Ignacio Saturnino "Lou" Molinet (November 30, 1904 – August 27, 1976) was a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

-born 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 who played in 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 ...

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 ...

during the 1927 season. He is distinguished as being the first

and

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

to play in the league.

Early life

Lou's parents had come to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, it is likely they were Catalonian or of Catalan origin as this is where the name Molina originated. He was educated primarily in America, attending the

Peddie School The Peddie School is a college preparatory school in Hightstown, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is a non-denominational, coeducational boarding school located on a campus, and serves students in the ninth through twelfth gr ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

before enrolling at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, where he followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Joaquin, who was later inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame.

Football career

Molinet

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twice each in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and football. However, after his sophomore year ended, both of his parents died. He found the prospect of returning to Cornell too challenging, so he remained at home in Cuba. But when the Frankford Athletic Association in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

contacted him about playing for the Frankford Yellow Jackets, the defending NFL champion, he returned. The team contracted Molinet for a salary of $50 per game. In addition, he received $50 per week just to attend practice. In 1927, Molinet rushed for 75 yards and passed for another 35 yards. He also caught several passes, and even scored a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

during a Yellow Jackets' win over the Buffalo Bison. He played in nine NFL games that season and the Yellow Jackets fell below .500 good for 7th place in the standings. Molinet returned to Cornell, finished his degree and lived a life far away from football. At the time of his death, his own family knew very little of his athletic career outside of college.

Later life and legacy

Molinet spent his later life working at

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

. He actually worked for the

Carrier Corporation Carrier Global Corporation is an American multinational heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and fire and security equipment corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Carrier was founded in 1915 as an independ ...

, first in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, then in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

and then in

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. Many in media referred to him as "Lou" Molinet. However his family states he was never called that. His nicknames were really "Molly," and "Iggy". Prior to 1999, it was concluded that

Jess Rodriguez Ángel Jesús Rodríguez Ávila (August 7, 1901 – October 12, 1983), better known as Jess Rodriguez, was a Spanish-American professional American football player for the Buffalo Bisons of the National Football League (NFL). He and his broth ...

, a fullback with the 1929 Buffalo Bisons, was the first NFL player of Hispanic heritage. However, in 2000, Heidi Cadwell, Molinet's granddaughter, contacted the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

about donating her grandfather's NFL contract from 1927. Her call was of great interest to the Hall because at the time it was widely believed that Rodriguez was the first Hispanic player in NFL history. Further research by the Hall of Fame and Hispanic historian Mario Longoria confirmed that, in fact, Molinet played in the NFL in 1927. Today Molinet's contract is prominently displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molinet, Lou 1904 births 1976 deaths Cuban emigrants to the United States American people of Spanish descent Frankford Yellow Jackets players Cornell Big Red football players Cornell Big Red men's basketball players Cuban players of American football American men's basketball players Players of American football from New Jersey American football fullbacks American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Basketball players from New Jersey Cuban basketball players