The American Football League played its first season in 1960. There were territorial picks in the first “draft.” The players taken were Gerhard Schwedes, HB, Syracuse, Boston Patriots, Richie Lucas, QB, Penn State, Buffalo Bills, on Meredith, QB, SMU, Dallas Texans, Roger LeClerc, C, Trinity, Denver Broncos, Billy Cannon, HB, LSU, Houston Oilers, Monty Stickles, E, Notre Dame, Los Angeles Chargers, George Izo, QB, Notre Dame, New York Titans, and Dale Hackbart, QB, Wisconsin, Minnesota team that never came to pass. The Minnesota team became the Oakland Raiders franchise. The first actual college draft was a year later and there was a half-dozen before blending with the NFL. Who were the six players taken first overall by AFL teams and how did they wind up doing?
1961: Ken Rice
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound lineman from Auburn was the first pick in the first draft. He played two seasons each with Buffalo, Oakland and Miami. He was a two-time All-American in college. In the pros, Rice played in 79 games In 1961 during his rookie season, he was selected to the 1961 AFL All-Star game. He was also named a second0team All-AFL lineman that season. In 1964, Rice was traded to the Oakland Raiders. In 1966, the Miami Dolphins drafted Rice from the Raiders during the 1966 AFL Expansion Draft. Rice retired from football after the 1967 season due to a back injury
1962: Roman Gabriel
Roman Gabriel played college ball at North Carolina State. The Raiders made him the first overall pick in the AFL Draft. He was taken second overall by the Rams in the NFL process and decided to sign with them. Gabriel was NFL MVP in 1969, a four-time Pro Bowler and led the league in passing TDs twice and yardage once. He also played for the Philadelphia Eagles.
1963: Buck Buchanan
The Chiefs tapped Buck Buchanan out of Grambling State as the first pick in the 1963 draft. They wound up with a Hall of Fame defensive tackle. Buchanan was a two-time AFL champ and one-time Super Bowl champ. He didn’t go until the 19th round of the NFL Draft, plucked by the Giants with the 265th overall pick.
1964: Jack Concannon
Jack Concannon played college ball at Boston College so it only figured the Boston Patriots would draft the quarterback. He went in the second round, 16th overall, to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Draft and decided to sign with them. In 1966, Concannon led the Eagles to several early December wins that allowed Philadelphia to finish the season with a 9–5 record and a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference of the NFL. He played with Philadelphia from 1964-66 and then was traded to the Chicago Bears for Mike Ditka. He played for five years with the Bears. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, and played on the practice squad for two seasons. He was picked up by the Green Bay Packers in 1974 and ended his career as a backup in 1975 with the Detroit Lions.
1965: Joe Namath
A legend on and off the field. The New York Jets grabbed Joe Namath first overall out of Alabama. He led them to the Super Bowl III upset, an historic game. Namath also is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A game-changer.
1966: Jim Grabowski
The Miami Dolphins took Jim Grabowski out of Illinois. The running back didn’t bite for them. Rather, he signed with the Green Bay Packers, who chose him ninth overall. Grabowski played five seasons for the Packers, and was known as one of Green Bay’s “Gold Dust Twins” (along with fellow rookie running back Donny Anderson) in the late ’60s. With a new head coach in 1971, Grabowski was waived by Green Bay,[ picked up by the Chicago Bears for the season, and retired in training camp in September 1972. Over his six NFL seasons, Grabowski rushed for 1,731 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.
