Alabama A&M University icon and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Stallworth says that things were much different back when he was drafted into the NFL in 1974. So different in fact, a phone call which is now heard and seen around the world on draft day telecasts, came to him in an AAMU dorm. From Steelers.com:
There weren’t cell phones at that time either, something that has become the life blood of today’s draft prospects. Instead, Stallworth had to depend on a shared phone in a dorm hallway at Alabama A&M to learn that he would be selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL Draft.
And delivering the news that he was drafted, well, let’s just say it’s nothing like it is today.
“I got a phone call from Myron Cope to tell me I had been drafted by the Steelers,” said Stallworth. “Myron asked me a few questions and that was it. I hung the phone up, called my mom and told her I had been drafted. It wasn’t like it is today.”
A Black College Football Hall of Fame member and two-time all-SIAC first team selection, Stallworth is one of Alabama A&M’s most visible donors, supporting student scholarships through an annual golf tournament in Huntsville.
