'84 Chronology-NFL Special Draft

Event Date: June 6th, 1984

Event Description: NFL Supplemental Draft Held

Source: United Press International

Steve Young, the $40 million quarterback signed by Los Angeles of the U.S. Football League, was picked by the Tampa Bay Bucs Tuesday as the top choice in a special draft the National Football League hopes will some day siphon off some of the best talent in the rival professional circuit.

The Express was hardest hit in the selections with four of Young's teammates selected in the first 10 picks, which took 12 minutes. Los Angeles had a total of 19 picked in the three rounds of drafting for players currently competing in the USFL and the Canadian Football League.

The New York Giants, picking third, took Express guard Gary Zimmerman of Oregon, who was among the players eligible at last month's NFL main draft, but who elected to sign with the USFL. 

Kansas City chose fifth and selected Los Angeles tackle Mark Adickes of Baylor and San Diego, picking sixth, went for his pro teammate Lee Williams, a defensive end from Bethune-Cookman.

Houston had second pick in the supplementary draft and took Mike Rozier, the Pittsburgh Maulers' All-America running back out of Nebraska. Philadelphia, the fourth team to pick, selected defensive end Reggie White from Memphis by way of the University of Tennessee.

Cincinnati picked seventh and grabbed Florida quarterback Wayne Peace, now playing for the Tampa Bay Bandits; Indianapolis then chose tight end Paul Bergmann of UCLA, who is playing for the Jacksonville Bulls. Atlanta went for Joey Jones, a wide receiver out of Alabama who has been catching passes for Birmingham, and the New York Jets, picking 10th, tabbed quarterback Ken Hobart of Idaho and the Denver Gold.

Edmonton of the CFL was the only non-USFL team to have a player picked in the opening round as the Los Angeles Raiders took Christopher Woods, a wide receiver when he played at Auburn.

There were 65 CFL players eligible for the draft, but only five were taken. The New York Jets took former Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill, who is playing for Montreal, and San Diego tabbed quarterback Steve Smith, who once starred at Michigan.

By means of the draft, the NFL signaled it was ending a passive wait-and-see posture toward the USFL, a second-year spring league which made huge dents in the quality of last month's NFL draft.

Donald Trump, owner of the USFL's New Jersey franchise, threatened to file an antitrust suit against the NFL if Tuesday's draft was carried out, labeling it “a blatant attempt to hurt our league.”

Story-(UPI)