Roman Gabriel, the great starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams
during the late 1960s and early '70s, first achieved sports stardom at
North Carolina State, where he was a two-time All-American at
quarterback and an academic All-American. Such was his athletic
prowess, setting virtually every NC State passing record, that on Jan.
20, 1962, Gabriel's jersey was officially retired and presented to him
by North Carolina governor Terry Stanford. He was inducted into the College
Football Hall of Fame 27 years later, in 1989.
Roman Gabriel, Jr. was born on August 5, 1940 in Wilmington, North
Carolina, the son of a Filippino immigrant who came to the U.S. in
1925, and his Irish-American wife. In 1962, he was the first round
draft pick of both the NFL's Rams (and second player picked overall in
the draft) and of the Oakland Raiders in the rival American Football
League (first pick overall among all players). The Rams signed him for
three years at $15,000, non-guaranteed; he eventually played 11 seasons
for the Rams, from 1962 to '72. At 6'4" tall and 235-lb., Gabriel is
considered the first large quarterback in NFL history.
In May of 1966, the Oakland Raiders signed Gabriel for the 1967 season,
part of the AFL's raiding of the older league in an attempt to create
parity and force a merger. Gabriel had been dissatisfied with the way
he had been used by Rams coach Harland Svare, particularly irritated
that he had been overlooked for starting assignments. He was ready to
leave the Rams, but when the team hired George Allen as coach, he
changed his mind. Under the legendary head coach, Roman Gabriel thrived
as a starting QB. He won his first Pro Bowl berth in 1967, following it
up with selections in 1968 and 1969, the latter being the year that he
won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and also was MVP of the Pro
Bowl.
In his years coaching the Rams, George Allen had a record of 49-17-4,
the best of any coach in Rams history. Yet, owner Dan Reeves did not
like him fired him after the 1968 season. The dismissal did not stick
as the players revolted, and Reeves was forced to back down. However,
Reeves would have his revenge: Despite having a winning season in 1970,
Allen was fired by Reeves (who was dying of cancer; the team would soon
change hands not once but twice in a short-time). The next two years,
Gabriel's play was hampered by a torn tendon in the elbow of his
throwing arm. In the ethos of the NFL of the time, Gabriel was derided
as a "psycho" and a slacker, and expected to suit up and play in pain.
(The novel and movie Die Bullen von Dallas (1979) exposed this plantation mentality among
NFL owners, many of whom had reputed links to organized crime.) His
statistics suffered, and after the 1972 season, Don Klosterman, the
newly appointed general manager of the team, acquired quarterback John
Hadl from the San Diego Chargers.
Gabriel took the acquisition of a starting QB by the team as an affront
and demanded a trade. Klosterman obliged. When he was traded from L.A.
to the Philadeliphia Eagles, Roman Gabriel ranked as the Rams' all-time
passing leader with 22,223 yards and 154 touchdowns, which are still
team records, as are his passes attempted (3,313) and passes completed
(1,705).
With Philadelphia in 1973, Gabriel led the league with 3,219 yards and
23 touchdown passes, winning him the NFL Comeback Player of the Year
Award and making the Pro Bowl. His total yards and his passing
completion percentage of 58.7 were the best of his career. While with
the Eagles (1973-77), he threw for 7,221 total yards and made 45
touchdowns.
Though in 1978, his career was all but over, George Allen -- newly
returned to the team -- wanted Gabriel as a third-string QB and
quarterback coach. However, Klosterman (and to a lesser extent Rams
owner Carroll Rosenbloom) made it clear to Gabriel that he was not
wanted back, so Gabriel walked away from playing. He did not turn his
back on the game, though, serving as the offensive coordinator of the
Boston Breakers and Arizona Wranglers franchises in the short-lived
USFL. He had a lackluster career as a head coach, leading the
Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks of the World League of American Football to a
0-10 mark in their first and only season of 1991-1992.
Possessed of a stellar physique and dark, good looks, Gabriel took
advantage of living in country's major entertainment center and had a
brief career in movies and television. He made his TV debut as a
"native" on Gilligans Insel (1964) and his movie debut as a prison guard in Otto Preminger's
notorious stinker Skidoo - Ein Happening in Love (1968). The highlight of his acting career was
playing Blue Boy, the Native American adopted son of the legendary
John Wayne in the horse opera Die Unbesiegten (1969). On the set, Gabriel struck up a
close friendship with co-star Rock Hudson.
Roman Gabriel and his wife Lisa are deeply committed to charity work in
his North Carolina community. The couple have raised $4 million for
charity through their RG Sports Connection trust.
