New York acquired rookie running back Bill Rudder from San…
New York acquired rookie running back Bill Rudder from San Diego on August 29, 1974 in a deal initially listed for the Giants' 1975 seventh-round draft choice. Rudder, the 59th overall pick earlier that year, was released by New York on September 12 before appearing in a regular-season game. The 1975 draft record shows the Giants retained their own seventh-round selection, so no realized pick moved to the Chargers.
Los Angeles Chargers Received
- pick 1975 seventh round pick (listed consideration; not ultimately transferred)
New York Giants Received
- player Bill Rudder
Trade Analysis
The supported transaction is much narrower than the legacy record. Chargers historical trade logs and the club's media guide both record that San Diego sent running back Bill Rudder to the New York Giants on August 29, 1974 for a 1975 seventh-round choice. Neither source identifies any additional consideration, so the two generic undisclosed-consideration fields in the old row should be removed. Rudder had been a notable investment for San Diego only months earlier: the Chargers selected the Tennessee running back 59th overall in the third round of the 1974 draft.
The New York portion of the experiment ended almost immediately. Pro Sports Transactions records the Giants releasing Rudder on September 12, 1974, only about two weeks after the trade. A contemporary September 13 report likewise lists rookie Bill Rudder among the players New York dropped. Pro Football Reference's Chargers draft record shows no NFL regular-season career for Rudder, and there is no evidence that he appeared in a regular-season game for the Giants. New York therefore received only a short training-camp and preseason look rather than measurable regular-season production.
The draft compensation also needs to be described carefully. San Diego's own historical material says the return was a 1975 seventh-round choice, but the completed 1975 draft does not show a Giants seventh-round pick transferring to the Chargers. Pro Football Archives lists New York making its own seventh-round selection at No. 158, Jim Obradovich, while San Diego made its own seventh-round selection at No. 164, Rickey Young. The Pro Sports Transactions 1975 draft ledger likewise shows No. 164 as San Diego's selection without a Giants trade chain. That combination indicates the contemplated Giants seventh-round choice was not ultimately exercised or transferred.
The available sources do not spell out the exact contractual trigger for cancellation, so this rebuild should not invent one. The defensible public description is that Rudder went to New York for a contemplated 1975 seventh-round choice that was not ultimately transferred after his brief Giants stay. This preserves what the Chargers recorded while respecting the completed draft record. It also avoids falsely attaching Rickey Young, Jim Obradovich or another drafted player to a compensation chain that the evidence does not support.
In hindsight, neither club created realized on-field or draft value. New York got a short look at a recent third-round pick and released him before the season; San Diego moved a player who never produced an NFL regular-season appearance but did not receive the listed future choice. With no measurable regular-season return on either side and no final draft asset changing hands, C grades and an Even Trade verdict are more appropriate than declaring a winner.