Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State is 16 days away
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This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football.
With 16 days remaining until kickoff, we revisit all 16 of Notre Dame’s NFL Draft picks in 1946.
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Notre Dame is all over the record books in a variety of categories. The Fighting Irish don’t have the all-time record for NFL Draft picks in a single season, but they’re darn close. Notre Dame had 16 selections in the 1946 draft, one shy of Texas’ all-time mark of 17 in 1984.
Many of the Irish players who were picked in 1946 were a part of the Notre Dame team that won the program’s first national title under head coach Frank Leahy in 1943. It was the Irish’s first championship without Knute Rockne at the helm.
Many of the draftees followed Leahy to serve in World War II, too. That included Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Lujack, who went to the Chicago Bears with the No. 4 overall selection. Notre Dame also boasted the No. 1 overall pick in the entire draft; quarterback Frank Dancewicz went to the Boston Yanks.
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Dancewicz was Notre Dame’s second ever first overall pick; quarterback Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame’s first ever Heisman Trophy winner, went first overall in 1944. Leon Hart (1950), Paul Hornung (1957) and Walt Patulski (1972) are the only other No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks in Fighting Irish history.
The draft had not been cut down to its current size of seven rounds, but the 16 picks still weren’t anything to scoff at. Only one school ever did better before the downsizing of the draft, after all.
Here are all 16 Notre Dame draft picks in 1946.
| Round | Pick | Overall | Player | Position | Team |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Frank Dancewicz | QB | Boston Yanks |
| 1 | 4 | 4 | Johnny Lujack | QB | Chicago Bears |
| 1 | 5 | 5 | George Connor | LB | New York Giants |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | Emil Sitko | B | Los Angeles Rams |
| 3 | 1 | 16 | Elmer Angsman | B | Chicago Cardinals |
| 7 | 2 | 52 | Ed Mieszkowski | T | Boston Yanks |
| 7 | 8 | 58 | Pete Berezney | T | Detroit Lions |
| 9 | 9 | 79 | Bob Skoglund | E | Washington Redskins |
| 10 | 10 | 90 | Joe Signaigo | C | Los Angeles Rams |
| 13 | 10 | 120 | George Strohmeyer | C | Los Angeles Rams |
| 14 | 10 | 130 | Bob Palladino | B | Los Angeles Rams |
| 15 | 1 | 131 | Fred Rovai | G | Chicago Cardinals |
| 17 | 10 | 160 | Gasper Urban | G | Los Angeles Rams |
| 19 | 10 | 180 | Jerry Ford | E | Los Angeles Rams |
| 20 | 1 | 181 | Bill Heywood | B | Chicago Cardinals |
| 20 | 2 | 182 | Frank Ruggerio | B | Boston Yanks |
