Ken Stabler went from Foley High School and the Alabama Crimson Tide to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But only after the New York Yankees, New York Mets and Houston Astros struck out in their efforts to get “Snake” to play big-league baseball.

Each of those teams used a draft pick on Stabler, who was a left-handed pitcher.

Stabler first appeared in the draft in 1966, when, in baseball’s second summer draft, the Yankees chose him with the 190th pick. Stabler stuck with Alabama and led the Crimson Tide through an undefeated football season in 1966. But that didn’t keep the Mets from choosing the quarterback at No. 155 in the January 1967 draft. Stabler stuck with football for another season.

With Stabler’s career at Alabama complete, the Astros used the 24th choice in the MLB draft on Jan. 27, 1968, on the pitcher. Three days later, the Oakland Raiders used the 52nd choice in the NFL/AFL Draft on the quarterback.

“The club understands Stabler has not made up his mind whether to play professional football or professional baseball,” Astros general manager Spec Richardson said at the time. “We’re hoping, of course, he chooses baseball. He told us, frankly, that whoever offered the most money would get him.”

Stabler signed a two-year contract with the Raiders in March 1968, ending the big leagues’ pursuit of the left-hander and starting the QB’s journey to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I had no preference between baseball and football until I heard I was going to the Raiders,” Stabler told the Oakland Tribune in a 1968 story. “I’m really happy Oakland got me. In my opinion, it’s the best team in the AFL, and I like to play on a winning team.”

Major League Baseball has only one draft annually now, and this year’s picks will take place on Sunday and Monday. The draft starts at 5 p.m. CDT Sunday. After the first three rounds on Sunday, the draft will resume at 10:30 a.m. Monday for the remaining 17 rounds.

Stabler isn’t the only former Alabama high school star who stiff-armed the big leagues and went on to a hall-of-fame football career.

The Montreal Expos made quarterback Condredge Holloway of Lee High School in Huntsville the fourth pick in the 1971 June draft. Holloway went to Tennessee to play quarterback for the Volunteers, even though the players picked on either side of him received $50,000 bonuses (equivalent to about $400,000 today) to sign with big-league teams.

A starter in all three of his varsity seasons, Holloway guided Tennessee to a 25-9-2 record, but that didn’t get him drafted in the NFL until the 306th choice in 1975. The New England Patriots wanted him to play defensive back, so Holloway went to the Canadian Football League to play quarterback. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

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Like Stabler, there are other players with Alabama baseball roots who were drafted by MLB teams but ended up playing in the NFL. They include:

Gary Banks: The Chicago Cubs selected Banks as a shortstop from Southern Choctaw High School with the 133rd pick in the 2000 draft. Banks spent four seasons in the minors as an outfielder without getting past Low-A ball. A star quarterback at Southern Choctaw, Banks turned back to football at Troy, where he played wide receiver. Although Banks wasn’t drafted in football, he played in two NFL games for the San Diego Chargers in 2010.

Bo Jackson: By the time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the Auburn running back and future College Football Hall of Famer the first pick of the 1986 NFL Draft, Jackson had been picked twice in the MLB draft. The New York Yankees picked the McAdory High School shortstop 50th in 1982 and the California Angels picked the Auburn outfielder 511th in 1985. The Kansas City Royals shrewdly picked Jackson at No. 105 in 1986 after the NFL Draft. The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner threw Tampa Bay a curve by playing baseball. Jackson was an All-Star outfielder for the Royals in 1989, the best of his eight MLB seasons. But he also was a Pro Bowl running back in 1990 for the Oakland Raiders. Jackson played four partial NFL seasons for Oakland before a hip injury ended his career.

David Ray: The right-handed pitcher went to the Kansas City Athletics with the 67th selection in the 1966 baseball draft, even though he didn’t play baseball at Alabama. The former Central-Phenix City star spent his professional sports career as a place-kicker for the Los Angeles Rams after the Cleveland Browns selected him in 16th round of the 1966 NFL Draft. In 1973, he led the NFL with 30 field goals and 130 points.

Frank Sanders: After being drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1991, Sanders stuck with his commitment to play football at Auburn. But he also played baseball for the Tigers, and the Seattle Mariners used the 385th pick of the 1994 draft on the outfielder. The Arizona Cardinals picked Sanders in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft, and his 507 receptions in nine seasons are the most in the NFL by a former Auburn player.

Pat White: The former Daphne High School star broke the NCAA career record for rushing yards by a quarterback and led West Virginia to four bowl victories before spending two NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him 44th in the 2009 NFL Draft. White had been Alabama’s Mr. Baseball in 2004, and the Anaheim Angels took him as an outfielder with the 113th pick in the 2004 draft.

Jameis Winston: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Winston out of Florida State with the first pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner is preparing for his 11th season as an NFL quarterback. Before that, though, the Texas Rangers picked Winston as an outfielder with the 486th choice in the 2012 baseball draft after two All-State seasons for Hueytown High School.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.