Mel Kiper Jr. was merely a teen-aged, wannabe NFL scout in the late 70s when he personally handed his draft reports to anyone and everyone who cared to read it.
Over the years his dream became a year-round, high-paying job that's made him both the butt of NFL executives' jokes and the go-to draft expert for fans everywhere.
The NFL Draft was a little-followed offseason "meeting" between teams before ESPN, along with Kiper's help and expertise, turned it into the super hyped 24/7 obsession it is today.
Inspired by Kiper's success, dozens of other "experts" have joined the draft process in the years since then, but most still view Kiper as the top guy.
Growing up in Baltimore, Mel Kiper always wanted to be an NFL scout
While he was in high school during the late 1970s, Kiper wanted gave some of his player evaluations to Baltimore Colts executive Ernie Accorsi. The exec suggested he start selling his reports to fans.
Source: NYT
Following the advice of Accorsi, Kiper started his own NFL talent evaluating business, Kiper Enterprises, while attending Essex Community College in Baltimore in 1981
Source: ESPN
Kiper racked up huge long distance phone bills and convinced his dad to install a satellite dish on the roof so he could gather all the information for his yearly draft report
Source: WaPo
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook.