The History of Mr. Irrelevant

Mr. Irrelevant- A player who is drafted with the last pick of the NFL draft. The first time the nickname "Mr. Irrelevant" was used however, was for Kelvin Kirk, selected with the 487th pick of the 1976 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since then, it has caught on, and has even lead to "Irrelevant Week". This event arose in 1976, when former NFL receiver Paul Salata founded the week in Newport Beach, California. He continues to announce the final pick of the NFL draft to this day. During the summer after the NFL draft, the new "Mr. Irrelevant" and his family are invited to spend a week in Newport Beach, California, where they enjoy a golf tournament, a regatta, and a roast giving advice to the new draftee. There is also a ceremony awarding the player with the Lowsman Trophy. The trophy mimics the traditional Heisman trophy, but depicts a player fumbling a football.

The first "Mr. Irrelevant" Kelvin Kirk

The "Lowsman Trophy" Awarded to "Mr. Irrelevant"

There have been some relevant "Mr. Irrelevants" in NFL history however. Bill Kenney, who won the 1978 award, earned the award as the second-to-last selection when the last player taken suffered a back injury and failed to report to camp, and was even honored with an invitation to the Pro Bowl in 1983...I know some purist out there just said "Yeah, but he wasn't technically last." FINE! You're right, he wasn't but special teamer Marty Moore was, and he became the first "Mr. Irrelevant" to play in a Super Bowl at Super Bowl XXXI with the New England Patriots. Jim Finn eventually became a starting fullback for the New York football Giants. David Vobora was named starting linebacker for the Rams beginning in the 2009 season, and that leads up to the following seasons winner Ryan Succop. Succop became the Chiefs starting kicker, and a very successful one at that. In his rookie season, Succop had hit a clutch game winner against the Steelers and went on to tie the NFL record for highest field goal percentage by a rookie in a season with 86.2%, and also passed NFL Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud for most field goals made by a rookie in Chiefs history. Also, Succop was awarded the Mack Lee Hill award for NFL's Most Outstanding Rookie, and in the 2012 season set a franchise record going 6 for 6 on field goals in a game(including the overtime winner against the New Orleans Saints.) Anyhow, my point is, diamonds in the rough exist, and as a lifelong NFL fan, I hope to be one of them through my writing. You can call me..."Mr. Irrelevant"... A fan of all 32 teams, just hoping to get noticed.