When it came time last spring to choose a native son as the first
honoree for the Walk of Fame in Wilmington, N.C., the
selection committee had an eclectic list of candidates from
which to choose, including Michael Jordan, Sugar Ray
Leonard, Meadowlark Lemon,
Charlie Daniels and Woodrow Wilson. The committee chose
Roman Gabriel. "Considering who has come from my
hometown, it's a neat award and
honor," the former NFL quarterback says of the star that is
emblazoned with his name on the sidewalk outside the
Cotton Exchange in downtown Wilmington. "People say it's
because I haven't forgotten where I'm
from."
A two-time All-America at N.C. State, Gabriel was the top
draft pick of the AFL's Oakland Raiders and the NFL's Los
Angeles Rams in 1962. He opted for the Rams, with whom he
lasted 11 years, including his
'69 MVP season, during which he threw for 2,549 yards and a
league-high 24 touchdowns. He got a taste of
Hollywood—appearing in movies, TV programs and
commercials, and cohosting a talk show,
Man to
Man, with teammate Merlin Olsen. He also took up kung fu,
becoming one of the first athletes to incorporate martial
arts into his workouts. But Gabriel was irritated when the
Rams acquired veteran quarterback John Hadl in '73, so he
demanded a trade and
was sent to the Philadelphia Eagles. Following the '73 season,
in which he threw for 3,219 yards and 23 TDs, he was named
NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Gabriel retired in '78 and
remains among the NFL's alltime leaders in passing yardage,
passes
completed and touchdown passes. "The way they throw the ball
now, it's surprising I'm still ranked up there," he
says. "But if
I'd had the martial arts all along, my career would have lasted
at least three more
years."
Gabriel served as football coach at Cal Poly-Pomona from
1980 to '82 and as an assistant coach for several USFL
teams before hooking up with Charlotte businessman George
Shinn in 1990. Gabriel became president of Shinn's minor
league baseball franchises
in Charlotte and Gastonia, N.C., and later G.M. of Shinn's
WLAF team, the
Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks. These days Gabriel gives motivational speeches
and, along with his wife, Lisa, with whom he has five
children, runs a sports consulting firm in Charlotte. But
Sundays are reserved for his duties as game analyst for the
radio station that
broadcasts Carolina Panthers
games. "When
I retired as a player," says the 57-year-old Gabriel,
"I had goals
I hoped to achieve with sports in the Carolinas. I'm
fortunate. I've done
that.
—by Paul Gutierrez
photograph by Neil Leifer
Issue date: October 27, 1997
Past Editions of Catching Up With...
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