NFLers Fly High with the 1956 Eglin Air Force Base Eagles

As has been the case for much of the nation's history, America's military forces are staffed by volunteers today. The military drafts of the past were primarily used primarily in wartime -such as WWI and WWII- even reaching the point that the armed forces banned enlistments from December 1942 to the war's end so they could better manage the flow of men into the services.

The draft authorization expired in 1947 before being reinstated in 1948 due to insufficient numbers of volunteers and remained in force until 1973. On average, two million men were drafted each year from 1941 to 1945. Those volumes dropped quickly following the war, increasing to four hundred to five-hundred thousand during the Korean War, before falling again to 150,000 or lower in the second half of the 1950s.

Some civilians -particularly college students - received deferments, which ended upon graduation or other status changes, after which the former students were eligible for one- or two-year stints working for Uncle Sam. Elvis Pressley was undoubtedly the most famous draftee of the Fifties. He reported for duty in March 1958 and, by all accounts, served faithfully, like most draftees. Among other celebrities receiving draft notices were former college football players, some with NFL experience. Pro clubs selected and signed players only to see some drafted by a military that did not engage in bidding wars for the players' services.

As in WWI and WWII, military bases of the 1950s fielded football teams for morale and public relations purposes. Like the colleges, their football teams had little connection to the primary purpose of the broader organization. But, unlike the colleges, the military did not recruit or draft for athletic ability, and the talent mix on their teams reflected that approach. Most had a mix of high school, college, and professional athletes, the former being more common than the latter. Still, there was significant talent spread across the military teams. For example, only three of the forty-six men named to the 1956 All-Service teams (separate teams for the Army, Air Force, and Navy/Marine Corps) had not played college football.