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In 1927 Cuban national Ignacio S. Molinet was recruited to play with the Frankford Yellow Jackets of the old NFL for a single season. Mexican national Jose Martinez-Zorrilla achieved 1932 All-American honors. These are the beginnings of the Latino experience in American Football, which continues amidst a remarkable and diversified setting of Hispanic nationalities and ethnic groups. This history of Latinos in American Football dispels the myths that baseball, boxing, and soccer are the chosen and competent sports for Spanish-surname athletes. The book documents their fascination for the sport that initially denied their participation but that could not discourage their determination to master the game.
List of contents
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Latinos/Hispanics in "American" Football
1.¿Latinos Take to the Gridiron: The 1920s-1940
2.¿Slowly Moving the Ball Down the Field: 1941-1950
3.¿The McCarthy Era and the Age of Activism: 1951-1970
4.¿Increased Numbers and Diversity at All Levels, 1971-1990
5.¿Latinos on the Gridiron from Coast to Coast, 1991-2018
Conclusion: The Historical Significance of Latinos on the Gridiron and Their Future in the Game
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Mario Longoria (Ph.D., University of Texas at San Antonio) a Vietnam War veteran, is retired from USAA Insurance Company and the United States Forest Service. His research interests include the Southwestern United States and Mexican-American sports history. He lives in San Antonio.
Jorge Iber is an associate dean and a professor of history at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He is the author of numerous works on the role of Latinos and Latinas in U.S. sports.
Summary
This history of Latinos in American Football dispels the nativists and sports myths that baseball, boxing, and soccer are the chosen and competent sports for Spanish-surname athletes. It documents their fascination for the sport that initially denied their participation but that could not discourage their determination to master the game.
