#Quarterback September 13

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Tonight the first Monday Night Football Game will be played between Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders. The two starting QUARTERBACKS will be Lamar Jackson and Derek Carr.

Wilmington NC is a city that has produced two iconic NFL QUARTERBACKS. Roman Gabriel and Sonny Jurgenson both graduated from New Hanover High School. Sonny finished in 1953 and attended Duke. Roman left New Hanover in 1958 and enrolled at NC State. Both QUARTERBACKS were coached in high school by Leon Brogden.

Here is a great story on the first time they ever met on a football field. It was a game played at the Los Angles Coliseum on October 22, 1967 between Gabriel’s LA Rams and Jurgenson’s then Washington Redskins. The game ended in a 28-28 tie and Coach Leon Brogden attended.

Those former New Hanover High School star quarterbacks were on opposite sidelines in six other professional football games over their careers.

Careers after playing Quarterback

Jurgensen played with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1957-63 and the Washington Redskins from 1964-74; Gabriel was on the Los Angeles Rams roster from 1962-72 and the Eagles’ lineup from 1973-77. 

Sonny retired in 1974 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Gabriel, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Both of these former QUARTERBACKS would find themselves involved in broadcasting after their careers ended.

Roman Gabriel was part of the CBS broadcasting team in 1978 and 1979. After broadcasting I was not aware that Gabriel coached the football team at Cal Poly Pomona from 1980 to 1982. 1982 was the last season that university sponsored football.

Jurgenson on the other hand got into broadcasting in 1974 and continued in some fashion up until 2019. Most of his work was done as a color commentator for the Washington Football Team on the radio.

Video Clips

Roman Gabriel
https://youtu.be/9glI5sVzSH4
Sonny Jurgenson

Coach4aday

My purpose in life is to coach. I am a former collegiate basketball coach, director of athletics, and chief of staff. I worked at four NCAA Division I & II universities during my career. At each campus I learned timeless lessons on teamwork and leadership. Today my passion is coaching others on what it takes to lead, serve, and succeed.

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