Sharpen your sports wits with The Blade’s Sharp 7, a weekly trivia quiz designed to test your knowledge on a variety of subjects in the sports world. Today’s focus is on the NFL draft, which begins Thursday.
1. Who was the first player chosen in the first-ever NFL draft, which was held in 1936?
2. Which college league has had the most players selected in the first round of the NFL draft?
3. Which college has had the most players selected in the first round of the NFL draft?
4. Who is the highest-drafted player the University of Toledo has ever produced?
5. Who is the highest-drafted player Bowling Green State University has ever produced?
6. The Mid-American Conference produced its first-ever No. 1 overall pick in 2013. What player was selected No. 1 by the Kansas City Chiefs that year?
7. The birthday “kicker” for April 23: What former University of Toledo offensive lineman was born on this day in 1992? While he was not drafted, he won the MAC’s Vern Smith Leadership Award in 2014 and has played in the NFL.
1. Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago was the first player chosen in the first NFL draft, which was held in 1936. Berwanger, who had won the trophy that would later be known as the Heisman Trophy the previous season, did not sign with the Eagles; his goal was to remain an amateur so he might compete compete in the 1936 Olympics. His rights were traded to the Chicago Bears, but Berwanger never signed and never played in the NFL.
2. Since the draft began, the Southeastern Conference has had 397 first-round pick, with the Big Ten ranking second with 373 first-round picks.
3. Since the draft began, USC has produced 80 first-round draft picks, three more than second-place Ohio State.
4. Defensive end Dan Williams was selected by the Denver Broncos with the No. 11 overall pick in the 1993 draft, making him the highest pick – and the only first-round choice – ever produced by the University of Toledo.
5. Wide receiver Bernie Casey was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 9 overall pick in the 1961 draft, making him the highest pick – and the only first-round choice – ever produced by Bowling Green State University.
6. With the first pick in the 2013 draft, the Kansas City Chiefs selected Central Michigan offensive tackle Eric Fisher, making him the MAC’s first-ever No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
7. Former University of Toledo offensive lineman Greg Mancz, who has started 23 career games with the Houston Texans after going undrafted in 2015, was born on April 23, 1992.
Contact John Wagner at jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481, or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.
First Published April 23, 2018, 2:00 p.m.
