He pored over and analyzed college football’s top NFL prospects even before some professional coaches did.

In the early 1980s, Bill Werndl, one of the original draft gurus, began compiling a magazine-sized pamphlet, Ourlads’ Guide to the NFL Draft, for his 44 subscribers.

Today, the NFL Draft has gone “from Bill Werndl hawking 44 books in 1982 to a setup on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 2017 large enough to accommodate 200,000,” according to a Delaware County News Network report by Jack McCaffery.

The longtime sports and television host raised in Sharon Hill will be recognized for his passion through a June 25 induction into the Delaware County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

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“When they told me, I had a tear in my eye,” Werndl said. “I just thought back to Sharon Hill, and my mom and dad (Bill and Mary). It is probably the capper of my career. I have been a lucky, lucky guy.”

The NFL Draft had always captivated Werndl, who at one point relayed draft picks for the Philadelphia Eagles, and a global phenomenon has followed his lead.

“I just think college football has become almost must-see television,” he said. “It’s on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. It’s amazing how many people follow it, and they follow it religiously. It’s incredible. It’s taken on a life of its own.”

Read more about Bill Werndl’s roots from the Delaware County News Network here.

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