DALLAS — In 1967, the San Diego Chargers selected defensive tackle Ron “Pedro” Billingsley with the 14th overall pick of the NFL/AFL draft. Billingsley, who died last February, was a 6-foot-8 University of Wyoming graduate out of Florence, Alabama. He was taken 10 picks after Purdue quarterback Bob Griese, one of eight Hall of Famers taken in that draft, which lasted 17 rounds.
It was a different era then. The Chargers were still three years away from joining the NFL, but 1967 marked the first of three combined drafts between the two leagues, which had agreed to merge the year before.