Roman Gabriel, who played 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and five with the Philadelphia Eagles, died Saturday at his home in Little River, S.C. He was 83.
Gabriel one of the top passers of the 1960s, was 6-foot-2 and weighed about 235 pounds and was known for shaking off tackles in the pocket — tough to bring down because of his size and strength. He was named the league MVP in 1969, when he led the NFL with 24 touchdown passes for the L.A. Rams in a 14-game season.
No cause of death was given.
The Rams marked his death with a tweet: “We mourn the loss of Rams legend and football pioneer, Roman Gabriel. We extend our condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.
Gabriel also was named the comeback player of the year in 1973, his first season with the Eagles. Coming off knee problems and a sore arm, he led the NFL with 23 touchdown passes and 3,219 passing yards.
He played in four Pro Bowls, three with the Rams in the late 1960s and another with the Eagles in 1973. But he reached the postseason only twice with the Rams, who were eliminated in the first round both times.
A multi-sport star in high school, Gabriel was offered a contract with the Yankees, but he decided to attend college instead.
He was selected by the Oakland Raiders as the AFL’s No. 1 pick in the 1962 draft and chosen by the Rams as the second selection in the NFL Draft. He signed with the Rams, but didn’t become the starter until five years later, when George Allen became head coach in 1966. He led the team to an 8-6 record — the Rams’ first winning season since 1958.
Gabriel threw for 2,779 yards and 25 touchdowns in 1967, when the Rams finished 11-1-2 but lost to the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. Two years later, as MVP, the Rams were 11-3 but lost again in the playoffs, this time to the Minnesota Vikings.
He was traded to the Eagles, where he was 12-27-1 as a starter, and he retired after the 1977 season. He passed for 29,444 yards and 201 touchdowns in his career.
According to the New York Times, he was later a pro football broadcaster, the head coach at Cal Poly Pomona, and a coach in the United States Football League and the World League of American Football. He was president of two minor-league baseball teams in North Carolina and dabbled in acting. He played a head hunter in an episode of “Gilligan’s Island” and the adopted Native American son of an Army colonel portrayed by John Wayne in the 1969 western “The Undefeated.”