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Hey everyone, Walt Roberts here:.. Recently I was recalling my own experience regarding the NFL draft… I was a senior at San Jose St. Univ. in 1963 and the St. Louis Cardinals asked me to be by the phone at 10:00am (no cell phones in 1963)…
They were going to draft me and wanted to be sure I would sign with them. The coach Wally Lem…and guess what…The call never came. I missed my Kinesiology class.
My last year at San Jose St., I wasn’t drafted and I was terribly disappointed . I had made third team All-West Coast behind Heisman Trophy winner Mike Garret from USC and second team finisher Mel Renfro from University of Oregon…
I was in my apartment washing dishes with the front door open and a huge man 6′ 9” knocked on the door. He asked if I was Walt Roberts. I said yes and invited him in. He said his name was Sarge Mackenzie a scout for the Cleveland Browns and a Political Science professor at USF (University of San Francisco)…
…He said he had watched me play for the past three years and he was sure I could play for the Browns. I suspected the main reason I was not drafted was because of my size, 5′ 9″ and 166 lbs. No player my size was playing in the NFL or the AFL (American Football League)…
So that phone call never came. Wally Lem head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals later said they thought I was much larger than I was…They said he plays like a guy 6’2 and 200 lbs…But they were not going to gamble on a guy my size…
… I had received an offer from the Canadian team the Edmonton Eskimos…they said I reminded them of a great former player named Skippy Dyer and they really wanted me to play for them.
I had also received a contract offer from Al Davis the Oakland Raiders owner and head coach. The contract was the Free Agent minimum…I felt I could have done better selling coke bottles, so I passed on them. They were still struggling to attain credibility in the upstart AFL…The two leagues had not yet merged. I wanted to play in the NFL…
So I made the Cleveland Browns as a rookie free agent and on opening day in 1964 vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, I returned an opening kickoff 60 yards. I got knocked out of bounds at the 10 yard line. I didn’t score but it sure felt good.
I went on to lead the league in kickoffs until the last game of the season. I think Gary Ballman great player for the Steelers edged me out. I averaged 27.5 yards that season…
The Browns went on to win the NFL championship beating the Baltimore Colts led by Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore and a host of great players. They were the highest scoring team in NFL history. We shut them out 27-0! It was one of the great upsets in NFL history…
The Browns were led by the greatest football player ever Jim Brown in my opinion… Gary Collins was the MVP, catching three touchdowns…for me Gary is one of the NFL’s best receivers ever…
…Well NFL champions my rookie year…Not Bad!
P.S. I’m finishing my book “Flea-Flickr…How to throw Rocks at the NFL”…It’s more than just another sports book…It’s a Project…a movement..Find out how you can benefit… coming soon!…
P.S…Hey everyone my shopping cart is now open for my new book “Flea-Flickr”
You can click on this link to get all of the details…
https://waltroberts.lpages.co/flea-flickr
Peace, Love and Happiness …Yes Happiness….
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