As we move closer to the 2023 NFL Draft (April 27-29), The Big Red Zone is looking back on each of the 28 St. Louis Cardinals drafts (1960-87). This installment focuses on the 1964 Draft, which was held on December 3, 1963 in Chicago.

1964 St. Louis Cardinals Draft Picks

After the 21-hour and 43-minute selection meeting ended around dawn on December 4, Cardinals team president Stormy Bidwill said, “We think it was a successful draft for us.” He should have rethought that thought. The Big Red couldn’t have gotten less production from the ’64 draft if their scouts had put on blindfolds and thrown darts at their draft board. Only three of their 20 picks made the team’s roster and 14—14!—never even played in the NFL.

Rd-Overall	Player Name	Position	college team
1-9	Ken Kortas	DT	Louisville
2-24	Herschel Turner	T	Kentucky
3-37	Remi Prudhomme	C	LSU
5-65	Charley Brooks	E	Memphis
6-80	Dick Bowman	E	Syracuse
7-93	Jerry Lamb	E	Arkansas
8-104	George Bednar	G	Notre Dame
8-108	Bob Johnson	E	Wisconsin
9-121	Willie Ross	FB	Nebraska
10-136	Tony Lawrence	T	Bowling Green
11-149	Richard Hard	T	Wenatchee Valley J.C.
12-164	Rick Sortun	G	Washington
13-177	Jake Adams	E	Virginia Tech
14-192	Len Slaby	C	Syracuse
15-205	Cliff Stallings	B	New Mexico
15-220	Jack Ankerson	QB	Ripon
17-233	John Evans	T	Memphis
18-248	Dave Hoover	B	Iowa State
19-261	Bob Young	G	Howard Payne
20-276	Ralph Kubinski	G	Missouri

*Ken Kortas played only one season (1964) with the Cardinals. He played in all 14 games (five starts) and was credited with half a sack. In February 1965, he was traded to Pittsburgh for quarterback Terry Nofsinger. After four seasons in Pittsburgh, new Steelers coach Chuck Null traded Kortas to the Bears after replacing him with some rookie named Joe Greene. 

*Herschel Turner was a first team All-American at Kentucky and played two seasons (1964-65) with the Big Red. He was named the team’s rookie of the year in 1964 after starting five games at left tackle however, a knee injury cut his career short.

*Rick Sortun played six seasons (1964-69) with the Cardinals, primarily as a backup. He appeared in 82 games and made 23 starts. He left football after the ’69 season to concentrate on civil rights and anti-war activism.

*Yes, that was the same Bob Young who became a fixture on the Big Red offensive line in the ‘70s, earning two Pro Bowl spots (’78 and ’79) and an All-Pro selection (’79). But before coming to St. Louis, he played for Denver (1966-70) and Houston (’71).