Roman Gabriel dies at age 83

A fan favorite and Rams franchise legend, Roman Gabriel won MVP in 1969

Roman Gabriel, the 1969 AP MVP and the Rams’ all-time leader in touchdown passes and passing attempts, died at age 83 on Saturday according to his son Roman Gabriel III and confirmed by his alma mater at NC State.

Gabriel was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989 and NC State wrote the following about his career with the Wolfpack:

Gabriel, who was inducted into the inaugural class of the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012, was the ACC Player of the Yer in 1960 and ‘61, setting 22 school and nine ACC records during his career. He was the first ACC quarterback to throw for 1,000 yards in a season.

A two-time All-American on the playing field, Gabriel was also an Academic All-American in 1961 before being selected as the No 1 pick in that year’s American Football League draft and the No. 2 pick of the National Football League. He would go on to play 16 seasons in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles and was the all-time leading passer in Rams franchise history.

Gabriel hasn’t been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame but he had an illustrious career in the mid-to-late 60s with the Rams and is a fan favorite; when I asked Rams fans recently to name their favorite players of all-time, Gabriel’s name came up as often as any other next to Deacon Jones and Aaron Donald.

The second overall pick in the 1962 draft, Gabriel didn’t become the team’s full-time starting quarterback until 1966 and the team went 8-6 that season. In 1967, the Rams went 11-1-2 as Gabriel had 25 touchdowns and made his first of four career Pro Bowls. Two years later, Gabriel threw an NFL-leading 24 touchdowns and won MVP honors, blowing past Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp with a 44.4% to 17.3% voting share advantage. Gabriel stayed with the Rams until 1972 and spent the final five years of his career with the Eagles.

Gabriel’s 154 career touchdown passes with the Rams is the most in franchise history, 12 more than Jim Everett and 32 more than third place Marc Bulger. Gabriel’s 74 career wins is 28 more than second place Everett. Matthew Stafford would need 50 more wins with the Rams to catch Gabriel.

Share your favorite Roman Gabriel stories and memories in the comments with fellow Rams fans below.