Talk:Mr. Irrelevant

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Merge?[edit]

I would recommend that this article be merged with the Lowsman Trophy article, as they are essentially the same thing. This is how other football awards pages are done (all in one article). What's more, in looking at just the Lowsman trophy article, I see no indication that this nice list of recipients is available here in wikipedia. Why not put everything in one place? It would probably eliminate some repeated material too. Retain this Mr. Irrelevant page as a redirect to the Lowsman Trophy article.--BillFlis 16:59, 28 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I concur, the articles should be merged.--RLent (talk) 18:03, 2 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Reason for name?[edit]

I always thought the reason he was called Mr Irrelevant was that it was irrelevant whether you drafted him or not, because you could just sign him through Free Agency anyway (as there are no teams after you who can pick him). I wanted to check this on the official website, but it seems to be down (not sure whether long-term or short-term) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.132.182.204 (talk) 05:32, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

My understanding is that the name comes from the low probability of making it in the NFL. This was more true when the NFL had 12 or more rounds in the draft. But if a player goes undrafted, then any team can sign him.--RLent (talk) 18:06, 2 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Signed by team that drafted him[edit]

The article contained this sentence: "In the 2008 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams selected David Vobora as the new "Mr. Irrelevant" as a compensatory draft pick. When the Rams made roster cuts in August, he became the very first Mr. Irrelevant to make the team that drafted him."

This claim is not true. The first was Fred Dreher in 1938 [1], and there have been many others. The most recent was Mike Green of the Bears in 2000. Anson2995 (talk) 21:23, 6 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The source you listed does not mention that he was directly added. about 99 percent of mr irrelevants made the team, but they were either released first then signed to the practice squad, signed directly to the practice squad, or others. as far as i know, Vobora is the first to make the 53-man roster and not be on the practice squad. - -' The Spook (TALK) _{(Share the Love with Barnstars)} 23:27, 6 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm pretty sure that's not right. If you can provide a source to support this claim, I'd be genuinely interested in seeing it. First of all, I'm not sure that your claim about Vobora holds up. He was inactive for the first game, then released and signed to the practice squad. He's been on the practice squad until two days ago (Nov. 4), and still hasn't played in an NFL game. Secondly, there are a bunch of "Mr. Irrelevants" who signed a contract and were never released or assigned to the practice squad. Here's a list of transactions for Mike Green of 2000 for example. [2]. Dreher, Stu Clarkson, and others played in an era before there was a practice squad. Tyrone McGriff played in all 16 games as a rookie. I guess I'm just not sure where this whole idea comes from. Anson2995 (talk) 03:13, 7 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Is Mr. Irrelevant a concept or an honor?[edit]

There has been some recent discussion of the topic of Mr. Irrelevant which was sparked by a change wherein a "Mr. Irrelevant" was listed in the infobox of the 1936 NFL Draft article. The argument put forth is that since the first "Mr. Irrelevant" was crowned by the Newport Beach group in 1976, no draft prior to that should include such a listing. The counter-argument is that "Mr. Irrelevant" is really more of a concept than an actual honor and as such the term can be applied to drafts that pre-date the coinage of the term.

It would appear that the editors of this article have taken the latter stance, since all of the last draft selections since the first NFL draft in 1936 are listed.

The infobox that sparked this discussion has since been updated to include the descriptor "Mr. Irrelevant" only for drafts since 1976; earlier drafts would simply list the "Last selection". Do you feel like this change is appropriate? If so, should this article list only players since 1976? — DeeJayK (talk) 15:51, 3 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

To me it is a concept more than an honor. What Paul Salata did in 1976 was to codify and formalize what has always existed, identifying the last person picked in the NFL draft. I see no reason to not call pre-1976 last picks "Mr. Irrelevant" just because they didn't get a Lowsman Trophy and some fun parties with their families in southern California; the trophy is meant to be a dubious achievement, after all. Also, I see there is a List of first overall National Football League draft picks, but no List of last overall National Football League draft picks as the Mr. Irrelevant article has served that purpose so far. In other words, "Mr. Irrelevant" = "last draft pick" in Wikipedia terms. YLee (talk) 19:19, 3 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Following up to the above, I've modified the template to link to List of last overall National Football League draft picks for pre-1976 last picks. I chose to link to the redirect rather than to Mr. Irrelevant as it's possible the two might be separate articles someday (although I don't see the need).YLee (talk) 07:42, 19 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I think the fact that it began in 1976, regardless of whether it's viewed as a concept or honor, the article should word things a little differently. For example the "Mr. Irrelevant selections" just lists all the final draft picks back to 1936. It should either start in 1976, or put an asterisk up until 1976 with a note everyone before 1976 is retroactively considered this. J1DW (talk) 02:12, 30 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Mrs. Irrelevant[edit]

An IP has added information about a purported YouTube video where a woman is offering sex to the next Mr. Irrelevant. It's unsourced, of course, (among other issues) and has been removed by two different editors. The IP has reverted the removal twice already and it wouldn't surprise me for it to happen again. —Al E.^(talk) 12:44, 26 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

That's four reverts now. I've reported it at WP:ANEW. —Al E.^(talk) 15:43, 26 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I feel that it is relevant information regarding the Mr. Irrelevant page. There's usually not a lot of news concerning Mr. Irrelevant so this should be included as it is actually something interesting. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.247.125.237 (talk) 16:12, 26 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It's not being removed because it's not interesting, it's being removed because it is not notable, it's not independently sourced, and it only has a tangential relation to the article. Thanks for discussing it here, instead of continuing to revert, though. Cheers, Dawn Bard (talk) 16:22, 26 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Is there anyway we can make it so that it can be included. I mean that doesn't happen every year. I feel it should somehow be included. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.247.125.237 (talk) 16:34, 26 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

At the very least, some reliable sources need to write about it and why it's notable. —Al E.^(talk) 16:50, 26 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Is NFL.com reliable enough? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.247.125.237 (talk) 16:54, 26 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It depends. What's the link? —Al E.^(talk) 16:38, 27 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Bill Kenney and Lee Washburn[edit]

Washburn not Kenney was Mr. Irrelevant for 1978. I don't know if Washburn ever suited up for Dallas even once, but 1978 news article[3] makes it clear that Washburn was honored with the title....William 12:01, 30 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Notation on list of winners[edit]

I think it would be great to highlight the names of winners with colours, to show those who appeared in Superbowls / Pro Bowl / AllStar games etc. --Dweller (talk) 11:22, 29 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

A career span would also be good. Hack (talk) 06:23, 3 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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Criteria for notable selections[edit]

I do not think that players starting during a season is good enough criteria for them to be notable. With Brock Purdy, he has notable accomplishments instead of just starting games. David Vobora and Tae Crowder are in the notable selections because of this reason LuxembourgBoy42 (talk) 00:57, 22 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Also it’s bizarre that neither of the only two Pro Bowlers in this category are mentioned under notable selections. Ryguy913 (talk) 17:33, 21 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Tyrone McGriff[edit]

Why is Tyrone McGriff referred to as “perhaps the most successful Mr. Irrelevant from the pre-1994 era”? That’s not an era, it’s just all of the years before a totally arbitrary cutoff point. And it’s not like he played a long time before 1994, either (just earlier in the previous decade). And why call him “perhaps the most successful”? Why not just describe his accomplishments? Ryguy913 (talk) 17:30, 21 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It’s especially weird that he’s called “perhaps the most successful” since two other players before 1994 were named to the Pro Bowl, unlike McGriff. Ryguy913 (talk) 17:34, 21 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Where credit is due[edit]

Artist Jim Crockett of Huntington Beach, California was asked to design and create the Lowsman Trophy. He did this for almost twenty years before he gave the rights and molds to the Irrelevant Week committee. His signature is on the base of each statue. 47.153.159.67 (talk) 18:05, 29 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]