Sacco Sez: When the Broncos drafted Floyd Little

[Miles]

Virtually every Denver Broncos fan knows that Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little established himself as an all-time great in his nine-year career here in Denver, but they all might not be aware of the football climate when he joined us as our first-round draft choice in 1967.


There were two professional football drafts from 1960 through 1966: the National Football League draft and the American Football League draft.


As a wretched and almost moribund franchise, the Broncos were never able to sign one of their first-round draft choices in that seven-year span. Instead, those players chose to sign with the NFL clubs that had selected them.


But when the two leagues merged, those two drafts became one, and there was virtual certainly that each team would now sign its first-round draft choice, including the Broncos.


The Broncos began to see their fortune change at the start of 1967 when owner Gerry Phipps signed no-nonsense Lou Saban to a 10-year contract as general manager and head coach, signaling to the pro-football world that Denver was serious about improving.


Saban loved defense and the running game, so it was certain he would draft to be the best in one of these areas.


Floyd Little had just completed his magnificent college career at Syracuse, and most modern-era fans have no idea of his greatness level.


Freshmen could not play in those days, so a player had just three varsity seasons of eligibility, and Little had been a consensus first-team three-year All-American at halfback.


To put that into perspective, that has happened exactly twice in college football history. Southern Methodist University's Doak Walker is the only other player to accomplish the feat.