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Remembering Roman Gabriel – An Eagles Legend With A Laid-Back Swagger

Author Matty Cord

Over the weekend, the Philadelphia Eagles community lost a good one when former player Roman Gabriel passed away.

Roman Gabriel passed away on Saturday morning peacefully at his home at the age of 83 years old.

I was definitely sad when I initially heard the news because I associate a lot of great memories with Roman Gabriel, and he is easily one of my favorite players of all time.

I’ll get to my memories of Roman Gabriel in a bit, but let me inform the younger generation of this Eagles great first.

The Career of Roman Gabriel…

During his tenure with the Eagles, Gabriel played quarterback and wore number 5 and number 18.

Roman Gabriel played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1973 through 1977 after beginning his NFL career in California with the Los Angeles Rams during the decade prior.

 

Being that Los Angeles is the home of Hollywood, the big screen, and lights, cameras, action! — Roman Gabriel also appeared in numerous movies and TV shows during his time in L.A.

Some things he appeared in include the movie, The Undefeated, which starred Rock Hudson and John Wayne. Also, he appeared as a headhunter in Gilligan’s Island, which remains one of my all-time favorite TV shows to this day.

As I said, I have a lot of memories with Roman, and his appearance in one of my favorite shows is just the beginning of those memories.

Matt Cord The Eagles Ball Boy…

As I mentioned earlier, Roman Gabriel played for the Eagles from 1973-1977, and that just happens to be the exact same time that I was a ball boy for the Eagles.

I loved getting the chance to be around a guy like Roman.

He was so cool and he really did have that laid-back, California swagger.

One of my favorite memories with him was when Roman used to let me drive his Jeep.

I still remember getting in for the first time and seeing Levi’s denim blue jeans seats — at the time I thought it was one of the coolest features in a car.

It’s not every day you get to see an NFL player embrace a ball boy like that, so I definitely appreciated it!

Anyway, Roman Gabriel will definitely be missed by many, and he was one cool guy.

If you have any cool memories that involve Roman, I would love him to hear them!

Photos…

8 Reasons We Fell In Love With Jason Kelce

Jason Kelce is calling it a career. There were reports immediately following the playoff game that it was over. Adam Schefter reported it the following day. You could almost tell with the way he was acting after the game. But we still hadn’t heard it from the man himself. Taht changed today. Jason Kelce spoke to the media today and announced he is calling it a career.

NBC Sports Philadelphia on Twitter: "The moment Jason Kelce officially called it a career after 13 incredible seasons with the Eagles. pic.twitter.com/Wm8y44OlYA / Twitter"

The moment Jason Kelce officially called it a career after 13 incredible seasons with the Eagles. pic.twitter.com/Wm8y44OlYA

Kelce is easily one of the most beloved players in the Eagles’ history. Not just for how great he is on the field, but for what he has done off of it. This year marked the 6th time he made the All-Pro first team. Only 5 other centers made at least 6 All-Pro teams. Only 1 did so in the last 50 years. What makes it more impressive is he made all of them after turning 30. Kelce closed out his career by being named the best center in 6 of his final 7 seasons.

He will walk into Canton one day. The Eagles will almost certainly retire his number one day. But Eagles fans don’t need any of those accolades to know how great Kelce is.

With Centers, it is hard to put together a highlight reel. A lot of what offensive linemen do does not necessarily get noticed by fans on a play-to-play basis. Jason Kelce changed that bit. There are so many big plays in the last 13 seasons where you will see Jason Kelce downfield leading the way for the ball carrier. Kelce changed the position. Forcing teams to look for more agile centers like him, as opposed to the old-school brick wall we often saw play center in the past.

So in honor of his great career, let’s look back on some of our fondest Jason Kelce memories.

Here are some of Jason Kelce’s best moments on and off the field:

Matt Cord is the host of the Matt Cord Show. He is a lover of all Philly Sports and has been the voice of the Sixers for 27 years and NBA2K for the past 4 years. As a cyclist enthusiast, Matt writes about his adventures all throughout the city.

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