ALABAMA - It might not seem like it, but throughout the history of the National Football League (NFL), plenty of Latinos have been able to obtain the ultimate prize in American football. From Argentina to Mexico, Latin America has produced many quality players and coaches who have ended up winning not one, but multiple championship rings.
This year, four players and one coach will have the opportunity to become the latest members of that selected club. For the Kansas City Chiefs, star running back Isiah Pacheco will have the chance to win his second Super Bowl ring after helping the Chiefs lift the Vince Lombardi trophy in 2023.
Pacheco, of Puerto Rican descent, has been a breath of fresh air for the Chiefs since he joined the team in 2022. He has been key for the Chiefs' offense, especially during the postseason, as only Patrick Mahomes (458) has rushed for more yards in the playoffs than Pacheco (451) in franchise history.
The San Francisco 49ers, on their end, will count with four Latinos in their sideline. Center Jonathan Feliciano, offensive lineman Alfredo Gutierrez and linebacker Fred Warner will all take the field on Feb. 11, while offensive assistant Miguel Reveles will do his part from the coaches booth.
Here's a look at some of the individuals of Latino descent to have collected more than one Super Bowl/NFL Championship ring during their successful careers. To avoid double counting from 1966 to 1969, only the NFL championships from 1920–1965 and the Super Bowls from 1966 onward are counted.
Ted Hendricks - 4 Super Bowl rings
The Guatemalan-born linebacker played for in the NFL for 15 years and won a total of four Super Bowls during his Hall-of-Fame career. Hendricks won the first of his four Super Bowl rings with the Baltimore Colts during Super Bowl V. He won the others as a member of the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders team that won three Super Bowls in a span of seven seasons between 1976 and 1984.
Tom Flores - 4 Super Bowl Rings
Just like Hendricks, Tom Flores was part of the Raiders dynasty that dominated the NFL in the 1970s and 1980s. He won his first and only ring as a player during Super Bowl IV as a backup quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. He would go on to have one of the most successful careers as a coach, winning three more Super Bowl rings (one as an assistant, two as a head coach).
Flores served as the head coach of the Raiders for nine seasons and, in 1981, he became the first minority head coach to win a Super Bowl, when the Oakland Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10. Flores' 83 wins with the Raiders rank 2nd in franchise history, only behind John Madden's 103 victories.
That win in 1981 also made Flores the first person to be a member of a Super Bowl-winning team as a player and head coach.
Tom Fears - 3 NFL Championships
Before the Super Bowl era started in 1966, there was the NFL Championship game. Between 1933 and 1965, the old National Football League held 33 of these championships before the NFL-AFL merger happened ahead of the 1966 season.
One of the main players of his time, Tom Fears, was able to finish his career as a three-time NFL champion. The first one was as a player for the Rams in 1951, while the other two came during his stint as an assistant coach for the Green Bay Packers between 1962 and 1965.
Fears led the NFL in receptions in three straight seasons between 1948-50 and was named into the NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team.
Jim Plunkett - 2 Super Bowl rings
The first Latino to win the Heisman Trophy and also the first one to win the Super Bowl, Jim Plunkett was selected by the New England Patriots with the No.1 overall pick during the 1971 NFL Draft. After a successful college career that included a win over No.1 Ohio State in the 1971 Rose Bowl, Plunkett struggled to find consistency in the NFL until he arrived to the Raiders in 1979.
Originally a reserve quarterback, Plunkett became the Raiders' starting QB during the 1980 season, orchestrating their postseason run to the Super Bowl that year, becoming the first wildcard team to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In 1981, he became the first Latino to start and win a Super Bowl, on top of also winning MVP honors during the game.
Three years later, he led the Raiders to another Super Bowl victory in 1984. He is one of two quarterbacks, along with Roger Staubach, to win the Heisman Trophy and to win and start a Super Bowl.
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