The 1945 NFL draft was held on April 8, 1945, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. Perhaps as a tip of the hat to wartime sensibilities, the 1945 draft was officially called the "1944 Preferred Negotiations List" by the league.
With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected halfback Charley Trippi.
Although there were formally 32 rounds of the draft, each of the 11 teams made a total of 30 selections, with a total of 330 players chosen. A total of 22 players were selected before they became eligible for the draft under league rules. These draft choices were forfeited by the team and are noted below. The actual number of drafted-and-eligible players chosen in the 1945 draft was thus 308.
Player selections
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Round 23
Round 24
Round 25
Round 26
Round 27
Round 28
Round 29
Round 30
Round 31
Round 32
Hall of Famers
- Charley Trippi, halfback from Georgia taken 1st round 1st overall by the Chicago Cardinals.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1968.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1968.
- Pete Pihos, defensive end from Indiana University (Bloomington) taken 5th round 41st overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1970.
- Tom Fears, end from the University of California, Los Angeles taken 11th round 103rd overall by the Cleveland Rams.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1970.
- Arnie Weinmeister, defensive tackle from Washington taken 17th round 166th overall by the Brooklyn Tigers.
Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1984.
Notable undrafted players
References
External links