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 {{runningback-1900s-stub