Roman Gabriel

Roman Gabriel, the great starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams during the late 1960s and early '70s, first achieved sports stardom at North Carolina State, where he was a two-time All-American at quarterback and an academic All-American. Such was his athletic prowess, setting virtually every NC State passing record, that on Jan. 20, 1962, Gabriel's jersey was officially retired and presented to him by North Carolina governor Terry Stanford. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame 27 years later, in 1989. In 1962, he was the first round draft pick of both the NFL's Rams (and second player picked overall in the draft) and of the Oakland Raiders in the rival American Football League (first pick overall among all players). The Rams signed him for three years at $15,000, non-guaranteed; he eventually played 11 seasons for the Rams, from 1962 to '72.