1960 NFL Expansion Draft

[mtpatton]

Does anyone have info on the rules of the 1960 Expansion Draft, such as the complete list of players left unprotected, the order of choices and withdrawals, or even just what the rules were?

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.” Landry made 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. Consider in particular the Cowboys selection of center Joe Nicely, who was never on an NFL active roster.

My best guess is that teams protected 25 players from their entire roster, not just the active roster, and Dallas could choose from the remainder.

[TodMaher]

Does anyone have info on the rules of the 1960 Expansion Draft, such as the complete list of players left unprotected, the order of choices and withdrawals, or even just what the rules were?

No, none of that has ever been made public for any the of the pre-1995 expansion drafts.

[mtpatton]

Thanks, Tod. Does my reasoning seem accurate to you? That teams froze 25 players, and Dallas could choose from the remainder, whether active or inactive?

[TodMaher]

Thanks, Tod. Does my reasoning seem accurate to you? That teams froze 25 players, and Dallas could choose from the remainder, whether active or inactive?

Yes.

[fgoodwin]

Thanks, Tod. Does my reasoning seem accurate to you? That teams froze 25 players, and Dallas could choose from the remainder, whether active or inactive?

Yes.

I read someplace (of course I can't remember where) that each time Dallas made a selection of an unprotected player, that player's team could then protect another of their exposed players. Does anyone else recall reading such a thing? Or is that just a bit of Cowboys' lore to demonstrate just how bad they claimed things were in that draft?

[BD Sullivan]

Thanks, Tod. Does my reasoning seem accurate to you? That teams froze 25 players, and Dallas could choose from the remainder, whether active or inactive?

Yes.

I read someplace (of course I can't remember where) that each time Dallas made a selection of an unprotected player, that player's team could then protect another of their exposed players. Does anyone else recall reading such a thing? Or is that just a bit of Cowboys' lore to demonstrate just how bad they claimed things were in that draft?

From the 3/16/60 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

"The Rangers are picking three players from each of the established NFL teams to fill out their roster."

The "Rangers" didn't help themselves by ignoring info from the other teams. Detroit told them Charlie Ane would probably retire, but they took him anyway because Tex Schramm was sure that he could convince him to play--which he didn't.

[Bryan]

I read someplace (of course I can't remember where) that each time Dallas made a selection of an unprotected player, that player's team could then protect another of their exposed players. Does anyone else recall reading such a thing? Or is that just a bit of Cowboys' lore to demonstrate just how bad they claimed things were in that draft?

In my Great Teams/Great Years book that is never mentioned. I don't know how it would have worked with the communication limitations back then...if teams got to re-select who they protected after each Cowboys pick, the expansion draft would have taken weeks. But who knows.

To respond to the OP, since the Cowboys were the only expansion team that year, I'm not sure if there even was "an order of selections". My book just lists the picks by team.

I don't really understand the Eddie LeBaron acquisition. He had retired from Redskins after 1959, but the Cowboys talked him into playing again and sent their 1st and 7th round draft picks to Washington for his rights prior to the actual expansion draft. Couldn't the Cowboys have waited to select him in the expansion draft if 'inactive' players were eligible for selection? And if the Redskins had included the retired LeBaron on their 25-man protected list, wouldn't THAT have been the point in time in which the Cowboys offer up 1st/7th round draft picks for LeBaron?

[rhickok1109]

Thanks, Tod. Does my reasoning seem accurate to you? That teams froze 25 players, and Dallas could choose from the remainder, whether active or inactive?

Yes.

I read someplace (of course I can't remember where) that each time Dallas made a selection of an unprotected player, that player's team could then protect another of their exposed players. Does anyone else recall reading such a thing? Or is that just a bit of Cowboys' lore to demonstrate just how bad they claimed things were in that draft?

I don't have a source ATM, but I'm quite sure you're right about that.