AFL Memorabilia piece of the day...
Since the footbal season is among us a friend of mine, Todd Tobias, a football historian, started posting the AFL piece of the day to his friends. So with his help I pass this great information on...
January 1, 1962 - Al Davis signs Oakland Raiders draft choice, Lance Alworth, to play for the Chargers!
Sounds odd, doesn't it? But it is 100% true. Al Davis was the Chargers receivers coach when he began scouting Lance Alworth at the University of Arkansas. When it came down to draft time, the Raiders and Chargers worked out a deal. The Raiders would draft Alworth, and immediately trade him to the Chargers for Bo Roberson, Gene Selawski and Hunter Enis.
So Al Davis was in New Orleans on New Year's Day in 1962. He watched the game, and then signed Alworth to a Chargers contract immediately following the game, standing under the goalposts. It was critical in those days to sign college players in the first minutes of their eligibility because the rival NFL held their own draft for the same players, and the first team to actually sign the player was awarded with his service. This situation led to numerous stories of teams sticking players with babysitters for days in hotel rooms, and shuffling them in secrecy around the country in order to not allow them to have any interaction with the other league.
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