1960 American Football League draft

Territorial draft

To begin the draft, each of the eight teams were awarded a territorial or "bonus" selection to guarantee a local flavor that would boost the financial prospects of each franchise. These regional picks did not follow a specific order. Rather, they were mutually agreed upon by the other teams.

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Regular draft

First selections

After the territorial picks, a consensus was reached on the top eight players at each position—at the time, college players were typically categorized by their offensive positions only. The names for each position were then placed in a hat and randomly drawn by each team. This process repeated until each franchise had made 33 selections, or three full offensive units. Those selections were considered as the first round of the draft.

Boston Patriots

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Texans

Denver Broncos

Houston Oilers

Los Angeles Chargers

Minneapolis team{{efn|name=Minneapolis}}

New York Titans

Second selections

The second selections took place two weeks later, on December 2. The process was the same as the first ones, but it consisted of maximum 20 picks in total for each team. This selections were considered as the second round.

Boston Patriots

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Texans

Denver Broncos

Houston Oilers

Los Angeles Chargers

Minneapolis team{{efn|name=Minneapolis}}

New York Titans

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Allocation draft

After the draft was completed, one of the original teams, Minneapolis (which did not have a nickname), was offered a franchise in the NFL and on January 27, 1960, they withdrew from the AFL, leaving the league with seven teams. Three days later, there were announced that the Oakland Raiders had been joined the AFL as the eighth franchise, and them inherited the draft picks of Minneapolis. The problem was that several of the players selected by Minneapolis were signed by NFL, CFL and AFL teams. To solve this issue the AFL held an allocation draft. Each of the other seven AFL teams froze 11 players on their rosters. The remaining players were then eligible for selection by Oakland, which then stockpiled a total of 24 players. The number of players originally drafted for the eighth AFL franchise, but who were signed by other teams, combined with the process of the allocation draft, virtually guaranteed that the Raiders would have the worst team in the AFL in its first year. In spite of this, they managed to sign future stars center Jim Otto and guard Wayne Hawkins, two men who played the entire ten years of the American Football League.

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Hall of Famers

• Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers offensive tackle Ron Mix, drafted as a first selection by the Boston Patriots, then he was traded to Los Angeles. He played 10 years for the Chargers franchise and one season with the Oakland Raiders. Inducted in 1979.
• Oakland Raiders center Jim Otto, signed as an undrafted free agent, he played fifteen seasons for the Raiders. Inducted in 1980.
• Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs safety Johnny Robinson, drafted as a first selection, he played his entire 12-year career with the Chiefs franchise. Inducted in 2019.
• Safety Larry Wilson, drafted as a first selection by the Buffalo Bills, Wilson instead signed with the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals, where he played his entire 13-year career. Inducted in 1978.

Notable undrafted players

Notes

References

References

1. (November 20, 1959). "New Grid Loop's Novel Draft Expected To Avoid Scramble". The Morning Call.
2. (November 24, 1959). "American Football League drafts 88 players". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
3. (November 25, 1959). "AFL Sets Dallas Meeting for Dec 4–5". Minneapolis Morning Tribune.
4. Carroll, Bob. (1999). "Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League". HarperCollins Publishers.
5. (October 28, 2009). "The AFL's first draft".
6. (2009). "The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia 2009-2010". Skyhorse Publishing.
7. Riffenburgh, Beau. (1986). "The Official NFL Encyclopedia". New American Library.