Roberto Garza
 | |||||||||
No. 63 Chicago Bears | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center/Guard | |||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: March 26, 1979 | |||||||||
| Place of birth: Rio Hondo, Texas | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
| High school: Rio Hondo (TX) | |||||||||
| College: Texas A&M–Kingsville | |||||||||
| NFL Draft: 2001 / Round: 4 / Pick: 99 | |||||||||
| Debuted in 2001 for the Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||
Career history
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: Active | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2012 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Roberto Garza (born March 26, 1979) is an American football center and guard for the Chicago Bears of the NFL.
High school years
Garza attended Rio Hondo High School in Rio Hondo, Texas and was a letterman in football and track and field. He was also a member the school's National Honor Society.
Post-high school
The son of immigrants from Mexico, Garza was encouraged to join the Marines after high school. A Marine recruiter interested in Garza ridiculed his desire to play professional football, allegedly stating that, "Mexicans do not play in the NFL". Roberto was not discouraged, and worked toward his goal by being encouraged by his younger cousin Payton Garza. He ended up playing for the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Javelinas as a "walk-on". In addition to playing football, Roberto worked to pay for school. Garza's hometown of Rio Hondo, Texas established December 2 as "Roberto Garza, Jr. Day", and subsequently named a street after him. He is fluent in Spanish.
Professional career
He was originally selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 99th overall pick of 2001 NFL Draft from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Garza played with the Falcons up until the 2004 season when his contract was up. He signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears in 2005 and a six-year contract extension in 2006. Garza was chosen to be the cover athlete of the Spanish version of Madden 09 En Español.[1]
Among the 1,700 National Football League players in the 2006 season, Garza was one of only 19 Hispanics.[2]
In 2012, Garza, along with teammate and defensive end Henry Melton were named to the 2012 All-Joe Team.[3]
Garza will serve as sideline reporter for Fox Deportes' broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII.[4]
Charitable work
Garza is a supporter and member of the United Way, a group of charitable organizations dedicated to helping less fortunate children and elderly. In 2006, Garza was named the Chicago Bears' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. He has previously worked with the Empty Stocking Fund, the Atlanta Falcons' Feed The Homeless Campaign, and the Hall County Boys & Girls Club. He also supports Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago.
References
- ↑ "Random Topics for Today". pastapadre.com. 2008-08-04. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
- ↑ Perfection punched senseless - Los Angeles Times
- ↑ "Garza, Melton land on "All-Joe" team". Chicago Bears. 2012-02-0.
- ↑ Mayer, Larry (2014-02-01). "Garza to be part of historic broadcast". Chicago Bears. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
External links
| |||||