10 Top Hispanic Players in NFL History
Check out our roundup of some of the best Hispanic players in NFL history.
Image via Complex Original
Whether we're talking about art, entertainment, or anywhere in between, Hispanics have made an impact at all turns. The same goes for the NFL where a select few have broke through to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the greatest to ever play the game.
Along the way, these athletes have encountered their fair share of trials and tribulations. From the parent or parents who made immense sacrifices to give their children a better life to the ones who were passed by and/or doubted, but used that as fuel to their internal fire, these individuals are the embodiment of not giving up, regardless of the obstacles put in front of them. It's a sentiment that many people across this nation can relate to.
If you feel as though you have been overlooked in life or dealt a bad hand, these 10 athletes, past and present, are proof that you should never give up on turning your dreams into a reality. These are the Top Hispanic Players in NFL History.
Tom Flores
Tom Flores is living proof that hard work pays off. In 1958, Flores graduated from the University of the Pacific, but after two years of failed attempts at getting into the NFL, he ended up on the AFL's Oakland Raiders as a quarterback. Flores, who is the child of Mexican-American parents, eventually earned a starting spot, making him the first Hispanic player to ever accomplish such a feat.
Nicknamed "The Ice Man," Flores wasn't an elite quarterback, but he was an exceptional leader, who helped lead the Raiders to three seasons over .500 in his six years under center. In 1969, Flores served as Len Dawson's backup for the Kansas City Chiefs, who went on to defeat the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7, in Super Bowl IV.
When Flores hung up his cleats for good in 1970, he expanded on his love for the game by transitioning to coaching. He landed a job as an assistant coach with Oakland under John Madden. In 1977, the Raiders ended up in Super Bowl XI where they defeated the Vikings, 32-14. Two years later, Madden called it quits and handed the keys over to Flores, who brought two Super Bowl titles to the Raiders.
In addition to becoming the first Hispanic head coach to win a Super Bowl, Flores became the second person in league history to win a championship as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. In an interview with ESPN, Flores reflected on his accomplishments and what it meant being Hispanic. "There are a lot of things I did that were influential, looking back," he said. "I'm proud of these things."
Tony Gonzalez
It's hard to talk about the best tight ends to ever play the game of football and not mention Tony Gonzalez. However, it's even more difficult to imagine that the guy who has Cape Verdean, Jamaican, and Scottish roots from his father's side, as well as being of African-American, Caucasian, Mexican-American, and Native American descent from his mother's family, almost didn’t play at all. As a kid, Gonzalez was more interested in other activities that had nothing to do with sports. Following some persuasion by his older brother Chris, an 11-year-old Tony decided to give football a try, though he was slow to embrace the game.
Around that time, there was a deeper, more concerning problem that he was dealing with: bullying. Consistently harassed by bullies, Gonzalez was told that his tormentors would attend his junior high school graduation ceremony. Gonzalez, who feared for his well-being, didn't inform any of his family members as to what was going on. Instead, he just disappeared. Eventually, Tony was found hiding behind a wall by his mother. That moment signaled a turning point in his life. Gonzalez needed to overcome this obstacle in his life and he did just that after moving to another school. With a clean slate, he grew into a more courageous person.
Maybe growing to a little over six feet tall and nearly 250 pounds just three years removed from the junior high school graduation incident had something to do with it. Now, he towered over his one-time bullies, but he wasn't out to get his revenge. Gonzalez took the high road. After all, he had a budding football and basketball career to worry about.
As a junior at Huntington Beach High School, Gonzalez averaged 17.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. In that same year, he played linebacker, racking up 68 tackles and six sacks, as well as tight end where he caught 38 passes for 800 yards and seven touchdowns. With so many options at his fingertips, Gonzalez opted to go with football because he felt like he would be able to play in his freshman year.
The decision paid off because after 17 years in the NFL, Tony racked up the second-most catches (1,325) and fifth-most receiving yards (15,127) in league history. Plus, his success in the NFL serves as an inspiration for today's Latino youth who have aspirations to play professional football in the future. "When I was growing up, there was only Anthony Munoz to look up to," he tells NJ.com. "I am glad to see more and more skilled players enter the league. You can see the progression as the NFL has become more exposed to the Hispanic community and the NFL is reaping the benefits."
Anthony Munoz
Much like Tony Gonzalez and tight ends, you can’t discuss the best offensive linemen without bringing up Anthony Munoz. Born in Ontario, Calif., to Mexican-American parents, Munoz and his brother Tom were raised by their mother, who worked on a nearby farm to make ends meet.
At a young age, Anthony developed a fondness for baseball, but his size made him a natural fit for football. The University of Southern California noticed his potential and offered him a scholarship to play for their program. In his junior and senior years at USC, Munoz dealt with lingering knee injuries that limited his time on the field. He played in only eight games during that time span.
As a result, when he declared for the 1980 NFL Draft, numerous people viewed Munoz as a risk. However, Bengals founder and general manager Paul Brown saw Anthony's potential at the Rose Bowl and opted to take him with the third overall pick. It was a bold move, but ultimately a wise one.
It also came with plenty of dedication out of Munoz, who would run three to four miles every day and work out in his installed home weight room. Anthony had his doubters and he needed to prove them wrong. In his career, Munoz was a mainstay at the left tackle spot, racking up 11 Pro Bowl selections and rarely missing games due to injury.
After hanging up his cleats, Munoz established his own foundation, which works toward helping the community, especially the disadvantaged youth by stressing the importance of higher education.
Jim Plunkett
The path wasn’t easy for Jim Plunkett. Both of his Mexican-American parents were blind. His father William worked to earn a decent wage, but still struggled to support his wife and three children. And as a teenager, Jim held several odd jobs to help his family out while playing football, basketball, and other sports during the school year.
During his freshman year at Stanford University, a tumor was found in Plunkett's neck. The growth was benign and removed, but he wasn't the same when he returned to the football field. With three quarterbacks already on the depth chart, Stanford head coach John Ralston wanted a struggling Plunkett to switch to defensive end.
Plunkett not only refused the suggestion, he threatened to transfer. Ralston red-shirted him. When Plunkett returned, he was amazing, throwing for 277 yards and completing 10 of 13 attempts in his first game back. Plunkett had a strong junior year, setting the table for a potential high pick in the NFL Draft.
Though difficult to turn down an NFL paycheck, Plunkett opted to stay in school for his senior year as a way of stressing the importance of getting an education for the young Mexican-Americans whom he encountered as a tutor. The decision didn't backfire for Jim. In the latter years, he’d become the first Hispanic to be awarded the Heisman Trophy.
The following year, Plunkett was taken with the first overall pick by the New England Patriots. Throughout his two-year tenure with the Patriots, Plunkett struggled. After a brief stint with the San Francisco 49ers, he found a home with the Oakland Raiders as a backup. Tired of getting overlooked for the starting job, Plunkett requested a release from the team, but head coach and fellow Chicano Tom Flores was able to keep him around.
Plunkett eventually got his opportunity and thanks to Flores, he was able to resurrect his career and become the first Hispanic quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl title where he was also named the Super Bowl MVP.
While there were times where his faith was shaken, Plunkett learned to embrace the underdog role, saying, "I don't know if that has anything to do with my past, but it's something that seems to make me strive for higher goals."
Arian Foster
After an impressive junior year campaign at the University of Tennessee where he rushed for 1,193 yards and scored 14 touchdowns, Arian Foster strongly considered declaring for the draft but was convinced otherwise by Vols head coach Phil Fulmer. It was a decision he would later regret as Foster’s senior year output was lukewarm, at best, and his name was not called at the 2009 NFL Draft.
While the ordeal would discourage most, Foster fought on as he had since he was a kid. While in elementary school, a teacher asked Arian what he wanted to be when he grew up. After saying "a star in the NFL," the instructor laughed, but the future Texans star running back was determined to prove his peers wrong.
Arian signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent. He eventually landed on the practice squad and eventually the 53-man roster. After a limited workload, head coach Gary Kubiak increased his reps and Foster rose to the occasion. The following week, he was named the starter and rushed for an impressive 119 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. As we know now, it was only the beginning.
On March 5, 2012, the Texans signed Foster to a $43.5 million extension over five years. During the ensuing press conference, Arian was emotional, reflecting on the sacrifices his Mexican-American mother made to make sure he could eat as a child. A couple of months after signing the new, lucrative deal, Foster purchased a Segway for each of his offensive linemen as a way of thanking them for the hard work they put in to turn him into one of the best running backs in the league. It may not seem like much, but Foster doesn't take his teammates for granted.
Tony Romo
Like Foster, Tony Romo first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Overlooked in the 2003 draft, Romo joined the Dallas Cowboys after drawing the attention of then-assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach and fellow Eastern Illinois alum Sean Payton. For the next three years, Romo sat behind Chad Hutchinson, Drew Henson, Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde, and Drew Bledsoe waiting for a crack at the starting job.
Slowly but surely, Romo made his way up the depth chart. On Oct. 15, 2006, he finally got his opportunity and immediately impressed in a game against the Houston Texans. Head coach Bill Parcells took notice of the performance and announced Romo as the starter two weeks later.
Since then, Romo has secured numerous franchise records, including most passing yards, as well as most passing touchdowns, yards, and completions in a season. While Romo has been somewhat mum about bringing too much attention to his Mexican-American roots on his father's side, his grandparents Ramiro and Felicita are never too far away, living in Texas.
Ted Hendricks
With a 6-foot-7, 220-pound frame, Ted Hendricks, who comes from a Guatemalan mother and American father, was an absolute terror on the defensive side of the ball. In his three years at the University of Miami, Hendricks amassed 327 tackles, a record for Hurricanes defensive linemen. After coming in fifth in the 1968 Heisman Trophy voting, the man nicknamed the "Mad Stork" entered the draft but wasn't taken until the second round by the Baltimore Colts.
During his 14-year NFL career, Hendricks earned a number of awards, including four Super Bowl championships and eight Pro Bowl selections. Four years after calling it quits, the Mad Stork was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame. Three years later, the Pro Football Hall of Fame came calling.
Nowadays, Hendricks focuses his attention on helping people of all generations through his foundation. From advising the youth on the importance of education to attaching his name to a number of fundraisers and organizations for the betterment of senior citizens, Hendricks continues to live everyday according to his initiative's motto: "Making a difference in the lives of today's seniors and tomorrow's leaders."
Steve Van Buren
Steve Van Buren is a man of many nicknames including "The Flying Dutchman" and "Supersonic Steve." So, what's another to add to the list? How about "The Fighter?” From a young age, Van Buren fought through tough times to become the future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.
The first battle came at 10 when Van Buren's Garifunan father and Honduran mother died, forcing him, his brother, and three sisters to move in with their grandparents in New Orleans. Just a few years later, Steve dreamed of playing, but at 125 pounds, he was too small to compete in the sport at Warren Easton High School and was told he would never make it at the varsity level.
Van Buren used those words as motivation. Before the start of his senior year, he worked at an iron foundry to both bulk up and bring additional income to his family. The hard work paid off. At tryouts that year, Van Buren was a strong and quick specimen and won a spot on the roster.
When he reached LSU on a football scholarship, Van Buren played primarily as a defensive end with flashes of potential at running back. In his senior year with the Tigers, Steve finally landed the tailback role and ran away with it.
Van Buren was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the fifth overall pick in the 1944 Draft. In his seven years, he led the league in rushing yards four times, including a streak of three years from 1947 to 1949. Not bad for "The Fighter."
Tom Fears
Before ever stepping onto a football field, Tom Fears knew the value of hard work. Born to an American father and Mexican mother, Fears unloaded shipments of flowers for a nearby market, making 25 cents an hour when he was a kid. A few years later, he served as an usher at football games where he took home 50 cents an hour. The odd jobs instilled a strong work ethic in Fears that he brought to the NFL where he set multiple records, including receptions in a single season and passes caught in one game, which he held onto for 10 and 50 years, respectively.
Before reaching the NFL, though, Fears had quite a journey. During World War II, Fears' father was a prisoner of the Japanese. The ordeal motivated Tom to become a fighter pilot. After serving his country in the Army, the Los Angeles Rams came calling but he decided instead to continue his education at UCLA. In his two years at the school, Fears held down multiple campus jobs and even appeared as a fighter pilot in a Humphrey Bogart film. In 1948, however, Fears finally joined the Rams and would subsequently be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his professional career.
Joe Kapp
If Joe Kapp's name sounds familiar it may be because of Drew Brees, who tied the record for touchdown passes (7) in a single game earlier this season against the Giants. It's an elite mark held by Kapp and several other quarterbacks including Peyton Manning.
While Kapp may not have the legacy of Manning, he possessed a certain "it factor." In 1970, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated who dubbed him "The Toughest Chicano," given the Mexican-American heritage on his mother's side. It’s a fitting title for someone who battled through a knee injury for an entire season with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders just by putting tape on it.
Kapp was also an exceptional leader. As a member of the Minnesota Vikings he received the team's MVP award. Rather than accept the honor, Sports Illustrated reports he stated: "There is no one most valuable Viking. There are 40 most valuable Vikings."