Throwback Thursday: The Bonus Pick

The NFL has been holding a player draft annually since 1936. Other than the number of rounds, the number of teams, and the attention paid to the event the draft has mostly remained the same since the first one. Teams pick from worst to first and try to avoid the dreaded the bust. The exception from the norm were the drafts held from 1947-58. The NFL decided to add a bonus pick at the top of those drafts. The team making this bonus pick was determined by lottery. The winner of the lottery received the first pick in the draft. Very strange. It was also quite convenient for the Chicago Bears. George Halas and the boys had won the NFL title on December 15, 1946. The very next day they had the top pick of the 1947 NFL Draft. Things often seemed to roll the way of George Halas. This bonus pick was a draft feature for twelve years. Here are the results of those bonus picks:

1947

Chicago Bears: Bob Fenimore, back, Oklahoma A&M

1948

Washington Redskins: Harry Gilmer, HB, Alabama

1949

Philadelphia Eagles: Chuck Bednarik, LB, Penn

1950

Detroit Lions: Leon Hart, end, Notre Dame

1951

New York Giants: Kyle Rote, HB, SMU

1952

Los Angeles Rams: Bill Wade, QB, Vanderbilt

1953

San Francisco 49ers: Harry Babcock, end, Georgia

1954

Cleveland Browns: Bobby Garrett, QB, Stanford

1955

Baltimore Colts: George Shaw, QB, Oregon

1956

Pittsburgh Steelers: Gary Glick, QB, Colorado St.

1957

Green Bay Packers: Paul Hornung, QB, Notre Dame

1958

Chicago Cardinals: King Hill, QB, Rice

Each of the 12 teams that competed for most of the twelve years received a bonus pick. 

Just as the Chicago Bears did in the 1947 draft, the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams received their bonus pick after winning the NFL title. The rich got richer. The Eagles really got rich. Win a title. Add Bednarik. The Eagels repeated as champs in 1949. 

Chuck Bednarik and Paul Hornung were bonus picks that went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Leon Hart, Kyle Rote, and Bill Wade all had productive careers. Each played important roles on championship teams. Hart and Rote with the teams that selected them as bonus picks. Wade eventually moved on to the Bears and led them a title in 1963.  

The Chicago Cardinals ended up with the top two picks of the 1958 NFL Draft as a result of receiving the final bonus pick and not doing well in 1957. 

The bonus pick was a gimmick from the mind of George Halas. Never a fan of the worst-to-first order of the draft he wanted teams that were consistent winners to have a shot at a top player. This never really made any sense as the draft order never proved to be an obstacle to the Bears stockpiling top talent. Halas' teams had won four of the seven championships prior to the introduction of the bonus picks. But, what Halas wanted Halas often got.