Oh Those Wacky Commanders

[Hostile]

I stumbled across a story that I just have to share.

I was talking with a friend at work who is a Commanders fan and we were talking about the Commanders habit of trading away their 1st round Draft picks. He asked me to give him a list of all the players the Commanders have ever taken in the 1st round.

So I was compiling this list for him and I get to 1946. The Commanders took a RB from UCLA named Cal Rossi. They took him again with their 1st pick in 1947. That's right, the same guy 2 years in a row.

Naturally I was instantly curious and began to look around. Turns out Rossi was not draft eligible in 1946 because he was still a Junior. In those days you could not declare hardship and leave early. So they completely wasted that Draft pick on a guy who could not.

Apparently they wanted him real bad and were determined not to lose him, so they took him again in 1947. Now, I figured the kid must be pretty good for them to do that. I tried to find his career stats. There aren't any. Turns out he had no desire to play professional football and never played a down in his life after leaving UCLA.

 

[iceberg]

I stumbled across a story that I just have to share.

I was talking with a friend at work who is a Commanders fan and we were talking about the Commanders habit of trading away their 1st round Draft picks. He asked me to give him a list of all the players the Commanders have ever taken in the 1st round.

So I was compiling this list for him and I get to 1946. The Commanders took a RB from UCLA named Cal Rossi. They took him again with their 1st pick in 1947. That's right, the same guy 2 years in a row.

Naturally I was instantly curious and began to look around. Turns out Rossi was not draft eligible in 1946 because he was still a Junior. In those days you could not declare hardship and leave early. So they completely wasted that Draft pick on a guy who could not.

Apparently they wanted him real bad and were determined not to lose him, so they took him again in 1947. Now, I figured the kid must be pretty good for them to do that. I tried to find his career stats. There aren't any. Turns out he had no desire to play professional football and never played a down in his life after leaving UCLA.

that's pretty amazing to draft someone not eligible. how did that happen? don't you have to declare for the draft before someone can draft you or were things pretty different back then?

 

[Wimbo]

Hard to believe the Skins still have the same Scouting Director. That dude must be getting old.

 

[Danny White]

Was Vinny Ceratto running their draft room back then, too?

 

[Chief]

The original "Dumb & Dumber"

 

[dallasfaniac]

Sad part is, he made it known that he wasn't going to play but they took him anyway. I had read an article about it a long time ago but couldn't find it. It does appear in this one though and has other funny draft day stories.

 

[joseephuss]

that's pretty amazing to draft someone not eligible. how did that happen? don't you have to declare for the draft before someone can draft you or were things pretty different back then?

When was the 1964 draft held? Staubach won the Heisman for the 1963 season. Didn't he play in the 1964 college season? Was the draft before or after he finished his last year playing at Navy?

 

[Yakuza Rich]

It would be funny if ES was around back then.

I can just imagine some of the posts.





YAKUZA

 

[Hostile]

When was the 1964 draft held? Staubach won the Heisman for the 1963 season. Didn't he play in the 1964 college season? Was the draft before or after he finished his last year playing at Navy?

The 1964 NFL Draft was held on December 2, 1963. In those days you could Draft "early."

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

It would be funny if ES was around back then.

I can just imagine some of the posts.





YAKUZA

Let me give this a try...

1st Skins fan: They were saving cap money for two years running by drafting a guy they knew they could not sign...BRILLIANT MOVE by the FO.

2nd Skins Fan: But there was no cap back then.

1st Skins Fan: Well they were ahead of the time.

2nd Skins Fan: You are right they are BRILLIANT!

 

[big dog cowboy]

It would be funny if ES was around back then.

I can just imagine some of the posts.

YAKUZA

Talk about a melt down.

 

[Hostile]

Let me give this a try...

1st Skins fan: They were saving cap money for two years running by drafting a guy they knew they could not sign...BRILLIANT MOVE by the FO.

2nd Skins Fan: But there was no cap back then.

1st Skins Fan: Well they were ahead of the time.

2nd Skins Fan: You are right they are BRILLIANT!

:laugh2:

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Gotta love it.........

 

[Roger78]

When was the 1964 draft held? Staubach won the Heisman for the 1963 season. Didn't he play in the 1964 college season? Was the draft before or after he finished his last year playing at Navy?

If I remember correctly, they had something called "futures" back then that allowed a team to draft a player after their junior season if that was their fourth year in college. Staubach went to a prep school in NM to be able to qualify for the Naval academy. The team just had to wait until they graduated before they could play.

Also, I believe Bob Hayes was also a '"future." It's why they were such late draft picks. However, in Staubach's case he had the 4 years of military service and that pesky Vietnam war to fight.

 

[Hostile]

If I remember correctly, they had something called "futures" back then that allowed a team to draft a player after their junior season if that was their fourth year in college. Staubach went to a prep school in NM to be able to qualify for the Naval academy. The team just had to wait until they graduated before they could play.

Also, I believe Bob Hayes was also a '"future." It's why they were such late draft picks. However, in Staubach's case he had the 4 years of military service and that pesky Vietnam war to fight.

You are absolutely correct. Staubach not only had another year of football, he had a 5 year hitch in the Navy that included service in Viet Nam. Bob Hayes had the 1964 Summer Olympics.

 

[Seven]

I stumbled across a story that I just have to share.

I was talking with a friend at work who is a Commanders fan and we were talking about the Commanders habit of trading away their 1st round Draft picks. He asked me to give him a list of all the players the Commanders have ever taken in the 1st round.

So I was compiling this list for him and I get to 1946. The Commanders took a RB from UCLA named Cal Rossi. They took him again with their 1st pick in 1947. That's right, the same guy 2 years in a row.

Naturally I was instantly curious and began to look around. Turns out Rossi was not draft eligible in 1946 because he was still a Junior. In those days you could not declare hardship and leave early. So they completely wasted that Draft pick on a guy who could not.

Apparently they wanted him real bad and were determined not to lose him, so they took him again in 1947. Now, I figured the kid must be pretty good for them to do that. I tried to find his career stats. There aren't any. Turns out he had no desire to play professional football and never played a down in his life after leaving UCLA.

Gibbs around back then.............?

 

[Roger78]

You are absolutely correct. Staubach not only had another year of football, he had a 5 year hitch in the Navy that included service in Viet Nam. Bob Hayes had the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Hey, it sometimes pays to be old!!

 

[Hostile]

Hey, it sometimes pays to be old!!

I think about being young again, and I have to admit, I would not want to be young if it meant I never got to see Roger Staubach play football. I feel very privileged in that regard and when someone like cbz40 says he has seen or heard every game the Cowboys have ever played I admire him for his age and experience. I wish I could say that. I missed the 1960's with this team because I was too young.

 

[adbutcher]

Let me give this a try...

1st Skins fan: They were saving cap money for two years running by drafting a guy they knew they could not sign...BRILLIANT MOVE by the FO.

2nd Skins Fan: But there was no cap back then.

1st Skins Fan: Well they were ahead of the time.

2nd Skins Fan: You are right they are BRILLIANT!

:laugh2:

 

[BourbonBalz]

Well, the Skins' FO and fans do go hand-in-hand. Like someone else posted, dumb and dumber. For instance, there's a poll on ES asking which playoff teams from last year will not make the playoffs this year. You guessed it. A good portion of Skins' fans are predicting we will miss the playoffs, many saying we'll go 7-9, 8-8, or something similar. Yea, a 13-3 team from last year that has improved its primary weaknesses tremendously, and is pretty young will drop like that. As I've always said, there's a big difference in what you WISH would happen and what you truly think will happen. Foreskins' fans hate us so much it blocks out what little logical thought their brains are capable of producing. Of course, most of them are picking the Foreskins to make the playoffs, though there are a handful of sane ones there.