Penn
Otto Graham , quarterback from Northwestern taken 1st round 4th overall by the Detroit Lions.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1965.[ 9]
Steve Van Buren , halfback from LSU taken 1st round 5th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1965.[ 9]
Bob Waterfield , quarterback from UCLA taken 5th round 42nd overall by the Cleveland Rams.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1965.[ 9]
Ed Sprinkle , guard/defensive end from Navy taken undrafted by the Chicago Bears.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2020.[ 10]
Notable undrafted players [ edit ]
^ 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 .
^ "NFL Draft Locations" . www.footballgeography.com . October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2014 .
^ George Strickler (ed.), Record and Rules Manual, 1944. Chicago: National Football League, 1944; p. 77.
^ Strickler (ed.), Record and Rules Manual, 1944, pp. 77–87, passim.
^ Strickler (ed.), Record and Rules Manual, 1944, p. 87.
^ Strickler (ed.), Record and Rules Manual, 1944, pp. 80, 85.
^ Angelo Bertelli, 1943 Heisman Trophy winner "Heisman Trophy" . Archived from the original on October 7, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008 .
^ Michael did not learn that he had been drafted until 1999, when he saw his name in a list of every drafted Syracuse player. Merron, Jeff (April 18, 2005). "The strangest NFL draft moments" . ESPN. Retrieved December 18, 2014 .
^ a b c List of 1960s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2008 .
^ Mayer, Larry (January 15, 2020). "Ex-Bears great Sprinkle elected to Hall of Fame" . chicagobears.com . Former Bears defensive end Ed Sprinkle has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2020.
^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.