Wilmington native Roman Gabriel, a former NFL Most Valuable Player with the Los Angeles Rams, “passed away peacefully this morning of natural causes” at age 83, his son announced on social media Saturday.
An all-state honoree for football, basketball and baseball at New Hanover High, Gabriel went on to play quarterback at NC State where he would become a two-time ACC Player of the Year and first-team All-American in 1960 and ’61.
Gabriel, a Filipino-American standing 6-foot-4, was a top-two pick in the 1962 NFL and AFL drafts. He spent 11 years with the Rams and then five with the Philadelphia Eagles, earning Pro Bowl honors with both teams and named MVP in 1969 after throwing 24 touchdown passes.
Gabriel still holds the Rams’ franchise record for touchdown passes with 154.
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In 1977, he retired after 16 NFL seasons and became president of Minor League Baseball teams the Gastonia Rangers and Charlotte Knights. More recently, Gabriel represented local companies like Wilmington’s Tournament Promotions with auctions and charities.
“Like I’ve told people, the guys in my hometown helped get me where I am,” Gabriel said to StarNews editor Dan Spears in a 2012 interview after he was announced as a member of the inaugural class of the NC State Athletics Hall of Fame. “And then the first call I get is from my hometown? I’m tellin ya, Wilmington is the greatest city in the world.”
Gabriel also appeared in a John Wayne movie, “The Undefeated,” released in 1969, along with several television shows and commercials. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
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