Caprock Chronicles: Señor Sack, the story of Texas Tech's Gabe Rivera

Editor’s note: Caprock Chronicles are edited by Jack Becker, Librarian Emeritus, TTU University. Today's article is by Jorge Iber, History Professor and Dean, Texas Tech University. This article, which first ran in the A-J on Aug. 25, 2019, is about late Tech All-American Gabe Rivera.

Like most large programs, the Texas Tech University Red Raiders have had many great players, a total of 11 individuals garnered selection as consensus first-team All Americans. An even more select few merited both All American status as well as induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.  Among these legends of the Lubbock gridiron are the E.J. Holub (inducted in 1986), Donny Anderson (1989), Dave Parks (2008) and Zach Thomas. Gabriel Rivera, is another member of this august company. His legend, which would grow exponentially during his time in Lubbock, started in San Antonio. There were four key moments in Gabe’s athletic and personal life that helped shape his story.

First, Rivera, who was born in Crystal City, gained notoriety as a two-way player (tight end and linebacker) for the Jefferson High School Mustangs in San Antonio.  He made All City as a junior after the 1977 season and followed that honor with selection to the nationally prestigious Parade All American team and the Thom McAn Award (given to the best player in the San Antonio area) after the 1978 campaign.

Needless to say, this recognition made Gabe a highly sought-after commodity among a plethora of collegiate recruiters.  One local paper estimated the number of potential suitors at as many as 15. By early February of 1979, Gabe had made his (surprising) choice: he would become a Red Raider.  Upon his arrival on campus in the late summer of that year, he began a meteoric rise that would bring him to the pinnacle of the football world: selection as a first-round draft choice in the NFL.

Second, while there were many games in which Rivera starred, one in the 1982 season stood out clearly from the rest.  Over the decades the eyes of all of collegiate football have not often focused intently upon the Red Raiders, but the team certainly was in the national spotlight on October 23,1982.  On that day, Tech played in Seattle against the then number one ranked University of Washington.

Going against Washington, the Raiders sported a mediocre 3-3 record. The Huskies, conversely, came in undefeated at 6-0 with impressive triumphs over Pac10 foes such as Arizona, Oregon, California and Oregon State.  The contest was supposed to be but a mid-season tune up with an also-ran before the mighty purple and gold moved on to play highly ranked UCLA and Arizona State.  The Huskies came into the contest averaging more than 40 points per game.

After the final whistle blew ending a game Washington won 10-3, all that the national, Washington state, and Lubbock media could talk about was not the Huskies’ nail-biting triumph, but rather how one Tech player on the defensive side of the ball, a 6’2”, 285-pound behemoth, had totally dominated the action on the field.  Texas Tech football writer for the Lubbock Avalanche Journal,Norval Pollard, summarized the stupendous play of number 69 that day in the following manner:

Gabe was like a mad hornet trapped in a fast-moving car with all the windows up.  The Huskies didn’t know whether to pull over, open all the doors, and wait until he escaped or keep traveling and hope he stayed at the rear window.  (Washington Coach Don) James and his players lauded Rivera following the contest, and rightfully so.  James, who rushed out to midfield after the game to congratulate Gabe, called him everything from ‘Superman’ to the ‘best defensive player I’ve seen.’

It was performances such as this that brought Gabe to the attention of several NFL teams.  Additionally, with the advent of the USFL in the early 198s, athletes such as Rivera were even more sought-after and were in an even stronger bargaining position.  The sky, it appeared, was the limit.

A third key moment in Gabe’s life came, when the Pittsburg Stealers called out the name of their first-round selection on April of 1983. At the time, the Steelers, the most dominant team of the 1970s was approaching a transitional phase.  Among their concerns were: who would succeed another Texas legend, “Mean” Joe Greene?

Pittsburgh’s brain trust, the Rooney family and Coach Chuck Noll, decided to go with Rivera as their choice in the first round of the 1983 draft; eschewing another possibility: the selection of native-son, Dan Marino.  Gabe signed a multi-year contract with the Steelers in May: he was now on his way to becoming a star and a millionaire! The future seemed very, very bright indeed.

The fourth key moment took place when all of these hopes, dreams, and aspirations came crashing down in late October of that same year.  After finishing practice, Gabe went to a restaurant for dinner and had a few beers with his meal.  Later that evening, as he was driving his newly purchased Datsun 280ZX, Rivera had a violent collision with another vehicle and was ejected through the rear window of his sports car.  For several days he hovered close to death.  He survived, but his spine was broken at T5-6, paralyzing him from the chest down.  He would remain a paraplegic for the rest of his life.  The fans in western Pennsylvania came to refer to this former Red Raider great as “The Steeler that Never Was.”

Beyond tragedy several factors make Rivera’s story distinctive. Not many Latinos (Mexican American in Gabe’s case) were playing at the highest levels of collegiate football in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yet Gabe came from a family that had seized upon both education and football as mechanisms to carve out a middle-class life in 1950s segregated Texas.  Juan Rivera, Gabe’s father, also played football and graduated from Crystal City High School (in 1948), went on to play collegiately (at Howard Payne College, now Howard Payne University in Brownwood), and earned two degrees (in education).

Though the devastating accident would render his career among the shortest in NFL history, a mere six games, he would fight to overcome the physical and emotional trauma of this catastrophic event no less valiantly than he’d fought on the football field.  Though there were many difficult years, Gabe eventually summoned the diligence and wherewithal to give back to his adopted homes of Lubbock and San Antonio and became a highly respected and beloved community figure.

On July 17, 2018 aficionados of the Texas Tech’s football program awoke to learn of the passing of Gabriel Rivera.  To those who followed the fortunes of the Red Raiders over the years, this giant of man was more widely and affectionately referred to as Señor Sack. He was a shining star over the years 1979-1982 for teams that finished with a combined mark of 13-28-3, with their best season being a mediocre 5-6 in 1980.

According to his web page in the College Football Hall of Fame website (he was inducted in 2012), Rivera was a consensus All American after the 1982 season. Further, he was honorable-mention All American in 1980 and 1981 and earned first-team All-Southwest Conference honors his senior year.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Caprock Chronicles: Señor Sack, the story of Texas Tech's Gabe Rivera