Fernando Von Rossum a "Fitting" Recipient of HOF's Ralph Hay Pioneer Award

 By John Turney 

If the Pro Football Hall of Fame is going to name a recipient of the Ralph Hay Pioneer Award, it figures it should be someone who's "the true definition of a pioneer who went where no one had gone before,"

And it is.

Introducing Fernando Von Rossum, a trailblazing football announcer who introduced millions of fans to "American football" via Spanish-language TV broadcasts. He was chosen for the award Wednesday by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"The selection of Fernando as a Ralph Hay Pioneer Award winner could not be more fitting," said Hall president Jim Porter. "He is the true definition of a pioneer – someone who went where no one had gone before.

"He took a game that was totally foreign to most of his television audience and helped build the National Football League’s presence in Mexico to a point that international games became part of the country’s sports landscape ... "

Von Rossum, who called his first football game 60 years ago, worked for Televisa, described by the Hall as a "dominant media organization in Latin America," as well as TV Azteca and FOX Sports. Though he covered all sports, he became more than the "Voice" of the NFL for Latin America; he became one of its ambassadors.

He not only covered a sport that most of his audience knew little about; he taught it to millions of viewers who embraced the NFL so enthusiastically that the popularity of football -- at least, as Americans know it -- expanded widely south of the U.S. border.

"You shock me," Von Rossum said when notified of the award. "I live with words, but they escape me at the moment.

Von Rossum began calling games after Channel 6, a local station in Monterrey, in 1969 secured the broadcast rights for Dallas Cowboys' games and named Rossum -- then a chemical engineering student working as a sports commentator -- its play-by-play announcer. 

When Televisa one year later broadcast Cowboys' games nationally, the NFL's popularity exploded ... and continued to grow, with Von Rossum's role growing with it.

"An NFL ambassador in México, Fernando Von Rossum has been the most resounding and important Spanish voice of all time for the league," Ricardo López Juárez wrote in 2021 in Le Opinion. " The NFL's international growth wouldn't have been possible without his contributions.

"The Mexican NFL market would not have grown the way it did without the turbo-charging of a significant amount of games televised nationally there since the 1970s, particularly on Televisa, the dominant Mexican media behemoth. Von Rossum led those telecasts as their play-by-play announcer."

The Ralph Hay Award is named after the former Canton Bulldogs' owner who, in 1920, hosted the NFL’s formational meeting in Canton. Originally known as the Dan F. Reeves Award, it was established in 1972 and is awarded in recognition of “significant innovative contributions to professional football.”

The Hay Award is presented periodically, but only when the Hall's board thinks there's an appropriate recipient -- one reason it's been awarded only 11 times in 52 years. 

The previous 10 recipients are as follows: 

1972 – Fred Gehrke: Los Angeles Rams' halfback who devised the idea of logos on helmets and painted horns on Rams helmets in 1948.

1975 – Arch Ward: Chicago Tribune sports editor who initiated the Chicago All-Star Game that featured NFL champions vs. College All-Stars.

1986 – John Facenda: Legendary voice of NFL Films.

1992 – David Boss: Vice President and Creative Director for NFL Properties and noted photographer.

2001 – George Toma: NFL’s longtime head groundskeeper known as the “God of Sod.”

*2004 – City of Pottsville, Pennsylvania: Loyal support of the NFL, with undying spirit and pride in the history of the defunct Pottsville Maroons of the 1920s.

2007 – Steve Sabol: President of NFL Films and honored filmmaker.

2012 – Art McNally: Devoted his entire professional career to officiating and pioneered numerous innovations for the NFL including instant replay.

2016 – Joe Browne: Worked for over 50 years at the NFL, turning it into the most popular sport in the world. 

2022 – Marion Motley, Woody Strode, Kenny Washington and Bill Willis: Reintegrated pro football after a 13-season absence of Black players in the game.

*then Mayor of Pottsville John D. W. Reiley rejected the award.