History: NFL Draft Memories - Hugh McElhenny

Draft Memories: Hugh McElhenny

To be drafted into the National Football League is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thousands of players have experienced that joyful moment since the college draft was instituted by the NFL in 1936. However, only a select number of these drafted players excelled on the NFL gridiron to the point that earned them a bust in Canton. Over the years, Profootballhof.com has sat down and asked some Hall of Famers to relive their draft day.

Oil or Football?

Upon leaving college, Hugh was working in the Los Angeles area in the oil business when he again received a phone call from Pool. This time, Pool had just become the Rams' head coach. He wanted to know if McElhenny would be interested in playing for the Rams if they drafted him. As Hugh recently recollected, he hung up the phone thinking that he'd be the Rams' first-round draft pick.

Well, as it turned out, the Rams ended up receiving the bonus pick, which was the first pick overall. They swiftly grabbed quarterback Billy Wade out of Vanderbilt. Before the Rams could select again (13th overall), "The King" as McElhenny was known, had been selected by the 49ers as the ninth overall pick.

The disappointment for McElhenny certainly was nowhere near the magnitude of what an athlete would experience today if the similar scenario took place. 

"Pro football was not much back then," explained McElhenny, "You weren't even sure if you'd play, there was no money in it."

Bonus Pick
From 1947-1958, the National Football League draft included a bonus pick rule whereby one team would receive the first pick of the draft. The bonus pick was selected by lottery and each team was eligible for the pick only once.