1965 Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Draft
The 1965 NFL Draft and the 1965 AFL Draft both took place on Saturday, November 28, 1964. This was the day of the Army-Navy game that is normally the last game of the college season before the bowl games.

They were separate from each other and some players were drafted by both leagues. The AFL was going strong in wanting stars signed and would do what they could to please them if they signed with the AFL. Joe Namath would sign if he could play in New York, and he was given a salary of $427,000. As in earlier years some players had signed "AFL contracts" they signed with the league as soon as their last college game was over and when drafted by an AFL team the contract was transferred to them. To help fight this the NFL moved the draft up to near the end of the college season.

A new new kind of job was created, "baby sitter". Their job was to hang with the draft prospect, and keep him away from the other leagues representative. The Eagles draft pick, Otis Taylor was held in a motel and had to "escape" from the NFL baby sitter. He later signed with the AFL for money and a "Red Thunderbird Convertible" that the AFL baby sitter was driving. Taylor noticed how a lot of people stared at the car when they drove by, and he wanted one.

The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants. The draft was marked by the failure of the St. Louis Cardinals to sign Joe Namath, who signed with the American Football League's New York Jets, and went on to defeat the NFL's Colts for the World Championship after the 1968 season.

Awards and honors

 * Pete Retzlaff, Bert Bell Award