Roman Gabriel

At 84 years old, Roman Gabriel has this physical status:

Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. (born August 5, 1940) is a former American football player.

He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and is considered by many fans to have been one of the best players at that time in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

He was the second overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and spent 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

He is known as the first NFL quarterback of Filipino-American descent.

Early years

Gabriel was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Edna Mae Wyatt and Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Sr., a Filipino immigrant. Gabriel grew up poor and died of asthma, but he played high school football at New Hanover High School and graduated in 1958. He went on to play quarterback at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Gabriel, a two-time All-American and two-time ACC Player of the Year (1960–61), spent his college career, holding virtually every Wolfpack passing record. Gabriel, an academic at the University of On January 20, 1962, when his jersey was retired after his senior season and then presented to him by North Carolina governor Terry Sanford at halftime of an NC State-Maryland basketball game in Reynolds Coliseum. Gabriel established 22 schools and nine conference football records as captain of his team. He passed for 2,961 yards and 19 touchdowns.

He also played baseball and was named the best amateur athlete in the Carolinas, despite his arm strength. He finished with 20 touchdowns and 15 for 15. In 2003, the Atlantic Coast Conference's 50th Anniversary Football Team was announced, and Gabriel was one of the top 50 players in the ACC's history to be named. In 1989, Gabriel was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

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Professional career

Gabriel was the number one 1962 NFL Draft pick by the Los Angeles Rams and was the number one 1962 NFL Draft pick. Gabriel came to a distinguished career after being signed by the Rams.

Gabriel wore number 18 for the Rams and number 5 for the Eagles, and number 5 was on the Rams. Gabriel spent 16 seasons in football, including time with the Los Angeles Rams (1962–72) and the Philadelphia Eagles (1973–77). In 1969, 1968, 1969, and 1973, he was named the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1969, 1969, 1970, and 1973. He ranked as the Rams' all-time passing leader with 22,223 yards and 154 touchdowns when he retired (1,735 att.) He threw for 7,221 yards and 45 touchdowns (661 att./1,185 att.) With the Eagles. He led the NFL to 3,219 yards and 23 touchdown passes in 1973, for which he was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. He still holds the Rams' career record for touchdown passes (154), passes attempted (3,313), and wins by a starting quarterback (74).

Gabriel had a difficult time getting a starting quarterback job from 1962 to 1965. Zeke Bratkowski or Bill Munson had the nod over Gabriel by Ram coaches. Gabriel did manage to start 23 games from 1962 to 1965 due to other quarterbacks' slumping or being injured. 11–11–1. The team's record in those games was 11–11–1. Although his time as a starter was average, the other Rams quarterbacks who started the other 33 games combined record was 4–27–2. Gabriel's big victories include a 1965 victory over the eventual NFL champion Green Bay Packers and the 11–3 Cleveland Browns.

When George Allen took over for Harland Svare as the Rams' head coach in 1966, one of his first moves was to make Gabriel the primary starter. Gabriel appeared in all fourteen games, but the Rams won their first winning season since 1958. The Rams defeated the Vikings 11-1–2 in 1967, and were named as NFL Coastal Division champions in the playoffs. Gabriel was named the AP Offensive Player of the Week for the first two weeks of the season. Gabriel was 20-for-36 with three touchdowns (including the game-winner in the last minute) in a 27–24 victory over the defending champion Green Bay Packers in week 13, needing a victory to hold their playoff hopes alive. As the Rams defeated the Baltimore Colts, Gabriel completed 18-of-22 passes with three touchdowns, the division title would be decided. The 1967 Rams finished as the highest-scoring squad in the NFL, but the Packers were booted out of the playoffs by 28–7. Gabriel was a second-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler on the field, threw for 2,779 yards and 25 touchdowns.

The Colts were in another neck-and-neck battle for the Coastal Division title in the following season. The Rams needed a victory to stay within one-half of the Colts, who will be back in Los Angeles the following week for the season's finale. However, the Rams suffered a 17-16 loss to the Chicago Bears and quickly finished in second place, despite the fact that they had a 17–16 defeat.

The Rams began the season with an eleven-game winning streak (still a team record) before losing to the Minnesota Vikings in Los Angeles by a score of 20-13. With the division locked and the undefeated record missing, head coach Allen decided to rest some of his starters and the Rams' last two games to finish 11–3. The Rams lost 23-20 in a rematch with the Vikings in the Minnesota playoffs. Gabriel threw 24 touchdowns and just seven interceptions and was named the NFL Most Valuable Player by the AP and NEA, Player of the Year by the UPI and Pro Bowl, for the 2013 season.

The Rams returned to action in 1970, placing them in contention with the San Francisco 49ers for the upcoming NFC West Division crown. The Rams defeated the 49ers in three straight games after losing to the lowly New York Jets (who were without a healthy Joe Namath) in which Gabriel threw three interceptions, including a crucial 30-13 victory over the 49ers. The Rams appeared in the city of Los Angeles on Monday Night Football game, the first week of the season. Despite over 300 yards passing from Gabriel, the Rams lost 28–23 to the Detroit Lions, putting them in 2nd place and leaving them a half-game behind the Lions in second place for the wild card playoff position. The Rams won their finale at the New York Giants 31–3 (eliminating the Giants from playoff contention), but the Lions lost the wild card title, while the 49ers won the NFC Western Division championship. Gabriel led the Rams to a 41–14–4 overall record and was named to three Pro Bowls during that four-year span, from 1967 to 1970.

The veteran Rams started to play in 1971, and Gabriel skipped a portion of every game due to knee and shoulder injuries. In addition, coach George Allen left for the Redskins after a long-running contest with general manager Dan Reeves. Despite being on the league's busiest schedule, the Rams maintained exactly the same situation as in 1970. They bounced back to take the division lead in another matchup in Los Angeles on Monday night against Washington, which was now coached by Allen. Gabriel brought the Rams back to within 31–24 and was driving to a potential tying score when he was intercepted; the Redskins won after falling behind 31–10. The Rams dropped into second place behind the 49ers and behind the Redskins for the wild card berth. Despite winning in Pittsburgh this week, the 49ers came from behind to defeat the Lions 31-27 and win the division.

Gabriel's knee and shoulder injury issues started in 1972. He missed two games and lost playing time in all twelve other games after making 89 straight starts over eight seasons. Nonetheless, the Rams regained first place in San Francisco on Monday night after a thrilling victory on Monday night in the twelfth week. But the Cardinals and Lions lost in the final two weeks (combined with a previous loss to the woeful Saints), ending their season. The Rams lost 6–7–1, and coach Tommy Prothro was fired.

Chuck Knox as the Rams' new coach and John Hadl was named quarterback after the 1972 season. Gabriel was moved from the Rams to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1975, when he threatened to sign a $100,000 deal with the Southwestern Football League in April 1973 (11th overall–John Cappelletti) and first- and third-round picks (Dennis Harrah and Dan Nugent) in 1975 (11th and 67th overall).

Gabriel led his 2–11–1 Eagles team to a 5–8-1 record. Gabriel was elected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time, and Pro Football Weekly named him as the Year's Best Player of the Year. Gabriel led the Eagles to 270 completions, 460 attempts, 3,219 yards, and 23 touchdowns in 1973 as the Eagle offense was the most prolific passing game in the NFL. Gabriel appeared in 1977 until 1977, but his last two years were spent in a back-up role. Ron Jaworski, who had played for the Rams from 1973 to 1976, was backed up in his last season.

He had a winning record of 86–64–7 and passed for over 29,000 yards and 201 touchdowns in his career. He is the only quarterback from his time to finish in the "lowest interception percentage" category in NFL passing rankings. Gabriel was selected by the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) in the Best of the Year 2013 class.

He had a brief two-year career as a member of the NFL on CBS broadcasting team from 1978 to 1979, following his playing career.

Coaching career

Gabriel was the last football coach at Cal Poly Pomona, where his teams compiled an 8–24 record from 1980 to 1982. He resigned from being offensive coordinator with the Boston Breakers of the NFL on November 26, 1982, the only football coach in the state of Massachusetts. Cal Poly-Pomona also stopped its football program on November 26, 1982.

Gabriel was the head coach of the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks of the World League of American Football. He was the only coach to win a game in the inaugural 1991 season. The Skyhawks disbanded shortly thereafter.

Acting career

Gabriel had a brief career in film, appearing as a jail guard in Otto Preminger's 1968 film "The Unconcerned," a Native American, and a German American named "Blue Boy." In the CBS' "Topsy-Turvey" episode, he had previously appeared as a headhunter. He appeared as a football player in the 1965 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the 12th Wildcat," as well as in 1970 on an Ironside episode "Blackout." He appeared on "The Deadly Sting," a 1978 episode of Wonder Woman.

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Awards

• 1969: NFL Most Valuable Player Award, AP, UPI, NEA, and the Bert Bell MVP Trophy (Maxwell Club)
• 1970: Pro Bowl MVP
• 1973: NFL Comeback Player of the Year