Roman Gabriel

High school

New Hanover High School

College

NC State University

Pro team(s)

Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles

Roman Ilano Gabriel Jr. was born on August 5, 1940, in Wilmington, North Carolina, the son of a Filipino immigrant father and an American mother. He starred at New Hanover High School and went on to NC State, where he was an All-American quarterback and one of the most decorated players in Wolfpack history. The Los Angeles Rams selected him second overall in the 1962 NFL Draft, and Gabriel spent eleven seasons in Los Angeles, developing into one of the most formidable quarterbacks of his era. At 6'4" and 220 pounds — enormous for a quarterback of the 1960s — he combined a rifle arm with the toughness to absorb punishment behind an offensive line that was rarely dominant. His finest season came in 1969, when he led the Rams to an 11-3 record, threw for 24 touchdowns, and was named the NFL Most Valuable Player and NFC Player of the Year — the first player of Filipino descent to win an NFL MVP award. He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973 and earned a Comeback Player of the Year award in his first season there. A four-time Pro Bowl selection over a 16-year career, Gabriel was one of the foundational quarterbacks of the modern NFL era. Born and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina.