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Message

My long time Pal, Roman Gabriel, just passed away ...

Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:07 pm
Posted by scrooster
Resident Ethicist
Member since Jul 2012
39466 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:07 pm
I just got the call. He was a good guy. He was recruited by every school in the SEC plus Arkansas and others at the time (1958) ... a lot of coaching was in flux that year, with either new coaches or coaches that only ran the option or wing T, etc., and he was a passing QB.

He ended up signing with NC State and staying close to home. Had a good career in college and later in the NFL.

Wish they would put him in the Hall of Fame. His close friend, Billy Ray Barnes, has been pushing for it for years. Billy is a HoFer that played for Philly back in the bad old days.

Roman always had fun coming to games with us and enjoyed the Cockaboose and SEC football which he always admitted was second to none. He was always amazed at the crowds and would exclaim that the crowds were bigger and rowdier than the NFL crowds he played in front of.

Anyways ... for fellow old timers, thought you might remember Roman. I'm gonna miss him.

Funny story I'll share with you.

One night Roman, Billy and I and a couple of other of our friends, some of my younger contracting friends, former Ranger Regiment buddies and a particularly famous Airborne Colonel .... we are partying our asses off in North Myrtle Beach at this titty bar. It was a wild bunch. Roman was probably 72 or 73 at the time .... and I mean we are throwing back the shots and buying lap dances and just raising hell. And all of the sudden Roman's eyes roll back in his head and he falls backwards in his chair while this favorite titty dancer of his is dancing in his lap bouncing titties in his face and he's right in the middle of motor boating .... you had to be there to understand.

Well, naturally we thought "oh shite Roman just croaked ... heart attack" right? So this titty dancer is laying on top of him and we're all scrambling, especially me, to give him CPR. So I'm pumping on his chest and this titty dancer is giving him breaths and the whole place is gathered around ... and finally the ambulance gets there and they're doing all this stuff and, all of the sudden, Roman wakes up and sits up. We're wtf!

Well, what had happend was his blood pressure had dropped suddenly while this dancer was in his lap because, come to find out, Roman had popped three Viagras before we left his house ... plus he was on blood pressure meds. But he was prepared, with whiskey dick at 73, 5o knock out a piece of arse that night.

That was Roman .... especially when he was with Billy Ray and us.

He was a big guy, my size, and when I spoke with him at Christmas time he was still going to the gym three times a week ... even though he was on a cane. Football had ruined his knees. He fought hard for all the old timer NFLers to get medical coverage from the NFL fund that they had been denied for decades.

He held a fund raising golf tournament in Wilmington for years and years for good causes ... I met so many big name sports celebrities when I played in his tournies, too many to count. Probably the biggest being Michael Jordan of course, him being a fellow Wilmington boy along with Roman and also actor Ed Hinton, Rod Delmonico (UT Baseball Coach), Sonny Jergenson who I think maybe all went to the same HS as Roman.

Anyways, I'm gonna miss him. He was one of a kind.

Posted by GetPiggywithIt
Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas
Member since Dec 2022
3313 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:08 pm to
sorry for you loss
Posted by 308
the backwoods of Mississippi
Member since Sep 2020
2321 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:11 pm to
He was a hell of a QB with the Rams. They came so close to the Super Bowl several times.

RIP, Mr. Gabriel.
Posted by MrMojoRisin
Udûn
Member since May 2014
7251 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:12 pm to
Sorry that he passed. But thanks for sharing the great stories.
Posted by Sid E Walker
InsecureU ©
Member since Nov 2013
24043 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:16 pm to
I was a kid when that sonuvabitch and the Rams would ALWAYS find a way to beat the Falcons.

Pretty cool that you could count someone like that as a friend. Sorry for your loss.
Posted by theCAW
Polk County
Member since Dec 2023
3430 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:18 pm to
Condolences

And thanks for sharing the stories
Posted by Evolved Simian
Bushwood Country Club
Member since Sep 2010
21198 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:26 pm to
Thanks for the stories.

Rest in peace, Roman.
Posted by paperwasp
11x HRV tRant Poster of the Week
Member since Sep 2014
24931 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 1:28 pm to
A little before my time, but he sounds like the kind of guy who would get a kick out of knowing that you shared that story amongst a group of us where it would really be appreciated.

Sincere condolences for your loss.

Posted by Lynxrufus2012
Central Kentucky
Member since Mar 2020
13717 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 3:15 pm to
He was in a John Wayne movie too. The Undefeated.
I remember him with the Rams. Sorry to hear about his passing but thank you for sharing with us.

RIP Roman
Posted by deeprig9
2023/24 B2B GSB Riboff Champ
Member since Sep 2012
67051 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 3:48 pm to
So ten years ago you were throwing back shots in a Myrtle Beach strip club and doing chest compressions on Roman Gabriel with a stripper's arse in your face giving him mouth to mouth, and you call yourself "Resident Ethicist".


I approve.
Posted by scrooster
Resident Ethicist
Member since Jul 2012
39466 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 4:41 pm to
quote:

He was in a John Wayne movie too. The Undefeated.

Oh yeah, Blue Boy the Indian (although Roman was actually Filipino) ... you should see the memorabilia from that he has. John Wayne, Rock Hudson (inb4 the fig jokes), Lee Meriweather, Merlin Olsen, Jan Michael Vincent, Bruce Cabot, Ben Johnson, et al.

I will not share some of those stories but there was some major Hollywood gossip that errupted during the making of that movie ... Roman said everybody on the set was a class act, especially The Duke.

All Star cast, good movie.
Posted by EKG
Houston, TX
Member since Jun 2010
44966 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 4:44 pm to
I’m so sorry to hear that, scrooster.
Sounds like you have some amazing memories of him!
God bless Roman and those who grieve his loss.
This post was edited on 4/20/24 at 4:46 pm
Posted by Notherdamnhog
Huntsville, Al
Member since Aug 2010
5999 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 4:50 pm to
Several years back I was invited to play in his charity golf tournament in Wilmington.

Sorry for your loss. He was a good dude when we met with him at the dinner the night before the scramble round of his tournament.
Posted by Harry Rex Vonner
American southerner
Member since Nov 2013
39040 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 4:53 pm to
quote:

He was in a John Wayne movie too. The Undefeated.



I will not share some of those stories but there was some major Hollywood gossip that errupted during the making of that movie ...




well hell now I gotta go look those up
Posted by 97channels
Member since Apr 2024
35 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 5:21 pm to
He was one of my favorite pro players when I was in high school. We didn't get the Saints till my junior year.
Posted by Clark14
L.A.Hog
Member since Dec 2014
22055 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 6:35 pm to
quote:

Wish they would put him in the Hall of Fame.


He certainly had a hall of fame name for sure. Sorry to hear he has passed…
Posted by Ag Zwin
Member since Mar 2016
21288 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 6:44 pm to
Posted by Sooner1984
Boone's Farm, Texas
Member since Jan 2017
521 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 6:56 pm to
I remember him in the NFL when I was a kid. Dang good player. Sorry for your loss.
Posted by Lynxrufus2012
Central Kentucky
Member since Mar 2020
13717 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 7:19 pm to
Edward Faulkner who played a Confederate officer in that film is from Lexington, KY.

I always liked that movie and Roman Gabriel did a good job.
Posted by gladchiefisgone
Member since Sep 2010
1870 posts
Posted on 4/20/24 at 8:57 pm to
RIP...

I watched him play his whole career. He was a good one.
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