1960 NFL expansion draft
1960 NFL expansion draft | |
---|---|
General information | |
Sport | American football |
Date(s) | March 13, 1960 |
Overview | |
League | NFL |
Expansion teams | Dallas Cowboys |
Expansion season | 1960 |
The 1960 NFL expansion draft was the first
In order for the new franchise to become competitive with existing teams, the league gave them the opportunity to select current players from existing teams. That selection was provided by the expansion draft, held on March 13, 1960.[2] At the time the expansion draft was held, the team was known as the Dallas Rangers; the club was then renamed the Dallas Cowboys six days later to avoid confusion with the Dallas Rangers minor league baseball team.[3]
In this expansion draft, Dallas chose 36 players from the existing 12 teams.
Rules of the draft
According to a post on the Professional Football Researcher's Association forum, details have never been released to the public, and thus the exact nature of the expansion draft is unclear. In his autobiography, Tom Landry stated, “Each team would be allowed to protect twenty-five of the thirty-four men on its roster. Of the nine remaining names, we could pick only three from each team.” [6] However, there are at least two mistakes in that statement. First, the active roster limit at that time was thirty-six, not thirty-four. Second, there were at least two individuals chosen by Dallas who were not on active rosters at the time of the selections. Note in particular the selection of Joe Nicely, who was never on an NFL active roster.[7] Thus, it would appear that teams could nominate players from their inactive rosters as well.
Mark Ribowsky: “The Cowboys were permitted to sign three players from each NFL team, choosing from among eleven players left unprotected from each thirty-six man roster in an expansion draft to be held in February.”[8] Again, nothing is said here about players not on the active roster, and Ribowsky has the date wrong. Perhaps the best conclusion is that teams were allowed to protect twenty-five players, active or inactive, and Dallas could choose from the remainder.
More from Landry, “ . . . each time we picked a player off the unprotected list, a team could remove another from that list.”
Player selections
See also
References
- ^ a b c Buck, Ray (February 15, 2008). "From meager beginnings to America's Team". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- ^ "Cowboys draft for 1960". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on November 23, 2003. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
- ^ "Dallas Eleven Changes Made". New York Times. March 20, 1960. p. S4.
- ^ "Pro Football History". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2008.(listed as the Dallas Rangers)
- ^ "1960 Expansion Draft". September 28, 2008. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
- ISBN 0-310-52910-7.
- ^ Neither pro-football-reference.com nor NFL.com/players has an entry for Nicely.
- ISBN 978-0-87140-748-1.
- ^ "1960 Dallas Cowboys Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2017.