The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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30 ■ THE WOLFPACKER "They were all good quarterbacks," Gabriel said. Ultimately, however, he was better, at least in the eyes of new Rams coach George Allen, who showed a prefer- ence for veteran players over newcom- ers when he took over the team in 1966. Allen gave Gabriel a chance to win the job and put him under the tutelage of offensive genius Ted Marchibroda. The result? In Gabriel's first year as a starter, the Rams had their first winning season since 1959. For seven seasons, from 1966-72, Gabriel led the Rams to 63 wins and two NFC divi- sion championships. He probably should have been the league's Most Valuable Player in 1967 when the Rams went 11-1-2 and won the NFL Coastal Division title, and then he did win the award in 1969. He grew into one of the biggest ce- lebrities in a town of superstars, dating Hollywood starlets and picking up roles in movies and television shows. He had significant roles in two major motion pictures, "Skidoo" and "The Undefeated," which co-starred John Wayne and Rock Hudson. He had roles on sev- eral television shows, from "Gilligan's Island" to "Wonder Woman." He was named All-Pro three times with the Rams and once after he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for receiver Harold Jack- son and a pair of first-round picks. In 1973, his second year with the Eagles, he was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year, throwing to wide receivers Harold Carmichael and Don Zimmerman, and tight end Charlie Young. Injuries bothered him the rest of his career, but he stayed with Philadelphia until he retired following the 1977 season, a total of 16 years in one of professional sports' most difficult jobs. His numbers, before passing became the first option on every offensive play, still stand up against the best quarterbacks in NFL history, with 29,444 passing yards, a 52.6 passing completion rate and 201 touchdown passes. Along the way, he broke Johnny Unitas' NFL record with 89 consecutive starts, which is now owned by Brett Favre with 297. Both Rivers (210) and Wilson (126) have also bypassed Gabriel's one-time mark. During a 40-year retirement, Gabriel has focused on a variety of projects, primarily involved with sports. By his own accounting, he has raised nearly $7 million for various charities, primarily through golf tournaments. He and his Eagle teammates, through their Eagles Fly for Leuke- mia, raised the money to build the first Ronald McDonald House in the country. For more than 35 years, he has participated in an event with his New Hanover High School teammates to raise mortgage money for the widow of a teammate who died of multiple sclerosis. If you ask him to this day, he will tell you his greatest legacy is the work he has done on behalf of others. He has been a college and professional coach, and was involved in minor league baseball and football ventures in Charlotte and Raleigh. He has also spent time in the broadcast booth as a radio and television analyst. He has no regrets about a life well-lived. "I have definitely been blessed by God's amazing grace," Gabriel said. When the Lonnie Poole Golf Course opened 10 years ago, three of Gabriel's college teammates raised $150,000 to name the No. 18 hole — the number he wore during his Wolfpack career — in his honor, a contribution that put a smile on the face of course designer and Wake Forest golf All-American Ar- nold Palmer, who became friends with Gabriel when the two were in college. "It's great to know that that will al- ways be the Roman Gabriel hole," the late Palmer said during construction of the golf course. "We've been buddies for a long time. We just went to differ- ent schools together." Gabriel has been recognized in every way possible. He is a 1989 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, and has been selected to the inaugural classes of the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the Wilmington Hall of Fame and the Players Retreat Hall of Fame. There is only one thing that has eluded him. For the last couple of years, NC State graduate Vinny Sheehan has been promoting Gabriel for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. It's similar to the unsuccessful effort the school mounted in 2008 to get Gabriel elected as one of two senior players with a push from then-football coach Tom O'Brien, re- tired senior associate athletics director David Horning, then-athletics director Lee Fowler and then-Chancellor James Oblinger. This time, however, it's different since the NFL announced earlier this year that it would induct a one-time superclass of 20 deserving players into the Class of 2020 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first NFL season. The hall has previously been capped at eight inductees per year. Ten of those can be senior players who haven't played in the NFL in more than 25 years, five can be modern-era players, three will be special contributors and two can be coaches. The 10-member superclass will be selected by a 25-member Centennial Class Blue-Ribbon Committee, made up of 13 Hall of Fame electors and 12 current and former NFL executives and head coaches, including New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "It's an honor and a privilege to be fighting in the trenches with a fellow NC State alum who was one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play in the NFL," Sheehan said. "Whether a long-time fan, friend, teammate, competitor, Hall of Famer, coach, respected me- dia member, decorated military hero, politician, business executive or community leader, we all ask the same question: Why hasn't Roman Gabriel been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? "This seems like the perfect time to recognize one of football's greatest quarterbacks." Many of Gabriel's contemporaries — which are numerous since he played for 16 NFL seasons — are already among the 326 players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: George Blanda, Terry Bradshaw, Len Dawson, Dan Fouts, Bob Griese, Sonny Jurgensen, Bobby Layne, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler, Bart Starr, Roger Stau- bach, Fran Tarkenton, Y.A. Tittle and Unitas. His fate will be determined by the blue-ribbon panel, and Gabriel wants to be NC State's first player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so that it might perhaps pave the way for others and all Wolfpack fans can enjoy the honor. "I have a lot of honors, a lot of memberships in Halls of Fame," he said. "I just think this would mean something to all fans of NC State, the Rams and the Eagles." ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. Gabriel estimates he has helped raise over $7 million for charities, primarily through appearances in golf events. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS