Throughout National Football League history, there is only one legendary starting quarterback who won two Super Bowl rings and who’s yet to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame despite being eligible. San Jose native Jim Plunkett, who is Latino and Native American, is now 76 years old and is still awaiting the coveted induction and gold jacket.
But this month, the renowned Raiders quarterback received a significant boost behind his nomination into the Hall’s Class of 2025 with letters of support from State Senator Dave Cortese, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, the California Latino Legislative Caucus, the Native American Legislative Caucus and his alma mater, Stanford University.
What’s more, the inaugural Seniors Selection Committee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame placed Plunkett’s name in contention after narrowing the original candidate list of 182 down to 60. On Oct. 22, the committee narrowed the list further to 31, with Plunkett’s name still included, but will now vote on only nine semifinalists come November.
Plunkett, who lives in Atherton, starred in the NFL and has an inspirational life story of overcoming all the odds. He was born on Dec. 5, 1947, in San Jose to Mexican-American parents, William Gutierrez Plunkett and Carmen Blea. His mother was also of Cherokee Native American ancestry. But both parents suffered from blindness, and his family faced much economic hardship growing up. His father died at the age of 56 in 1969 just after his sophomore year in college.
But it was at East San Jose’s James Lick High School where Plunkett rose as a star athlete competing in football, basketball, baseball, track and wrestling after previously attending Overfelt High School.
He went on to graduate from Stanford, where he led the football team as quarterback to a Rose Bowl victory by defeating top-ranked Ohio State 27-17. He was subsequently awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1970, becoming the first Latino/Native American and the only Stanford player to ever win the prestigious honor.
In 1971, Plunkett was chosen for the first overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Boston Patriots, becoming the first Latino/Native American player to ever be drafted with the first overall pick. Plunkett would later play for the San Francisco 49ers from 1976 to 1978.
But in 1978, he joined the Oakland Raiders under legendary coach Tom Flores and led his team to four playoff victories, including the first-ever victory by a wild card team in Super Bowl XV on Jan. 25, 1981, over the Philadelphia Eagles. Plunkett was named game MVP, becoming the first person of color to quarterback a team to a Super Bowl victory. In January 1984, he again led the Raiders, who had by then moved to Los Angeles, to victory in Super Bowl XVIII with a resounding 38-9 win over Washington.
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Plunkett was forced to retire in 1987 after a shoulder injury. But during his 17-year NFL career, he passed for 25,882 yards and 164 touchdowns, adding 1,337 yards and 14 touchdowns as a rusher. He has since been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (1990), the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame (1990), the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (1992), the California Sports Hall of Fame (2007) and most recently the International Sports Hall of Fame (2024). But it’s the most prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame honor that continues to elude him despite prior nominations.
Today, Plunkett, who suffers from chronic sports-related health conditions, remains a source of pride for Californians, and his resilience and life story continue to be an inspiration about overcoming adversity. But it’s an injustice to see one of our greatest quarterbacks in NFL history wait for this ultimate recognition. It’s time to finally induct Jim Plunkett into the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Luis Alejo is a Monterey County supervisor representing Salinas, and Ignacio Ornelas is a lecturer and archivist at Stanford University.