The 1947 NFL draft was held on December 16, 1946, at the Commodore Hotel in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The National Football League in this draft made the first overall pick, a bonus pick determined by

lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

. The

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

won the first lottery, and used the pick to select halfback Bob Fenimore. This lottery process ended in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

. This draft was the last time the Bears had the first overall pick in a draft until

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Player selections

Hall of Famers

Dante Lavelli Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009), nicknamed "Gluefingers", was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football ...

, end from Ohio State University taken 12th round 103rd overall by the Los Angeles Rams. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1975.List of 1970s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com *

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry ( ; September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football coach, player, and World War II veteran. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he was the first head coach of the Dallas ...

, defensive back from Texas taken 20th round 184th overall by the New York Giants. :Inducted: For his Coaching achievements Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 1990 *

Art Donovan Arthur James "Fatso" Donovan Jr. (June 5, 1924 – August 4, 2013), was an American professional American football, football player who was a defensive tackle for three National Football League (NFL) teams, primarily the Baltimore Colts. He pla ...

, defensive tackle from Boston College taken 22nd round 204th overall by the New York Giants :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1968.

Notable undrafted players

Summary

Schools with multiple draft selections

Notes

References

External links

NFL.com – 1947 Draft
*
Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1947 Nfl Draft NFL draft

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

American football in New York City Sports in Manhattan Sporting events in New York City 1940s in Manhattan