National Football League draft
The 1945 NFL draft was held on April 8, 1945, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York .[ 1] [ 2]
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.[ 3] [ 3] [ 3]
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 33 Pittsburgh Steelers Chuck Mehelich End Duquesne 34 Brooklyn Tigers Al Kowalski Quarterback Tulsa 35 Chicago Cardinals Zeke Chronister End TCU 36 Boston Yanks (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Johnny Strzykalski Back Marquette 37 Cleveland Rams Roger Harding Center California 38 Washington Redskins George Bujan Center Oregon 39 Detroit Lions Bob Wiese Back Michigan 40 Chicago Bears Forest Masterson Center Iowa 41 Philadelphia Eagles Pete Pihos End Indiana 42 New York Giants Ed Castleberry Back West Texas State 43 Green Bay Packers Joe Graham End Florida
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 55 Chicago Cardinals Ziggy Czarobski Tackle Notre Dame 56 Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Wolak Back Duquesne 57 Brooklyn Tigers Louie Futrell Back Fresno State 58 Boston Yanks Marty Silovich Center Marquette 59 Cleveland Rams Fred Negus Center Wisconsin 60 Chicago Bears Glen Burgeis Tackle Tulsa 61 Washington Redskins John Steber Guard Georgia Tech 62 Detroit Lions Mike Jarmoluk Tackle Temple 63 Philadelphia Eagles Gonzalo Morales Back St. Mary's (CA) 64 New York Giants Jack Mead End Wisconsin 65 Green Bay Packers Casey Stephenson Back Tennessee
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 66 Pittsburgh Steelers Tom Hughes Tackle Missouri 67 Brooklyn Tigers John Dodds Guard California 68 Chicago Cardinals John Harrington End Marquette 69 Boston Yanks Ellis Jones Guard Tulsa 70 Cleveland Rams Johnny August Back Alabama 71 Washington Redskins Art Porter End Tulane 72 Detroit Lions Jack Lowther Back Detroit 73 Chicago Bears Pat O'Brien Tackle Purdue 74 Philadelphia Eagles Sam Robinson Back Washington 75 New York Giants Nick Vodick Back Northwestern 76 Green Bay Packers Toby Collins Tackle Tulsa
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 77 Brooklyn Tigers Elting Johnson Back Bucknell 78 Chicago Cardinals Gene Meeks Back Kentucky 79 Pittsburgh Steelers Leon Pense Back Arkansas 80 Boston Yanks Earl Lambert Back Manhattan 81 Cleveland Rams Dick Huffman Tackle Tennessee 82 Detroit Lions Les Joop Tackle Illinois 83 Chicago Bears Bill Mayther Center Oregon 84 Washington Redskins Curt Kuykendall Back Auburn 85 Philadelphia Eagles Forrest Hall Back San Francisco 86 New York Giants John Rudan Back Marquette 87 Green Bay Packers Lamar Dingler End Arkansas
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 88 Chicago Cardinals Bill Huber End Notre Dame 89 Pittsburgh Steelers Art Brandau Center Tennessee 90 Brooklyn Tigers Roy Cross End Tennessee 91 Boston Yanks Don Kasprzak Back Dartmouth 92 Cleveland Rams Vern Walters Back Alma 93 Chicago Bears Bill Poe Back Clemson 94 Washington Redskins Frank Brogger End Michigan State 95 Detroit Lions Paul Walker End Yale 96 Philadelphia Eagles Joe Sadonis Tackle Fordham 97 New York Giants Vic Smith Back UCLA 98 Green Bay Packers Hal Helscher Back LSU
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 99 Pittsburgh Steelers Ray Ball Back Holy Cross 100 Brooklyn Tigers Earl Haury Tackle Kansas State 101 Chicago Cardinals Halley Heard Tackle LSU 102 Boston Yanks Ben Jones End Arkansas 103 Cleveland Rams Tom Fears End UCLA 104 Washington Redskins Mack Creger Back Northwestern 105 Detroit Lions Howie Hansen Tackle Utah State 106 Chicago Bears Chuck Avery Back Minnesota 107 Philadelphia Eagles Rudy Mobley Back Hardin–Simmons 108 New York Giants Jim Young Tackle Arkansas 109 Green Bay Packers Ralph Hammond Center Pittsburgh
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 110 Brooklyn Tigers John Martin Back East Tennessee State 111 Chicago Cardinals Bob Cowan Back Indiana 112 Pittsburgh Steelers (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Frank Basilone Back Duquesne 113 Boston Yanks Herb Coleman Center Notre Dame 114 Cleveland Rams Joe Winkler Center Purdue 115 Detroit Lions Mike Kasap Tackle Illinois 116 Chicago Bears Jack Boyd Back UCLA 117 Washington Redskins Paul McKee End Syracuse 118 Philadelphia Eagles Jim Newmeyer Tackle St. Vincent 119 New York Giants Billy Bevis Back Tennessee 120 Green Bay Packers Ed Podgorski Tackle Lafayette
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 132 Pittsburgh Steelers Mel Odelli Back Duquesne 133 Brooklyn Tigers Hal Self Back Alabama 134 Chicago Cardinals Solon Barnett Guard Baylor 135 Boston Yanks John DiGangi Tackle Holy Cross 136 Cleveland Rams Chuck Uknes Back Iowa 137 Washington Redskins John Putnik End Utah State 138 Detroit Lions Ben Trickey Back Iowa 139 Chicago Bears Frank Mattioli Guard Pittsburgh 140 Philadelphia Eagles John Duda Back Virginia 141 New York Giants Stan Rhoades Back Mississippi State 142 Green Bay Packers Marv Lindsey Back Arkansas
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 143 Brooklyn Tigers Tom Reilly Guard Fordham 144 Chicago Cardinals Gordon Carver Back Duke 145 Pittsburgh Steelers (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). George Connor Tackle Notre Dame 146 Boston Yanks Chan Highsmith Center North Carolina 147 Cleveland Rams (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Bill Lund Back Case Western Reserve 148 Detroit Lions Windell Williams End Rice 149 Chicago Bears Merle Gibson End TCU 150 Washington Redskins Eddie Saenz Back USC 151 Philadelphia Eagles Bill Montgomery Back LSU 152 New York Giants Jack Wink Back Wisconsin 153 Green Bay Packers Buster McClure Tackle Nevada
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 154 Chicago Cardinals (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). John Cannady Back Indiana 155 Pittsburgh Steelers Jim Ungles Back Kansas State 156 Brooklyn Tigers Skimp Harrison End South Carolina 157 Boston Yanks Mike Costello End Georgetown 158 Cleveland Rams Bob Barton End Holy Cross 159 Chicago Bears John Creevey Back Notre Dame 160 Washington Redskins Dom Fusci Tackle South Carolina 161 Detroit Lions Wayne Flanigan End Denver 162 Philadelphia Eagles Howard Werner End Syracuse 163 New York Giants Jim Little Tackle Kentucky 164 Green Bay Packers Harry Pieper Center California
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 176 Brooklyn Tigers Virgil Eikenberg Back Rice 177 Chicago Cardinals Ralph Strayhorn Guard North Carolina 178 Pittsburgh Steelers Alex Wizbicki Back Holy Cross 179 Boston Yanks Dolph Czekala Tackle Syracuse 180 Cleveland Rams Lee Kennon Tackle Oklahoma 181 Detroit Lions Jim McWhorter Back Alabama 182 Chicago Bears Jim Keane End Iowa 183 Washington Redskins (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Ed Stacco Tackle Colgate 184 Philadelphia Eagles Quentin Klenk Tackle USC 185 New York Giants Bill Byrd Center Maryland 186 Green Bay Packers Frank Hazard Guard Nebraska
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 187 Chicago Cardinals John Andretich Back Purdue 188 Pittsburgh Steelers Jim Landrigan Tackle Dartmouth 189 Brooklyn Tigers Al Kasulin Back Villanova 190 Boston Yanks Joe Drumm Tackle Georgetown 191 Cleveland Rams Eagle Matulich Back Mississippi State 192 Chicago Bears Bruno Niedziela Tackle Iowa 193 Washington Redskins Jim Bradshaw Center Auburn 194 Detroit Lions Clyde LeForce Back Tulsa 195 Philadelphia Eagles Joe Spencer Tackle Oklahoma A&M 196 New York Giants Glenn Morries Tackle Texas 197 Green Bay Packers Ed Jeffers Tackle Oklahoma A&M
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 198 Pittsburgh Steelers Bill Lilienthal Tackle Villanova 199 Brooklyn Tigers Charley Lively Tackle Arkansas 200 Chicago Cardinals Jack Kramer Tackle Marquette 201 Boston Yanks Mario Giannelli Tackle Boston College 202 Cleveland Rams Bill Griffin Tackle Kentucky 203 Washington Redskins Bill Shipkey Back Stanford 204 Detroit Lions Mike Castronis Guard Georgia 205 Chicago Bears Broughton Williams End Florida 206 Philadelphia Eagles Leo Pratt Tackle Oklahoma A&M 207 New York Giants Pete Davis Back Santa Clara 208 Green Bay Packers Bill Prentice Back Santa Clara
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 209 Brooklyn Tigers Ted Curran Back Iowa 210 Chicago Cardinals Red Cheek Guard Baylor 211 Pittsburgh Steelers Art Price Back Rutgers 212 Boston Yanks Eric Jamison Tackle San Francisco 213 Cleveland Rams Leroy Erickson Back Oregon 214 Detroit Lions Ken Currier Guard Wisconsin 215 Chicago Bears Walt Stickel Tackle Penn 216 Washington Redskins Sid Halliday Tackle SMU 217 Philadelphia Eagles Phil Teschner Tackle Brown 218 New York Giants Sam Vacanti Back Iowa 219 Green Bay Packers Warren Fuller End Fordham
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 220 Chicago Cardinals Fred Grant Back Alabama[ 5] 221 Pittsburgh Steelers Don Malmberg Back UCLA 222 Brooklyn Tigers (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Don Fabling Back Colorado 223 Boston Yanks Walt Kretz Back Cornell 224 Cleveland Rams (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Ray Evans Tackle Texas Western 225 Chicago Bears Bob Livingstone Back Notre Dame 226 Washington Redskins (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Chick Davidson Tackle Cornell 227 Detroit Lions Jack Verutti Back St. Mary's (CA) 228 Philadelphia Eagles John Magee Guard Rice 229 New York Giants Vern Oliver Center Washington State 230 Green Bay Packers Fred Neilsen Tackle St. Mary's (CA)
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 231 Pittsburgh Steelers Everett Hartwell End Auburn 232 Brooklyn Tigers Wally Crittenden Back USC 233 Chicago Cardinals (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Johnny Cook Back Georgia 234 Boston Yanks (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Marty Grbovaz End San Francisco 235 Cleveland Rams Luke Higgins Tackle Notre Dame 236 Washington Redskins Gabby Martin End SMU 237 Detroit Lions Ray Olsen Back Tulane 238 Chicago Bears Mike Vargon End Kansas State 239 Philadelphia Eagles Monk Mosley Back Alabama 240 New York Giants Jim Chadwell Tackle Tennessee 241 Green Bay Packers Bob Gilmore Back Washington
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 242 Brooklyn Tigers Jules Taddie Center Rochester 243 Chicago Cardinals Ardie McClure Tackle Georgia 244 Pittsburgh Steelers Ed Cain Back Rice 245 Boston Yanks Ziggy Gory Center Villanova 246 Cleveland Rams Stan Nowak End South Carolina 247 Detroit Lions Russ Morrow Center Tennessee 248 Chicago Bears Charley Wright Guard Iowa State 249 Washington Redskins James McCurdy Center Washington 250 Philadelphia Eagles Blair Brown Guard Oklahoma A&M 251 New York Giants Vince Mroz End Michigan State 252 Green Bay Packers Lloyd Baxter Center SMU
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 253 Chicago Cardinals Hugo Norige Back Wooster 254 Pittsburgh Steelers Angelo Carlaccini Back Pittsburgh 255 Brooklyn Tigers Jerry Whitney Back USC 256 Boston Yanks (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Bill Iancelli End William & Mary 257 Cleveland Rams Gene Konopka Guard Villanova 258 Chicago Bears Jack Green Guard Alabama 259 Washington Redskins Cecil Souders End Ohio State 260 Detroit Lions Stan Green Tackle Oklahoma 261 Philadelphia Eagles Bob Hall End Stanford 262 New York Giants George Kita Back Drake 263 Green Bay Packers Nolan Luhn End Tulsa
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 264 Pittsburgh Steelers Ed Burns Back Boston College 265 Brooklyn Tigers (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Felix Trapani Guard LSU 266 Chicago Cardinals (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Red Knight Back LSU 267 Boston Yanks Al Kull Tackle Fordham 268 Cleveland Rams Ray Florek Back Illinois 269 Washington Redskins (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Ben Wall Back Western Michigan 270 Detroit Lions Bob Ivory Guard Detroit 271 Chicago Bears Lu Gambino Back Maryland 272 Philadelphia Eagles Dan Talcott Tackle Nevada 273 New York Giants Doug Graham Tackle Stanford 274 Green Bay Packers Nestor Blanco Guard Colorado Mines
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 275 Brooklyn Tigers Hal Finney Back USC 276 Chicago Cardinals Don Fambrough Back Texas 277 Pittsburgh Steelers Glen Stough Tackle Duke 278 Boston Yanks Bob Mangene Back Boston College 279 Cleveland Rams Russ Perry Back Wake Forest 280 Detroit Lions Dell Taylor Back Tulsa 281 Chicago Bears Ray Jones Back Texas 282 Washington Redskins George Hillery End Texas Western 283 Philadelphia Eagles Bill Thompson Tackle New Mexico 284 New York Giants Jack Dillon End Texas Tech 285 Green Bay Packers Bill Chestnut Back Kansas
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 286 Chicago Cardinals Bulldog Williams Tackle Duke 287 Pittsburgh Steelers Jim Marsh Tackle Oklahoma State 288 Brooklyn Tigers Don Fauble Back Oklahoma 289 Boston Yanks John Morelli Guard Georgetown 290 Cleveland Rams Pat West Back USC 291 Chicago Bears Bob Hary Back Minnesota 292 Washington Redskins Milford Dreblow Back USC 293 Detroit Lions Len Ciesla Back Creighton 294 Philadelphia Eagles Al Fleming Center Wichita 295 New York Giants Charley J'Anthony Back Brown 296 Green Bay Packers Jim Thompson Back Washington State
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 297 Pittsburgh Steelers (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Ralph Grant Back Bucknell 298 Brooklyn Tigers Nick Studen Back Denver 299 Chicago Cardinals Ed Dusek Back Texas A&M 300 Boston Yanks John Fisher Center Harvard 301 Cleveland Rams Bill Davis Back Oregon 302 Washington Redskins (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Frank Irwin Tackle Duke 303 Detroit Lions Frank Lopp Tackle Wisconsin 304 Chicago Bears Nick Forkovitch Back William & Mary 305 Philadelphia Eagles Leo Benjamin Center West Virginia 306 New York Giants Ray Pipkin Back Arkansas 307 Green Bay Packers Jim Evans End Idaho
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 308 Brooklyn Tigers (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). LeMar Dykstra Back Colorado 309 Chicago Cardinals Otto Payne Back Texas A&M 310 Pittsburgh Steelers John Kondrla Tackle St. Vincent 311 Boston Yanks Elmer Oberto Guard Georgetown 312 Cleveland Rams Charley Compton Tackle Alabama 313 Detroit Lions Paul Limont End Notre Dame 314 Chicago Bears Don Robinson Back Michigan 315 Washington Redskins Leon Diner End Denver 316 Philadelphia Eagles Jim Dougherty Back Miami (OH) 317 New York Giants Joe Wolf Center USC 318 Green Bay Packers (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Hamilton Nichols Guard Rice
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 319 Chicago Bears Rusty Johnston Back Marquette 320 Washington Redskins Bob Cummings Center Vanderbilt 321 Detroit Lions (Not yet eligible for selection, pick forfeited). Ben Schadler Back Northwestern 322 Philadelphia Eagles Ken Reese Back Alabama 323 New York Giants Bill Broderick Tackle Utah 324 Green Bay Packers John Priday Back Ohio State
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 325 Washington Redskins Don Nolander Tackle Minnesota 326 Detroit Lions Tom Dorais Back Detroit 327 Chicago Bears George Groves Center Marquette 328 Philadelphia Eagles Loren Braner Center Pittsburgh 329 New York Giants John Staples Guard Alabama 330 Green Bay Packers Billy Lee Aldridge Back Oklahoma A&M
Charley Trippi , halfback from Georgia taken 1st round 1st overall by the Chicago Cardinals.Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1968.[ 6] Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1968.[ 6] 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.[ 7] 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.[ 7] Arnie Weinmeister , defensive tackle from Washington taken 17th round 166th overall by the Brooklyn Tigers.Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1984.[ 8] Notable undrafted players [ edit ] ^ Salomone, Dan (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015" . Giants.com . New York Giants . Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015 . ^ Strickler (ed.), 1945 Record and Rules Manual, p. 83. ^ a b c George Strickler (ed.), The National Football League Record and Rules Manual, 1945. Chicago: National Football League, 1945; pp. 83-100, passim. ^ a b Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career. ^ "Fred Grant" . Pro Football Archives . Retrieved July 24, 2023 .^ a b List of 1960s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008 . ^ a b List of 1970s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008 . ^ List of 1980s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008 .
