Roman Gabriel Roman Ildonzo Gabriel , Jr . ( born August 5 , 1940 ) is a former American football player . The son of a Filipino immigrant , he was the first Asian - American to start as an NFL quarterback and is considered by many to have been one of the best players at that position during the late 1960s and early 1970s . He was the second overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and played for the Los Angeles Rams for eleven seasons , then five seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles . Early years . Born and raised in Wilmington , North Carolina , Gabriel played high school football at New Hanover High School and graduated in 1958 . He went on to star at quarterback at North Carolina State University in Raleigh . A two - time All - America n and two - time ACC Player of the Year ( 1960 – 61 ) , Gabriel finished his college career holding virtually every Wolfpack passing record . An academic All - American , Gabriel ' s jersey was retired after his senior season , presented to him by North Carolina governor Terry Sanford on January 20 , 1962 , at half - time of an NC State - Maryland basketball game in Reynolds Coliseum . As captain of his team , Gabriel set 22 school and nine conference football records . He threw for 2 , 961 yards and 19 touchdowns . Known for his arm strength , he also played baseball and was voted the best amateur athlete in the Carolinas . In a three - year career he passed for 20 touchdowns and ran for 15 . The Atlantic Coast Conference ’ s 50th Anniversary Football Team was announced in 2003 and Gabriel was among the top 50 players in the history of the ACC to be listed . Gabriel was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989 . Gabriel was the number one 1962 AFL Draft pick , chosen by the Oakland Raiders , and was the number 2 1962 NFL Draft pick , selected by the Los Angeles Rams . Gabriel signed with the Rams and went on to a distinguished professional career . Professional career . NFL career . Gabriel wore the number 18 with the Rams and the number 5 with the Eagles . In the professional ranks Gabriel went on to play 16 seasons in the NFL , splitting time with the Los Angeles Rams ( 1962 – 72 ) and the Philadelphia Eagles ( 1973 – 77 ) . He was awarded the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1969 and earned Pro Bowl spots in 1967 , 1968 , 1969 , and 1973 . When he retired , he ranked as the Rams ' all - time passing leader with 22 , 223 yards and 154 touchdowns ( 1 , 705 com . / 3 , 313 att . ) and threw for 7 , 221 yards and 45 touchdowns ( 661 com . / 1 , 185 att . ) with the Eagles . In 1973 he led the NFL with 3 , 219 yards and 23 touchdown passes , for which he was awarded the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award . As of the end of the 2009 NFL season , he still holds the Rams ' career records for touchdown passes ( 154 ) , passes attempted ( 3 , 313 ) , and wins by a starting quarterback ( 74 ) . From 1962 through 1965 , Gabriel had a difficult time securing a starting quarterback job . Ram coaches gave Zeke Bratkowski or Bill Munson the nod over Gabriel . However , due to other quarterbacks slumping or being injured , Gabriel did get to start 23 games from 1962 through 1965 . The Rams record in those games was 11 wins , 11 losses , and one tie . Although his record as a starter was average , the other Rams quarterbacks who started the other 33 games combined record was only four wins , 27 losses and two ties . Gabriel ' s significant wins include a 1965 victory to beat the eventual Champion Green Bay Packers and the 11 - 3 Cleveland Browns . When George Allen took over for Harland Svare to become to coach the Rams in 1966 , one of his first moves was to make Gabriel the # 1 starter . Gabriel started all 14 games and the Rams went 8 - 6 , their first winning season since 1958 . In 1967 the Rams went 11 - 1 - 2 and made the playoffs as NFL Coastal Division champions . Gabriel was named the AP Offensive Player of the Week the last two weeks of the season . In week 13 , needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive , Gabriel was 20 for 36 with 3 touchdowns ( including the game winner in the last minute ) in a 27 - 24 come from behind win over the defending champion Green Bay Packers . The next week , in a game against the Baltimore Colts that would decide the division title , Gabriel completed 18 of 22 passes with 3 touchdowns as the Rams won 34 - 10 . The 1967 Rams finished as the highest scoring team in the NFL , but were eliminated from the playoffs by the Packers 28 - 7 . Gabriel threw for 2 , 779 yards and 25 touchdowns and was a Second - team All - Pro and a Pro Bowler . The following season they were in another neck and neck battle for the Coastal Division title with the Colts . Going into the 13th game of the season , the Rams needed a win to stay within one - half game of the Colts , who would be coming to Los Angeles the following week for the season finale . However , the Rams took a 17 - 16 loss to the Chicago Bears . In 1969 the Rams opened the season with an 11 - game winning streak ( still a team record ) , before suffering their first loss to the 10 - 1 Minnesota Vikings in Los Angeles by a score of 20 - 13 . With the division clinched and the undefeated record gone , coach Allen decided to rest many of his starters and the Rams lost their last two games to finish 11 - 3 . In a rematch with the Vikings in the playoffs in Minnesota , the Rams lost , 23 - 20 . For the season , Gabriel threw 24 touchdowns and only seven interceptions and was named the NFL ' s Most Valuable Player by the AP and NEA , the Player of the Year by the UPI and was voted All - Pro and to the Pro Bowl . In 1970 , the league realigned , putting the Rams in contention with the San Francisco 49ers for the new NFC West Division title . After an upset loss at home to the lowly New York Jets ( who were without the injured Joe Namath ) in which Gabriel threw 3 interceptions , the Rams won 3 straight , including a crucial 30 - 13 win of the 49ers to take over first place . But a 28 - 23 week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions in the first Monday night football game in L . A . ( despite over 300 yards passing from Gabriel ) , put the Rams back in 2nd place and left them 1 / 2 game behind the Lions for the wild card playoff spot , but they were edged out for a playoff berth . In 1971 , the veteran Rams began to show their age and Gabriel missed parts of every game due to knee and shoulder injuries . In addition , coach George Allen left for the Redskins after a long running dispute with general manager Dan Reeves . Still , the Rams , despite playing the league ' s toughest schedule , faced almost the same situation as in 1970 . After falling behind the 49ers in week 7 , they rallied back to take the division lead going into another week 13 Monday night game in L . A . This time , the opponent was George Allen ' s Redskins . After falling behind 31 - 10 , Gabriel led the Rams back to within 31 - 24 and was driving to a possible tying score when he was intercepted ; it was returned for a touchdown and the Redskins won . Once again , the Rams fell into 2nd place behind the 49ers and behind the Redskins for the wild card berth . Despite winning in Pittsburgh in week 14 , the 49ers came from behind to beat the Lions , 31 - 27 and win the division . In 1972 , Gabriel ' s knee and shoulder injury problems got worse . After making 89 consecutive starts over eight seasons , he missed 2 games and lost playing time in all 12 others . Still , after a Monday night win in San Francisco in week 12 , the Rams regained 1st place . But losses to the Cardinals and Lions in the final two weeks doomed their season . After the 1972 season , the Rams hired Chuck Knox as their new coach , and obtained John Hadl to be quarterback . Gabriel was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973 . Gabriel went to a 2 - 11 - 1 Eagle team and turned them around to a 5 - 8 - 1 team . Gabriel was voted to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time and was voted the " Comeback player of the Year " by " Pro Football Weekly " . For the 1973 Season Gabriel led the Eagles with 270 completions , 460 attempts and 3 , 219 yards and 23 touchdowns ( all league highs ) as the Eagles offense was the most prolific passing game in the NFL . Gabriel played though 1977 but his final two years were in a backup role . In his career he had a winning record of 86 - 64 - 7 and passes for over 29 , 000 yards and 201 touchdowns . He is the only quarterback from his era to still rank high in the " lowest interception percentage " category in NFL passing statistics . World League of American Football ( WLAF ) coaching career . Gabriel was head coach of the Raleigh - Durham Skyhawks of the World League of American Football . He was the only coach who did not win a game in the inaugural 1991 season . The Skyhawks disbanded shortly thereafter . Acting career . Gabriel had a brief career in movies , playing a prison guard in Otto Preminger ' s 1968 spoof " Skidoo " and an American Indian named " Blue Boy " in the 1969 John Wayne film " The Undefeated . " Gabriel ' s dark complexion gave rise to a popular belief that he may really be a Native American , but this is not the case ; he is actually Filipino American on his father ' s side and Irish - American on his mother ' s . Gabriel had previously appeared as a headhunter in the November 14 , 1966 " Topsy - Turvey " episode of CBS ' " Gilligan ' s Island . " Together with several of his Ram teammates , he made a cameo appearance as a football player in the 1965 " Perry Mason " episode , " The Case of the 12th Wildcat . " Personal life . During his years with the Rams , Gabriel co - owned two Volkswagen dealerships in the South Bay area of Los Angeles with teammate Merlin Olsen . After retirement from pro football in 1977 , Gabriel went into broadcasting as a color commentator for CBS television and , later , Carolina Panthers radio . Committed to charity work in his home of Myrtle Beach , South Carolina , he has raised over $ 5 million for charity through RG Sports Connection trust through which he promoted celebrity golf tournaments for various charities - multiple sclerosis , muscular dystrophy , leukemia , the blind , the Special Olympics and the Salvation Army . Gabriel was married to : Notes . Gabriel was the last football coach at Cal Poly Pomona , where from 1980 to 1982 his teams compiled a 11 - 33 record .