
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Sports historian Jorge Iber's newest book chronicles this Mexican American athlete's rise to prominence and later life. Beginning with the Rivera family in Crystal City, Texas, a hotbed of Chicano activism in the late 1960s, Señor Sack seeks to understand how athletic success impacted the Rivera family's most famous son on his route to stardom. Football provided this family with opportunities that were not often available to other Mexican Americans during the 1940s and 1950s.
While Rivera's injury seriously derailed his life, Señor Sack also chronicles his struggle to regain a sense of purpose. With great effort and despite adversity, over the final two decades of his life, Rivera found meaning in helping minority youths in his community of San Antonio, serving as an example of what can be accomplished even under incredibly trying circumstances. Ultimately, the true legacy of Gabe Rivera is not just on the football field, but also in the lives he touched with his volunteer work. One of the most storied Red Raiders and a legend of Texas football, Gabe Rivera powered through many obstacles to make way for future generations of Latinos in American sports.
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Information
Table of contents
- Illustrations
- Introduction: Señor Sack—A Tragic and Triumphant Life
- Chapter 1: Latinos and Football in Texas: Pioneers Who Helped Open the Doors of Opportunity, 1920s–1975
- Chapter 2: Setting the Scene for the Rivera Family in South Texas: Mexican American Life and Education in Crystal City, Texas, 1900s–1969
- Chapter 3: The Making of a Football Coach: Juan Rivera and His Athletic and Coaching Career in South Texas, 1930–1972
- Chapter 4: “He Did Not Realize How Good He Was”: Gabe Rivera’s High School Athletic Career, His Arrival and First Year at Texas Tech, 1972–1979
- Chapter 5: Señor Sack Makes His Mark: With Bumps along the Way, 1980–1982
- Chapter 6: From First-Round Selection to “The Steeler Who Never Was”: Gabe’s Brief Time in the NFL
- Chapter 7: The Day Everything Changed: The Accident and Its Aftermath, 1983–1999
- Chapter 8: “And What Did It Cost You?”: Gabe Rivera’s Final Years, 1999–2018
- Conclusion: The Life and Legend of Señor Sack