1945 NFL draft

The 1945 NFL draft was held on April 8, 1945, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. Perhaps as a tip of the hat to wartime sensibilities, the 1945 draft was officially called the "1944 Preferred Negotiations List" by the league.

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. A total of 22 players were selected before they became eligible for the draft under league rules. These draft choices were forfeited by the team and are noted below. The actual number of drafted-and-eligible players chosen in the 1945 draft was thus 308.

Hall of Famers

 * Charley Trippi, halfback from Georgia taken 1st round 1st overall by the Chicago Cardinals.
 * Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1968.


 * Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch, wide receiver from Michigan taken 1st round 5th overall by the Cleveland Rams.
 * Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1968.


 * 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.


 * 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.


 * Arnie Weinmeister, defensive tackle from Washington taken 17th round 166th overall by the Brooklyn Tigers.
 * Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1984.