1958 AFL Draft

 

Round 1
1 - Cleveland - RB Bo Golden - St. Louis State - Kingsfan11
2 - Chicago - OL Mitch Hunt - Armitage - idm
3 - Tri-Cities - WR Sonny Delvecchio - Brooklyn College - Kingsfan11
4 - Buffalo - OL Jerry Colangelo - Vermont - idm
5 - Pittsburgh - DB Rex Leavitt - Deseret - DireBear
6 - Philadelphia - S David Jefferson - Virginia Commonwealth - idm
7 - Boston - DL Hugo Cumberdale - Indiana - Jayhawk
8 - Tri-Cities (from STL) - DL Lou Spanos - University of Cleveland - DireBear
9 - Washington - OL Alan Varnas - Chicago Christian - DireBear
10 - Detroit - DL Herman Escalante - ULA - DireBear
11 - Cleveland (from NY) - QB Cassius Sterling - Wyoming State - Darknes
12 - Cincinnati - S Will Heckel - Ohio - Kingsfan11

In prior year’s drafts, the first overall pick seemed like it was a fairly obvious choice for the team selecting. This year appears to be different. Cleveland had two gaping holes at skill positions that they needed to fill, needing a top halfback with Max Panders retiring and a receiver after shipping off Joey Staniskovski to New York. They ultimately decided to go with the more impactful position in the backfield, and selected Bo Golden out of St. Louis State. Golden is the complete opposite player to what Panders was, a bruising back that can break through the first attempt at tackling him and is an exceptional extra blocker. Instead of going with a skill position of need, the Hogs instead decided to protect their golden boy at running back and took OL Mitch Hunt from Armitage. Hunt is a more mobile lineman that will fit great in the Hogs’ interior blocking, and should provide the protection that Chicago lacked last year. The Hawks then swooped in and picked the best offensive player available in Brooklyn College WR Sonny Delvecchio to help their young QB out. The Terriers’ leading receiver would regularly sacrifice his body to make the catch, and even if he wasn’t able to he’d find a way to make up for it the next time he saw the ball. The Hammers made an easy decision at 4 and went out to improve their offensive line by selecting Vermont’s Jerry Colangelo. Buffalo wanted an offensive lineman that would work better in their pass-favorable offense, and Colangelo seems to fit the mold that they want to make their offense click once again. Two defensive backs would then go in back-to-back picks, with Pittsburgh taking the mighty tall Rex Leavitt from Deseret and Philadelphia going with the soft-spoken but hard-hitting David Jefferson out of Virginia Commonwealth. Boston and Tri-Cities would also take two positions back-to-back. The Dragons selected Indiana DL Hugo Cumberdale to plug in on the inside to stop the run, and the Hawks used their second pick of the round to select the physical yet agile Lou Spanos out of the University of Cleveland. The Federals broke the trend by shoring up their offensive line by taking the nimble Alan Varnas from Chicago Christian. Detroit would continue the trend of the third defensive lineman drafted in the first round by taking ULA’s Herman Escalante. Escalante was surprisingly fast off of the line, and many offensive linemen had trouble blocking him once he found that opening, meaning he should fit well on a developing Knights defensive front. Cleveland would shock most of the teams by selecting Wyoming State QB Cassius Sterling with the 11th pick. The Crows don’t have anything as close as the high-flying offense Sterling had in college, though this pick likely places current QB Denzel Collingsworth on an incredibly hot seat. The Rivermen closed out the round by taking S Will Heckel from Ohio, who has a knack for feeling out where the ball will be to get in its path for a contested play. 

Round 2
13 - Cleveland - LB Earl Pellington - New Jersey State - DireBear
14 - Chicago - OL Taylor Pike - Rhode Island State - idm
15 - Tri-Cities - LB Jim Byers - Chicago Christian - H-Town
16 - Buffalo - TE Mark Truss - Ohio - Jayhawk
17 - Pittsburgh - DL Duke Winston - Rockefeller - Dan O’Mac
18 - Philadelphia - OL Jim Godowicz - Lehigh Valley - DireBear
19 - Boston - RB Liam Fitzsimmons - Washington State - DireBear
20 - St. Louis - OL Ole Gulbrandsen - Minnesota State - Dan O’Mac
21 - Washington - DL Phillip Knipple - Sacre Couer - Dan O’Mac
22 - Pittsburgh (from DET) - LB Isaiah Lynch - Wisconsin State - idm
23 - New York - WR Kenny Cook - Georgia - idm
24 - Cincinnati - WR Pete Coniglio - Massachusetts State - idm

Offense was the recurring theme throughout the second round, with over half of the teams taking either offensive linemen to bolster their trenches or some sort of back to help out wherever they could. Buffalo desperately needed a TE after shoring up their offensive line in the first round, and selected all-rounder Mark Truss out of Ohio. Boston would end up lucking out with Bernheim-winning RB Liam Fitzsimmons sliding all the way to #19. The bruising back should end up complimenting well with current halfback Lee Cannon, and Boston will now have a more reliable short-yard option. Both the Lions and Rivermen selected receivers to end the second round, as New York took the speedy Kenny Cook from Georgia to pair up with recent acquisition Joey Staniskovski and Cincinnati selected the acrobatic Pete Coniglio out of Massachusetts State as they look to find their replacement for whenever star wideout Alfred Dunn decides to hang up his cleats. On the defensive side of the ball Cleveland, Tri-Cities, and Pittsburgh both went linebacker, taking Earl Pellington from New Jersey State, Jim Byers from Chicago Christian, and Isaiah Lynch from Wisconsin State, respectively, and Pittsburgh and Washington both went with additional defensive linemen, with the Shamrocks taking Duke Winston out of Rockefeller and the Federals selecting Phillip Knipple out of Sacre Couer. 

Round 3
25 - Cleveland - OL Harold Hinkle - St. Joseph’s - Wallflower
26 - Chicago - WR Chauncey McGrath - Calvert - Kingsfan11
27 - Tri-Cities - DB Eddie Patton - Mississippi Tech - DireBear
28 - Buffalo - TE Del Zimmerman - Texas - DireBear
29 - Pittsburgh - DB Tony Forsythe - Oregon A&M - idm
30 - Philadelphia - WR Larry Boyd - Texas Industrial - DireBear
31 - Boston - DB Bernie Woodruff - Florida State - DireBear
32 - St. Louis - RB Rip Peterson - ULA - Dan O’Mac
33 - Washington - S Jack Dillon - Tryon - DireBear
34 - Detroit - LB George Gilchrist - Texas Methodist - DireBear
35 - Tri-Cities (From NY)  - OL Jack Humble - Ohio - Jayhawk
36 - Cleveland  (From CIN)  - WR Michael Kinds - Massachusetts State - Sevsdast

A weaker class than in the past meant that teams went a whole round without drafting another player in the secondary. 17 picks went by before Pittsburgh selected DB Tony Forsythe from Oregon A&M. The next defensive back would go just two picks later, as Boston took Bernie Woodruff from Florida State. Buffalo took another tight end in Texas’ Del Zimmerman just a round after they took their first, likely meaning that position will be up for grabs in the leadup to the season. ULA RB Rip Peterson is surprisingly just the third running back to be drafted in this class, where he is set up to become the short-yardage back for the Stallions. A position that teams did not pass upon were wideouts, as three teams followed Cincinnati and New York in the third. Chicago took the elusive Chauncey McGrath from Calvert, Philly took a jack-of-all trades receiver in Texas Industrial’s Larry Boyd, and Cleveland used their second selection this round to take the solid hands of Massachusetts State’s Michael Kinds.


Round 4
37 - Cleveland - S Van Plancha - Michigan - Dan O’Mac
38 - Chicago - DL Jim Jesso - Texas State - Sevsdast
39 - Tri-Cities - RB Hugh McCready - ULA - DireBear
40 - Buffalo - WR Pat Kavanaugh - Florida State - DireBear
41 - Pittsburgh - RB Eric Bierhals - Indiana Tech - Dan O’Mac
42 - Tri-Cities (From PHI) - OL Jon Smith - St. Joseph’s - idm
43 - Boston - QB Rudy Beers - St. Joseph’s - Dan O’Mac
44 - St. Louis - DB Bernhard Schrecklicher - Rockefeller - idm
45 - Washington - OL Ellis Gadd - Louisville State - idm
46 - Tri-Cities (from DET) - DB H.T. Ferrier - Nebraska State - Dan O’Mac
47 - New York - QB Frankie Lombardo - Genessee - DireBear
48 - Cincinnati - RB Paul Sutherin - Ohio State* - DireBear

Thanks to the Hawks trading away nearly everyone of value, they ended up with three 4th round selections. They spent their first to get ULA RB Hugh McCready to contest in their wide open backfield, their second from Philly to shore up their offensive line with St. Joe’s OL Jon Smith, and their last pick from Detroit to get Nebraska State DB H.T. Ferrier to bolster their very weak secondary. As with the drafts in the past, it took until the 4th round for another quarterback to be taken. Boston went with the big-armed Rudy Beers out of St. Joe’s, and New York gave southpaw and hometown kid Frankie Lombardo a spot on their ASPFL after trading away Billy Ray Boesseler to Pittsburgh. If Lombardo makes a start in the ASPFL or the AFL if the Lions need reinforcements at their playcalling position, he will become the first left-handed QB in the AFL and the first in across all professional levels in nearly 15 years. 

Round 5
49 - Cleveland - DL Colin Studer - New Hampshire - idm
50 - Detroit (From CHI) - LB Walt Sutton - Penn - Kingsfan11
51 - Tri-Cities - DL Clyde Hammersmith - Moss Tech* (IL) - Kingsfan11
52 - Buffalo - OL Harold Rhea - Massachusetts State - idm
53 - Pittsburgh - LB Tyson Gallagher - Armitage - Darknes
54 - Philadelphia - DB Bill Sample - Eastern Maryland^ - DireBear
55 - Tri-Cities (From BOS) - QB Carter Hodge - Ohio - Jayhawk
56 - Tri-Cities (From STL) - OL Roger Wilkinson - Genessee - DireBear
57 - Washington - TE Justin Salas - Eau Claire State* (WI)  - idm
58 - Detroit - S Harlan Duvall - U. Tri-Cities* (IA) - Kingsfan11
59 - New York - DL John Lee Hines - Prairie View State^ (TX) - DireBear
60 - Cincinnati - TE Roy Callahan - U. Cleveland - Kingsfan11

Two notable players would be selected in the 5th round, which were DB Bill Sample out of Eastern Maryland going to Philadelphia and DL John Lee Hines from Prairie View State being drafted by New York. Those two players mark the first time any player from a historically black college was drafted into the AFL. Cincinnati rounded out the draft by taking TE Roy Callahan out of the University of Cleveland. 

 

Undrafted
QB Tony Johnson - Massachusetts State - Jayhawk -> Detroit
RB Charley Leblanc - Northeast Louisiana* - DireBear -> Cleveland
RB Ricardo Rodriguez - Florida - Darknes -> Cincinnati
TE Tom Brush - Roosevelt - DireBear -> Detroit
DL Samuel Tess - Southwestern Oklahoma* - Dan O’Mac -> Tri-Cities
LB Cal Westbrook - Genessee - Wallflower -> Chicago
DB Billy Treadwell - Alabama Southern - Kingsfan11 -> Chicago
S Vernell Wood - ULA - DireBear -> St. Louis

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