View Full Version : Best Asian Quarterback to play Pro Football.
Roman Gabriel. He's Phillipino. Held most of the Rams passing records up until the greatest show on turf with Kurt Warner came along in the Ram's Super Bowl years and they were located in St. Louis by then.
Read a really interesting biography on him. Football players back then, did not make the kind of money they do today. It was an interesting story to read.
proazn
10-25-2006, 01:13 PM
Where is this biography?
Here is a link for you on Roman Gabriel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Gabriel
You can click on various links there and see different things about his career. He was a very good quarterback.
proazn
11-07-2006, 03:31 PM
Where does it say that he's asian? from what i understand, he's half-asian... and was secretive about it... fearing racial taunts.
Golden Monkey
11-07-2006, 03:50 PM
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0300276/
http://polycentric.csupomona.edu/main_news_images/main_news_image_652.jpg
Then^
http://www.onecrazyfan.com/photos/events/carls/DSC_1173_Gabriel.jpg
Now^
Biography for Roman Gabriel
Birth name
Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr.
Height
6' 4" (1.93 m)
Trivia
Former NFL Quarterback with the Los Angeles Rams (1962-72) and Philadelphia Eagles (1973-77).
Completed 2,366 of 4,498 passes (52.6%) for 29,444 yards and 201 touchdowns (74.3 rating). Also had 358 rushing attempts for 1,304 yards (3.6 yard average) and 30 touchdowns.
Ranks 22nd on NFL All-Time Pass Attempts List (4,498).
Ranks 29th on NFL All-Time Pass Completions List (2,366).
Ranks 30th on NFL All-Time Gross Yards Passing List (29,444).
Ranks 26th on NFL All-Time Touchdown Passes List (201).
Tied with Brian Sipe at 48th on NFL All-Time Passes Intercepted List (149).
Ranks 54th on NFL All-Time Times Sacked List (239).
Ranks 71st on NFL All-Time Yards Lost List (1,494).
Developing a project with actor/producer Anthony Begonia.
Ranks 78th on NFL All-Time Passer Rating List (74.29).
In the 1973 season, led the NFL in passes completed (270), passing attempts (460), passing yards (3219), and touchdown passes (23).
proazn
11-08-2006, 12:25 PM
He don't look asian to me. but he's got the asian haircut in his college picture.
The only asian quarterback today is freshman Kevin Pham playing in a SF Bay Area college. there's another asian QB, Michael Chou from CalPolySO.. but he's not getting any playing time right now.
considering that asians make up 5% of the population... this is a low low number.
lethal
11-08-2006, 05:05 PM
The guy's Filipino and you discount that because "he don't look asian to" you? Have you given up your Timmy Chang crusade yet? Have you learned proper English grammar yet? Stop embarrassing yourself.
yoMAMA
11-08-2006, 06:28 PM
I think there's a part asian Hawaiian dude playing for navy.
he's a running options QB.
proazn
11-09-2006, 11:16 PM
The guy's Filipino and you discount that because "he don't look asian to" you? Have you given up your Timmy Chang crusade yet? Have you learned proper English grammar yet? Stop embarrassing yourself.
The point is, no one thinks of him as Filipino. if he is filipino, he's not full filipino. I can't find any legit sources that says he's filipino. he's never said he was filipino.
Hey Lethal, do me a favor and go through all my posts and proofread them for me. Since you're so anal about using proper grammer on a bulletin board maybe you should spend some time correcting my grammer and i'll make sure to re-edit my posts.
btw, an asian guy, Ito, kicked the game winning field goal for Rutgers today over #3 ranked Louisville.
Roman Gabriel is Filipino. Read the article:
http://www.footballresearch.com/articles/frpage.cfm?topic=gabriel
Excellent article. I did not realize how close he and coach George Allen were. Allen tried to bring him back to the Rams, even after he was past his prime. Interesting story about the politics of football.
soulman386
11-17-2006, 06:26 AM
His father is Filipino. His mother is Irish. His wife is white. I'm curious. Does that make him more or less popular in Yelloworld?
http://www.nndb.com/people/777/000110447/
http://cgi.ebay.com/1970-Simmons-Beautyrest-Mattress-Roman-Gabriel-ad_W0QQitemZ260052332140QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotoho sting
The fact of the matter is he is still the best Asian Quarterback to play pro football.
renfro
12-12-2006, 10:18 PM
The fact of the matter is he is still the best Asian Quarterback to play pro football.
I think what people are saying in this thread is that it seems rather a stretch to give him the "Best Asian Quarterback" moniker when he is only half-Asian and (apparently) has never identified himself as Asian, nor is he identified by others as Asian. Also, aren't Filipinos technically Pacific Islanders?
lethal
12-22-2006, 12:19 PM
The Pro Football Hall of Fame identifies him as Filipino.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=hispanicquarterbacks&prov=st&type=lgns
However, the Pro Football Hall of Fame noted that Gabriel was not Hispanic but of Filipino and Irish descent.
Banana
12-22-2006, 02:10 PM
Who cares if we know he's Asian? The rest of the country needs to be able to tell he's Asian and it's barely discernible.
BeTheReds
12-22-2006, 02:18 PM
So yet again... looks are everything.
returntosender
12-22-2006, 03:07 PM
^^There's a reason why Tiger Woods isn't generally known as a good Thai golfer. To most of the public, even those who know about his mixed ancestry, look to him as if he's just another black athlete.
So yes, looks are everything.
Hey, if the Hall of Fame recongnizes Roman Gabriel's heritage I think that is positive. He was a very good quarterback.
BeTheReds
12-29-2006, 10:40 AM
^^There's a reason why Tiger Woods isn't generally known as a good Thai golfer. To most of the public, even those who know about his mixed ancestry, look to him as if he's just another black athlete.
So yes, looks are everything.
I don't know that he's known as a black golfer either.
BeTheReds
12-29-2006, 10:47 AM
This is so divisive. I can understand resentment if Gabriel himself shunned his ancestry or something, but if the hall of fame says he is, it's common knowledge that he is. Just because he doesn't look the right way doesn't mean that we should discount his place in Asian-American achievement.
I'm tired of arguing with teenagers about this bullshit anyway. There's always going to be someone there to discount something because someone looks the wrong way.
Why do we keep complaining that there are no successful Asian musicians in English language media? One clear example is Bjork! She looks Asian so that must be good enough, since looks are everything!
AliBabaIncorporated
12-29-2006, 03:29 PM
So yes, looks are everything.
In otherwords, you want to let white people and black people be the ultimate arbiters of the Asian identity: if they look at someone and can't see he's Asian, then obviously, he's not.
proazn
01-02-2007, 06:29 PM
Who cares if we know he's Asian? The rest of the country needs to be able to tell he's Asian and it's barely discernible.
Totally agree with you here Banana.
I had no idea Tony Romo was hispanic... thought he was Italian with that last name. Kinda funny how for years people thought Roman Gabriel was hispanic. but hey, with that last name he could have fooled everybody.
Golden Monkey
01-03-2007, 12:20 AM
I had no idea Tony Romo was hispanic...
Well, he's not. Not really. His mother is White American, whatever that is and his father's parents I think were immigrants from Mexico. But maybe unlike most current Mexican immigrants or illegal aliens they might not have been mestizo.
Plus he grew up in a Midwestern White world I think.
More likely the NFL is playing up the phony Hispanic angle as a marketing ploy.
BeTheReds
01-03-2007, 01:50 AM
. but hey, with that last name he could have fooled everybody.
So then Kailee Wong and Scott Fujita are in?
deez nuts
01-03-2007, 07:49 AM
so bottomline is: jungle asians and daddy was a white/black GI halfie asians just don't make the cut? we need full blooded EAST asians? hahaha this thread is awesome.
oh yeah and my vote for the awesomest asian quarterback ever goes to that chinese scab quarterback that played i think either for the redskins or the bears during i think the 1982 or 1987 nfl player strike. he was truly awesome.
lethal
01-03-2007, 09:13 PM
The point is, no one thinks of him as Filipino. if he is filipino, he's not full filipino. I can't find any legit sources that says he's filipino. he's never said he was filipino.
. . .
btw, an asian guy, Ito, kicked the game winning field goal for Rutgers today over #3 ranked Louisville.
How do you know he's Asian? By your standard, he sure "doesn't look Asian."
http://www.lougrozaaward.com/images/contenders/Watchlist%2006/Ito%20%20Jeremy(head%20shot).JPG
Hey Lethal, do me a favor and go through all my posts and proofread them for me. Since you're so anal about using proper grammer on a bulletin board maybe you should spend some time correcting my grammer and i'll make sure to re-edit my posts.
Why don't I just ban you instead so you can't make anymore asinine posts? Also, banning you would increase the collective intelligence of the membership.
BeTheReds
01-03-2007, 11:31 PM
I think proazn's regulations are this...
If you look Asian, you are, unless we all know you aren't.
If you don't look Asian, you're not.
If you have an Asian last name and you are famous, you are Asian regardless of how you look, unless you are partially Black.
proazn
01-18-2007, 06:20 PM
I think proazn's regulations are this...
If you look Asian, you are, unless we all know you aren't.
If you don't look Asian, you're not.
If you have an Asian last name and you are famous, you are Asian regardless of how you look, unless you are partially Black.
In other words, you need to be yellow.
BeTheReds
01-20-2007, 07:58 AM
Okay, so how is it that Timmy Chang or that Ito Guy are Asian to you?
Roman Gabriel is the greatest Asian quarterback of all time. The Hall of Fame recognizes him as such and most importantly of all, his play on the field guarantees it. Roman had his chance to go to the Raiders. He was drafted number one by Al Davis, but this was back when the NFL and the AFL were two separate leagues. It would have been really interesting to see how his career would have turned out had he gone to the Raiders. The Raiders might have won a Super Bowl much earlier had this happened. They might have beat the Packers in that second super bowl had he been the quarterback.
proazn
01-29-2007, 11:28 AM
I got nothing against Mr Gabriel, but if you ask a white person if the person below was white, hispanic or asian, they would almost always NOT guess asian as their first choice. They would most likely pick hispanic based on the name (sorry, to those filipinos out there).
http://www.onecrazyfan.com/photos/events/carls/DSC_1173_Gabriel.jpg
http://www.sportsnet.ca/images/nfl/misc/Gabriel_Roman_vert.jpg
http://www.footballcardgallery.com/pics/1965-Philadelphia/87.jpg
Check out this article. Basically, the NFL is looking for chinese players to play in the NFL since there will be an exhibition game in China later this year.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0701130064jan13,1,4627448.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
in the article it says, "This time, the football scouts roamed the country and canvassed coaches. With the average Chinese male topping out at 149 pounds, all involved agreed that the best bet was to find a kicker."
So yeah, the NFL thinks the chinese are too small and wimpy to play real football, so they go and look for kickers. maybe they should think about calling Timmy Chang.
Golden Monkey
01-29-2007, 04:30 PM
I got nothing against Mr Gabriel, but if you ask a white person if the person below was white, hispanic or asian, they would almost always NOT guess Asian as their first choice. They would most likely pick Hispanic based on the name (sorry, to those filipinos out there).
Well, from what I know his father was Filipino which is a diverse group right there. What is Filipino? That could be native ethnic/Spanish mix, could be Chinese ethnic, could be any combo of local ethnic. And his mother was a White female of what ethnic type I don't know.
But yes, he looks like a mestizo Mexican type in a way more so than even Filipino let alone East Asian.
yoMAMA
01-29-2007, 08:22 PM
I got nothing against Mr Gabriel, but if you ask a white person if the person below was white, hispanic or asian, they would almost always NOT guess asian as their first choice. They would most likely pick hispanic based on the name (sorry, to those filipinos out there).
http://www.onecrazyfan.com/photos/events/carls/DSC_1173_Gabriel.jpg
http://www.sportsnet.ca/images/nfl/misc/Gabriel_Roman_vert.jpg
http://www.footballcardgallery.com/pics/1965-Philadelphia/87.jpg
Check out this article. Basically, the NFL is looking for chinese players to play in the NFL since there will be an exhibition game in China later this year.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0701130064jan13,1,4627448.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
so what if white people don't think he looks asian?
why are you so obsessed with white people's standard of what asians should look like?
yoMAMA
01-29-2007, 08:23 PM
And his mother was a White female of what ethnic type I don't know.
his mother is of irish ancestry.
BeTheReds
01-30-2007, 01:35 AM
News Flash!
Roman Gabriel Is As Asian As Timmy Chang!
yoMAMA
01-30-2007, 11:11 AM
News Flash!
Roman Gabriel Is As Asian As Timmy Chang!
non-sense!
they are all mongrels, and most importantly, WHITE PEOPLE don't think they are asian.
(sarcasm)
;)
proazn
02-03-2007, 01:57 PM
Look, i think we all would like to think Roman Gabriel is asian and that he respresented the asian community in a positive way. Now, if people don't think he's asian how could he represent the asian community. Who knows, maybe Gabriel has pride in being asian, i don't know him personally, but 99.99% of the US population would think of him as NOT asian. So in essence, is he really representing asians?
lethal
01-31-2008, 08:10 AM
Look, i think we all would like to think Roman Gabriel is asian and that he respresented the asian community in a positive way. Now, if people don't think he's asian how could he represent the asian community. Who knows, maybe Gabriel has pride in being asian, i don't know him personally, but 99.99% of the US population would think of him as NOT asian. So in essence, is he really representing asians?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3218941&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2
Note number 18:
2. Roman Gabriel -- The first Asian-American (he's of Filipino descent) to start at quarterback in the NFL, Gabriel was a prolific passer for the Rams and Eagles. He won the league MVP in 1969.
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