The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by
New York Yanks
The New York Yanks were an American football team that played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons.
Season by season overview 1949
The team began in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, owned by Kate Smith's manag ...
were assigned to the new
Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to:
American football
*Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League
*Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs
* Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...
.
This was the sixth year that the
first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous five winners (
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
in 1947,
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in 1948,
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
in 1949,
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
in 1950, and
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
in 1951) ineligible from the draw;
it was won by the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
, who selected quarterback
Bill Wade
William James Wade (October 4, 1930 – March 9, 2016) was an American football quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL). He is considered one of the greatest athletes in Nashville and Vanderbilt University h ...
.
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' sportswriter
Mo Siegel later claimed that
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
owner
George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American businessman best known for founding the Washington Commanders, an American football franchise belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He founded the team as ...
let him choose a late-round pick. Siegel, he said, chose
Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...
's Flavious Smith to force the first black player onto the all-white Redskins. If true, Marshall likely persuaded
NFL Commissioner
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
Bert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...
to remove the choice from the official records. (Smith, who did not hear the story until years later, was white.)
Player selections
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Round six
Round seven
Round eight
Round nine
Round ten
Round eleven
Round twelve
Round thirteen
Round fourteen
Round fifteen
Round sixteen
Round seventeen
Round eighteen
Round nineteen
Round twenty
Round twenty-one
Round twenty-two
Round twenty-three
Round twenty-four
Round twenty-five
Round twenty-six
Round twenty-seven
Round twenty-eight
Round twenty-nine
Round thirty
Notable undrafted players
Hall of Famers
* Hugh McElhenny, halfback from Washington taken 1st round 9th overall by the San Francisco 49ers.
:Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1970.
[List of 1970s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com ]
* Gino Marchetti, defensive end from San Francisco taken 2nd round 14th overall by the New York Yanks.
:Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1972.
* Ollie Matson, halfback from San Francisco taken 1st round 3rd overall by the Chicago Cardinals.
:Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1972.
*
Dick "Night Train" Lane, defensive back attending Junior College was undrafted and signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Rams.
[ ]
:Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1974.
* Frank Gifford, halfback from USC taken 1st round 11th overall by the New York Giants.
:Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1977.
* Yale Lary, defensive back from Texas A&M taken 3rd round 34th overall by the Detroit Lions.
:Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1979.
* Bobby Dillon, defensive back from Texas taken 3rd round 28th overall by the Green Bay Packers.
:Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2020.
* George Young, tackle from Bucknell taken 26th round 302nd overall by the New York Yanks.
:Inducted: For his Executive achievements Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
References
External links
NFL.com – 1952 DraftPro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1952 Nfl Draft
National Football League Draft
Draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...