This is an incomplete list of first overall Canadian Football League draft picks. The CFL Draft is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian/non-import players, typically from the ranks of CIS football or NCAA college football. The first draft took place in 1953, with Doug McNichol becoming the first player to be drafted and was therefore drafted first overall.[1] While only the eastern teams participated for the first three years, in 1956 all nine teams began participating in the draft. From 1960 to 1962, however, due to a dispute over talent from western universities and a reluctance of eastern draftees to move west, BC, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg were awarded territorial rights to players from their city's university. Because Calgary had no university program in their territory, they continued to participate in the draft during these three years.[2] From 1973 to 1984, teams were granted territorial rights players before the actual draft took place, hence, players listed in those years were actually drafted later.[2] Since 1997, the draft has consisted of six rounds, with teams selecting in reverse order of their placement in the previous season.
List of first overall picks[]
| = CFL Division All-Star | = CFL All-Star | = Hall of Famer |
| Year | Player | Position | College | CFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Lou Bruce | End | Queen's | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| 1957 | Jim Hughes | Tackle | Queen's | BC Lions |
| 1958 | Len Sigurdson | Tackle | McGill | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 1959 | Lorry Stacey | Defensive End | Toronto | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1960 | Bill Mitchell | Tackle | Western Ontario | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1961 | Casey Wood | Tackle | Toronto | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1962 | Harvey Scott | Guard | Western Ontario | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1963 | John Wydareny | Defensive back | Western Ontario | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1964 | Barry Mitchelson | End | Western Ontario | Edmonton Eskimos |
| 1965 | Jim Young | Wide Receiver | Queen's | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1966 | Ed Turek | Halfback | Waterloo Lutheran | Edmonton Eskimos |
| 1967 | Lawrence Barrett | Halfback | British Columbia | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1968 | Mike Eben | Wide Receiver | Toronto | BC Lions |
| 1969 | Doug Strong | Halfback | Waterloo Lutheran | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| 1970 | Wayne Holm | Quarterback | Simon Fraser | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1971 | Brian Donnelly | Defensive back | Simon Fraser | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 1972 | Larry Smith | Running back | Bishop's | Montreal Alouettes |
| 1973 | Brian Sopatyk | Offensive Guard | Boise State | BC Lions |
| 1974 | Randy Halsall | Offensive Tackle | Wake Forest | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1975 | Steve Scully | Offensive Tackle | Syracuse | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| 1976 | Tim Berryman | Linebacker | Ottawa | Edmonton Eskimos |
| 1977 | Mike Riley | Defensive Tackle | Dalhousie | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| 1978 | Dave Kirzinger | Defensive Tackle | Ottawa | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1979 | Kevin Powell | Offensive Tackle | Utah State | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1980 | Greg Barrow | Offensive Lineman | Florida | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1981 | Frank Cosec | Linebacker | Waterloo | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1982 | Mike Kirkley | Running Back | Western Ontario | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1983 | Jerry Dobrovolny | Offensive Tackle | British Columbia | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1984 | Frank Balkovec | Linebacker | Toronto | BC Lions |
| 1985 | Nicholas Benjamin | Offensive Lineman | Concordia | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| 1986 | Kent Warnock | Defensive End | Calgary | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1987 | Leo Groenewegen | Offensive Lineman | British Columbia | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| 1988 | Orville Lee | Running Back | Simon Fraser | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| 1989 | Gerald Wilcox | Tight End | Weber State | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| 1990 | Sean Millington | Running Back | Simon Fraser | Edmonton Eskimos |
| 1991 | Nick Mazzoli | Wide Receiver | Simon Fraser | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1992 | Bruce Covernton | Offensive Tackle | Weber State | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1993 | Patrick Burke | Defensive Back | Fresno College | BC Lions |
| 1994 | Val St. Germain | Offensive Lineman | McGill | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1995 | Tom Nütten | Offensive Lineman | Western Michigan | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1996 | Don Blair | Slotback | Calgary | Edmonton Eskimos |
| 1997 | Chad Folk | Offensive Lineman | Utah | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1998 | Tim Fleiszer | Defensive Lineman | Harvard | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1999 | Rob Meier | Defensive End | Washington State | BC Lions |
| 2000 | Tyson St. James | Linebacker | British Columbia | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 2001 | Scott Schultz | Defensive Lineman | North Dakota | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 2002 | Alexandre Gauthier | Offensive Lineman | Laval | Ottawa Renegades |
| 2003 | Steve Morley | Offensive Lineman | Saint Mary's | Calgary Stampeders |
| 2004 | Wayne Smith | Offensive Lineman | Appalachian State | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 2005 | Miguel Robede | Defensive End | Laval | Calgary Stampeders |
| 2006 | Adam Braidwood | Defensive End | Washington State | Edmonton Eskimos |
| 2007 | Chris Bauman | Wide Receiver | Regina | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 2008 | Dylan Barker | Defensive Back | Saskatchewan | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 2009 | Simeon Rottier | Offensive Lineman | Alberta | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 2010 | Shomari Williams | Linebacker | Queen's | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 2011 | Henoc Muamba | Linebacker | St. Francis Xavier | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| 2012 | Ben Heenan | Offensive Lineman | Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 2013 | Linden Gaydosh | Defensive Lineman | Calgary | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
Statistics[]
- Since 1956, Simon Fraser University and the University of Western Ontario hold the record for most first overall picks with five apiece.[4]
- Since 1956, the Toronto Argonauts have had the most first overall picks with 11.
- Only one first overall draft selection has been awarded the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie since the award was created in 1972; Orville Lee in 1988.
References[]
- ↑ MacDonald, Ian (2012-02-19). "Funeral Monday for first ever CFL draft pick McNichol". Postmedia News. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Funeral+Monday+first+ever+draft+pick+McNichol/6177759/story.html. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.bclions.com/page/history_draft A Brief History of the CFL Canadian Draft
- ↑ http://www.cfl.ca/canadian_draft/list
- ↑ http://athletics.sfu.ca/teams/football/news/ten_cfldraft/ Three SFU players selected in 2010 CFL Draft
External links[]
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