The Mexican American QB Nobody Wanted — Two Super Bowls, Still No Hall of Fame | Jim Plunkett

Jim Plunkett grew up in poverty in East San Jose, California, raised by two blind Mexican American parents. His father ran a newsstand to support the family. Jim worked odd jobs as a kid just to help them survive. Despite every obstacle, he became a standout athlete at James Lick High School and earned a scholarship to Stanford University — staying close to home to be near his parents. At Stanford he won the Heisman Trophy in 1970, becoming the first Latino player ever to receive the honor. He was then drafted #1 overall by the New England Patriots in 1971 — the first Latino ever drafted first overall in NFL history. But his early pro career was derailed by injuries and losing teams, and by age 30 he had been cut by two franchises. Most people thought he was finished. Instead, Jim Plunkett engineered one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, leading the Oakland Raiders to back-to-back Super Bowl victories and earning Super Bowl MVP honors. He was the first person of color to quarterback a team to a Super Bowl win — and he did it twice. He still has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Photo credits: "Jim Plunkett" by Sheldon Dunn, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. "Jim Plunkett, 1984" by Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0. "Ronnie Lott and Jim Plunkett" by TeachAids, CC BY-SA 2.0. #MexicanAmerican #JimPlunkett #NFLHistory #SuperBowl #HispanicHistory #OaklandRaiders #MexicanAmericanHistory #HispanicHeritage #Heisman #NFLComeback #LatinoHistory #UntoldHistory #MexicanAmericanStorySonnet 4.6