The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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168 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER Y oung Roman Gabriel walked into the office of the head coach like he had done with so many others. In the summer and fall of 1957, the burly quarterback from Wilmington, N.C., had got- ten more than 70 letters from colleges across the country, all seeking his All-America tal- ents in football, basketball and baseball. He was in the office of North Carolina coach "Sunny" Jim Tatum, that year's version of the long-awaited savior who was going to awake the sleeping giant Tar Heels. That day, the veteran coach sat at his desk, wearing a wrinkled white shirt and necktie while chewing a tangerine-sized wad of tobacco. "Well, we have two pretty good quarter- backs already here," Tatum said. "You'll have a chance to win the job, but I could also see you as a pretty good tight end or linebacker." Gabriel wasn't really listening. He was fairly mesmerized by the brown glob of tobacco juice hanging on the corner of Ta- tum's mouth, defying gravity and decency at the same time. "I guarantee you one thing if you come here, you'll always be with people who have class," said the UNC graduate, just as the chaw dam burst, dribbling bubbly tobacco juice down the front of the dingy white shirt. Somehow, Gabriel — the pioneer who turned NC State into Quarterback U — didn't feel at home in Chapel Hill. His visit to Raleigh, where head coach Earle Edwards seemed more casual and more open to Gabriel's desire to play mul- tiple sports, went much better, except that he never saw NC State's football stadium. In retrospect, after seeing still-new Reynolds Coliseum and the first iteration of baseball's Doak Field next to it, Gabriel understood why — crumbling old Rid- dick Stadium couldn't stack up to the other facilities at NC State or other stadiums he had seen across the country. In the end, it didn't matter. Edwards had already told Gabriel — the son of a Filipino immigrant father and Wilmington native mother — that he could fulfill his dream of playing all three sports if he could keep up with them all and maintain a strong grade point average. Gabriel fashioned himself a basketball player more than anything, but he wound up playing a single freshman season for legend- ary head coach Everett Case's program. He did play three seasons as Vic Sorrell's start- ing first baseman, leading the Wolfpack in home runs and RBI his junior season. On the football field, Gabriel was a game-changer even though he never av- eraged more 10.5 completions per game in his three seasons as a starter for the Wolfpack. Big and rangy, he was a strong passer who could — and often did — play linebacker on defense. No other quarterback in the ACC, and precious few in college football, measured up to him during his college days. He was the first ACC quarterback to throw for more than 1,000 yards in a season, just one of the reasons he was twice named ACC Player of the Year and twice earned All- America honors. And, for good measure, he was an Academic All-American as well. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1962 AFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders and the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. Gabriel seemed to be a surefire star, the way former NC State foot- ball players Connie Mack Berry and Alex Webster, who had both won NFL champion- ships, were on the professional level. Gabriel eventually signed with the Rams, but his career began with a whimper. He was never the primary option as the start- ing quarterback under head coach Harland Svare, taking a backseat to veteran Zeke Bratkowski his first two seasons and the younger Bill Munson his second two. In all, Gabriel started just 23 games in his first four seasons. Everything changed when legendary coach George Allen replaced Svare after four losing seasons. Allen's offensive coordina- tor, Ted Marchibroda, installed Gabriel as his starting quarterback and gave him all the accoutrements he needed to become a star. And he did, on the field of the L.A. Me- morial Coliseum and on Hollywood studio sets just down the street. He was as comfortable performing in movies with stars like John Wayne, Rock Hudson and Jackie Gleason as he was with All-Pro receivers like Jack Snow and Har- old Carmichael. And he was known to con- quer both vulnerable defensive backs and willing starlets. Even after he left the Rams for the Phil- adelphia Eagles in 1973, no star burned quite as intensely as Gabriel, who made friends and enemies along the way. In seven seasons as the full-time starter for the Rams and two more as the starter for the Eagles, Gabriel amassed 29,444 passing yards on 2,366 completions with 201 touch- down passes and 30 touchdown runs. He ranked in the top five of passes com- pleted in six of his seven years as a starter for the Rams and led the NFL with 270 completions in his first season with the Ea- gles. He paced the league in passing yards and total offense in 1973, when he was named NFL MVP and first-team All-Pro. And he twice led the league in touchdown passes (1969 and '73). There's been a renewed interest, sup- ported by athletics director Debbie Yow and football coach Dave Doeren, to get Gabriel into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Previous efforts to do the same have fallen short, and Gabriel — now 77 — is fading in the mem- ories of those who know what a ground- breaking player he was in his prime. No matter the outcome, though, there is no doubt that he is Quarterback U's first graduate. ■ ■ PACK PERSPECTIVE Roman Gabriel Was The First Graduate From Quarterback U Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker. and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. The Wolfpacker is a publication of: Coman Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 2331, Durham, N.C. 27702. Offices are located at 905 West Main St., Ste. 24F, Durham, N.C. 27701. (919) 688-0218. The Wolfpacker (ISSN 0273-8945) is published bimonthly. A subscription is $39.95 for six issues. For advertising or subscription information, call (800) 421-7751 or write The Wolfpacker. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Wolfpacker, P.O. Box 2331, Durham, N.C. 27702. Periodical mail postage paid at Durham, N.C. 27702 and additional offices. First-class postage is $14 extra per year. E-mail: thewolfpacker@comanpub.com • Web site: www.thewolfpacker.com Gabriel was the first ACC quarterback to throw for more than 1,000 yards in a season, was twice named ACC Player of the Year and also was a two-time All-American. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS