Ángel Jesús Rodríguez Ávila (August 7, 1901 – October 12, 1983), better known as Jess Rodriguez, was a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
-
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
professional
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player for the
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He and his brother,
Kelly Rodriguez
Aquilino Fabriciano Rodríguez Ávila (August 9, 1907 – October 22, 1997), better known as Kelly Rodriguez, was a Spanish-American professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL).
He played as a back for the Frank ...
, are the first two Spaniards to have played in the NFL. It would only be them two until 2014 when
Alejandro Villanueva
Carlos Alejandro Villanueva Martínez (4 June 1908 – 11 April 1944) was a Peruvian association football, footballer who played for Alianza Lima and the Peru national football team. He is considered one of the most important Alianza strikers i ...
played for the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
.
He played for the Bisons during its final
1929 season.
He was the first
Hispanic-American
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
to play in the NFL and the second person of Hispanic descent to play in the league. Prior to 1999, Rodriguez was considered to be the first Latino to play in the league; however it was later discovered that
Cuban-American
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cubans, Cuban desc ...
Lou Molinet
Ignacio Saturnino "Lou" Molinet (November 30, 1904 – August 27, 1976) was a Cuban-born professional American football player who played in the National Football League for the Frankford Yellow Jackets during the 1927 season. He is distinguishe ...
played for the
Frankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won ...
in
1927 (but because Molinet was a Cuban citizen at the time, he was technically not a Hispanic-''American''). He is distinguished as being the first
Spaniard
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...
to play in the NFL.
References
1901 births
1983 deaths
American football running backs
Salem Tigers football players
Buffalo Bisons (NFL) players
Spanish emigrants to the United States
Spanish players of American football
Players of American football from West Virginia
Sportspeople from Clarksburg, West Virginia
People from Avilés
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