For the first edition of Hispanic Heritage Month 2023, we will answer a pivotal NFL question. Who was the first Hispanic player in the NFL? We thought it was one individual until 2000 when we discovered it was in fact another. Both men were critical to the development of the NFL we know today, and both deserve to be honored during Hispanic Heritage Month, but you know, someone has to be first.
Who We Thought Was First
Up until 2000, the NFL community had acknowledged one man as the first Hispanic player, and then we were corrected. Not everyone is aware, so we will highlight this during Hispanic Heritage Month. Everyone thought the very first was the 1929 Buffalo Bison, Jesse Rodriguez. Jesse can be first still, just the second first.
Rodriguez was an incredible individual, fullback, and punter. His story of coming to America is inspirational.
Jesse would travel to America from Spain as a young boy with his father, Fabriciano, and brother, Kelly. It is unclear how many other family members came to Ellis Island with them in 1911.
The Rodriguez family came with just $30 in Fabriciano’s pocket, along with a whole lot of dreams that they brought to West Virginia. Jesse would attend Salem University before both Kelly and Jesse played in the NFL.
Hispanic Heritage Month honoree Jesse Rodriguez with his peers – La Nueva España
Thank you for your important contribution to the NFL, Jesse Rodriguez. We are lucky to be able to honor an individual of Jesse’s caliber during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Who Was Actually First
Ignacio Saturnino Molinet was the first Hispanic player in the NFL. Now, that’s something that needs to be spotlighted during Hispanic Heritage Month!
How did we find out Rodriguez was not the first? Molinet’s granddaughter found and brought his NFL 1927 contract with the Frankford Yellow Jackets to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He had previously been overlooked because of the “Frenchness” of his last name.
Molinet was born and raised in Cuba with parents who hailed from Spain. There’s no information about when Ignacio came to America; however, he did go to high school in New Jersey.
Ignacio was often named Lou in professional football, although it’s unclear why because he never went by that name. Family would call Ignacio “Iggy,” and in college football, fans would lovingly call him “Molly” as an abbreviation of his last name.
Another Hispanic Heritage Month hero is Joaquin Rodriguez – Cornell University
Cornell was Ignacio’s college of choice. He was following in the footsteps of his brother, Joaquin. His older brother was later enshrined in the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame for his skills on the basketball field.
Ignacio found similar success at Cornell University in 1923 and 1924, lettering twice in basketball and football as a freshman and sophomore. However, both Molinet’s parents would die at the end of his sophomore year, so he retreated to Cuba, finding the grief too great to continue at Cornell.
Molinet would have probably remained in Cuba had he not graced us on the gridiron after being contacted by the Yellow Jackets, who were the NFL’s defending champion. The promise of $50 a game and $50 for practice had Ignacio back in the States.
The fullback and quarterback wouldn’t make much of a splash during his time in the NFL. He didn’t need to; just being there was noteworthy enough for one individual.
Ignacio would rush for 75 yards and pass for 35 yards, scoring a touchdown in the nine games he played in 1927. Molinet would finish his degree at Cornell and work in different cities in New York for the remainder of his life, talking very little about his former life in sports.
Four generations of the Molinet family came to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, pictured with Ignacio Molinet’s NFL contract – Pro Football Hall of Fame
One source indicates that Ignacio was a mechanical engineer working in the air conditioning industry, and another says he started working as a mechanical engineer but then ended his career with Eastman Kodak, a film and photography company.
Either way, he worked hard and was a humble man. His granddaughter said he would never have taken credit for being the first Hispanic player in the league or a pioneer of any type. If someone were to compliment Molinet, he would just chuckle.
Ignacio may not have seen his own contributions as important, but the NFL does. He opened the door for other Hispanics to be signed into the NFL. Always for the positions of fullback or halfback, for roughly another 20 years, as Hispanics were relegated to those roles. But you have to start somewhere, right?
Thank you for all you did, Ignacio Molinet. Your story is commendable and should be commemorated during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Want to read more historical content during Hispanic Heritage Month 2023? Look at my other NFL historical articles here.
