Cal Rossi
Encyclopedia
Cal Rossi was an American football
running back
who played at the University of California, Los Angeles
. He is the only football player to be selected twice in the NFL Draft
. He was first drafted in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1946 NFL Draft
by the Washington Redskins
. This is considered to be one of the biggest blunders in NFL Draft
history because Rossi was a junior, and was not draft eligible. He was again chosen in the first round of the 1947 NFL Draft
by the Redskins, but he never played football professionally.
In 1945 Cal Rossi was the second leading rusher in the nation before being transferred to the Naval Corps Supply School at Harvard University on November 1 as part of his military service requirements. In the five games Rossi played in 1945 he gained 679 yards and averaged 7.15 yards per carry. His 169 yards against the University of Oregon stood as a UCLA rushing record until 1961.
Rossi was inducted into the UCLA Bruins Hall of Fame in 1997.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
who played at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. He is the only football player to be selected twice in the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
. He was first drafted in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1946 NFL Draft
1946 NFL Draft
The 1946 National Football League Draft was held on January 14, 1946.The most notable draft choice in this player selection meeting was made by the Washington Redskins and remains one of the biggest draft blunders of all time. They chose Cal Rossi with the 9th overall pick. However, Rossi was a...
by the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. This is considered to be one of the biggest blunders in NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
history because Rossi was a junior, and was not draft eligible. He was again chosen in the first round of the 1947 NFL Draft
1947 NFL Draft
The 1947 National Football League Draft was held on December 16, 1946.The National Football League in this draft made the first overall pick a bonus pick determined by lottery. The Chicago Bears won the first lottery...
by the Redskins, but he never played football professionally.
In 1945 Cal Rossi was the second leading rusher in the nation before being transferred to the Naval Corps Supply School at Harvard University on November 1 as part of his military service requirements. In the five games Rossi played in 1945 he gained 679 yards and averaged 7.15 yards per carry. His 169 yards against the University of Oregon stood as a UCLA rushing record until 1961.
Rossi was inducted into the UCLA Bruins Hall of Fame in 1997.