Top 10 West Virginia Mountaineers in the First Round of the NFL Draft
By Ken Durbin
2. “Jumbo” Joe Stydahar- 6th to Chicago Bears, 1936
CREDIT: espn.com
In the first ever NFL Draft, the West Virginia University Mountaineers were represented by one of the greatest players in program history: Joe Stydahar. Jumbo was selected with the Chicago Bears first ever draft pick by the legendary coach George Halas.
The talented guard would play both way for Halas’s Bears of the 1930s and 1940s where he would go on to earn multiple Pro Bowl selections, multiple NFL championships, and be named to the NFL’s All-1930s team.
Stydahar is the first player in the history of the NFL draft to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. None of the picks selected in the 1936 draft ahead of Stydahar amounted to much.
Also of interest to Mountaineers fans, former WVU coach Art “Pappy” Lewis was also selected in the 1936 draft with the 9th pick by the New York Giants.