Top Ten Undrafted Players Of All Time
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One of the all time greats,not just on the field.
What he went through is amazing to have played in a professional sport even before Jackie Robinson
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One of the all time greats,not just on the field.
What he went through is amazing to have played in a professional sport even before Jackie Robinson
One of the all time greats,not just on the field.
What he went through is amazing to have played in a professional sport even before Jackie Robinson
Yes, the George Preston Marshall types of the NFL imposed a color barrier. If you were black in the 30s and 40 you weren't allowed in the NFL. And of course Paul Brown would not allow the AAFC to have such a barrier. He brought in several black players like Motley, Bill Willis etc. to play on the Browns. This was just one reason the Browns and the AAFC were superior to the NFL in those years. No color barrier.
Note that Otto Graham was drafted in the first round by the Detroit Lions in 1944, but he joined the military instead and was being coached by PB at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago. When the war ended, OG, instead of going with the Lions, went with his coach to the Browns in the new league.
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For those who didn't explore this site, the Top Ten undrafted players they had on their list were as follows:
10. Wayne Chrebet
9. Tony Romo
8. Rod Smith
7. Antonio Gates
6. Warren Moon
5. John Randle
4. Adam Vinatieri
3. Marion Motley
2. Dick Night Train Lane
1. Kurt Warner
Any others you can think of?
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Here are the other Hall of Fame players who went undrafted:
Jim Langer C
Larry Little OG
Emmit Thomas DB
Willie Brown DB
Willie Wood DB
Joe Perry FB
Bill Willis DL
Lou Groza OT-K
Frank Gatski C
Notice that most of them were OL or DBs. Perhaps the hardest positions to judge talent?
Also Joe Perry had the same problem as Motley: He was a black RB who had to go play in the AAFC. Willis was the same. Another victim of racism.
Groza and Gatski were both white and both OL. They were just the products of PBs eye for talent that others at the time did not have.
(of the 14 undrafter HOFers, 4 of them were AAFC era Cleveland Browns).
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