Which Angels players were drafted in the NFL?

Dave Winfield

Everyone remembers Dave Winfield as a Hall-of-Fame baseball player, but not many people remember that he was also drafted as a football player in the 1973 NFL draft.

The Minnesota Vikings selected him using a 17th round pick, despite the fact he never played college football. Winfield was a two-sport athlete at the University of Minnesota in baseball and basketball. In fact, he was also drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. He is one of only four players in history to be drafted in three different professional sports leagues.

Winfield decided to play baseball after he was drafted 4th overall by the San Diego Padres. I would say he made a pretty good decision given his illustrious career on the baseball diamond.

Winfield played for the Angels toward the end of his career after being acquired from the Yankees in 1990 when his relationship with owner George Steinbrenner had soured to the point of no repair.

Over nearly two full seasons in Anaheim, Winfield batted .268/.335/.469 with 47 home runs and 158 RBIs. He won the Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1990 after missing the entire 1989 season due to a back injury.