Henry Roldán
Despite the fact that American football has grown in popularity among Latino fans in recent years, only three Latinos have been inducted into the Hall of Fame out of a group of just over 40 Hispanic American figures who have played in the NFL, due to low level of involvement in the sport.
That small number, which will most likely grow in the coming years as the sport expands to other parts of the world, is what has slowed the arrival of more figures to the hall of immortals, and we’ll remind you who they are.
Latinos in the NFL Hall of Fame
Steve Van Buren
Born in La Ceiba, Honduras, Steve Van Buren lost his parents at the age of 10 and was taken in by his grandparents in New Orleans.
The Honduran was the first running back (halfback) to reach 1,000 yards on the ground in a season. He achieved this feat in 1947, while between 1944 and 1951 he led the circuit four times before his premature retirement, at the age of 31, due to a knee injury.
Van Buren also won two Super Bowl titles with the Philadelphia Eagels, the organization with which he played his entire career and with which he became the first Latino player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1965.
Tom Fears
Fears was born in Jalisco, Mexico, the son of an American father and a Mexican mother.
Throughout his nine seasons in the NFL, Tom Fears revolutionized the gridiron by becoming the first offensive player to line up away from the tackles, which is why he is considered the first wide receiver in the history of the circuit.
Fears played his entire career with the Los Angeles Rams, from 1948 to 1956, and on three occasions led the circuit in receptions, while once leading the league in receiving yards with 1116. He also won a Super Bowl in 1951 and was called to a Pro Bowl.
After his retirement, the Mexican dedicated himself to technical assistance and was head coach of the New Orleans Saints between 1967 and 1970, the same year in which he became the second Latino to be inducted into the Canton Hall of Fame.
Ted Hendricks
He is regarded as one of the best linebackers in NFL history, and he more than deserves his place within the Latinos in the Hall of Fame.
Ted Hendricks moved to the United States at a young age (his father was American and his mother was Guatemalan) and was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the second round of the 1969 NFL Draft.
With that organization, he began to shine by being called to two Pro Bowl and by winning a Super Bowl. However, it wasn’t until his arrival to the Oakland Raiders in 1975, after a season with the Green Bay Packers, that his career would finally come to fruition.
In nine years with the franchise (which relocated from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982), Hendricks won three NFL championships, was named to four more Pro Bowls, and is now regarded as one of the best Raiders in history for the role he played in each of those championships.
Hendricks retired from the gridiron in 1983, at the age of 36, and in 1990, his second year on the ballot for the Hall of Fame, he received the call to the NFL’s Olympus to become the last Latino Hall of Famer in American football.
