Jorge Iber - Tony Romo: A Texas Sports Hero

jorge iber, ser ies editor

Also in th is series:

108 Stitches: A Girl Grows Up wit h Baseball

Addie B eth Denton

Seor Sack: The Life of Gabr iel Rivera

Jorge Iber

Tony Romo

A Texas Sports Hero

Jorge Iber and Raquel Iber

Illustrated by Connie Noble

Texas Tech University Press

Copyright 2022 by Texas Tech Univers ity Press

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic storage and retrieval systems, except by explicit prior written permission of the publisher. Brief passages excerpted for review and critical purposes are excepted.

This book is typeset in Adobe Caslon Pro. The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39. 48-1992 (R1997).

Designed by Hann ah Gaskamp
Cover illustration by Co nnie Noble

Library of Congress Cataloging-in -Public ation Data
Names: Iber, Jorge, 1961 author. | Iber, Raquel, author. | Noble, Connie, illustrator. Title: Tony Romo: A Texas Sports Hero / Jorge Iber and Raquel Iber; illustrated by Con nie Noble.
Description: Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press, 2022. | Series: Texas Sports Heroes | Audience: Grades 79 | Summary: A story about NFL quarterback Tony Romos journey to stardom, intended for young readersProvided by p ublisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022018207 (print) |
LCCN 2022018208 (ebook) |

ISBN 978-1 - 68283-158 -8 ( paperback)
ISBN 978-1 - 68283-159 -5 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Romo, Tony1980, Juvenile lit erature. |
Football playersUnited StatesBiographyJuvenile lite rature. |
Quarterbacks (Football)United StatesBiographyJuvenile li terature.
Classification: LCC GV939.R646 I34 2022 (print) |
LCC GV939.R646 (ebook) |

DDC 796.332092 [B]dc23/eng /20220607
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/ 2022018207
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/ 2022018208

Printed in the United States of America
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 / 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Texas Tech Univer sity Press
Box 41037
Lubbock, Texas 7940 9-1037 USA
80 0.832.4042
tt up@ttu.edu
www.tt upress.org

This work is dedicated to our son, Matthew, who has brought so much joy to our lives.

Contents

Preface

T he careers of great professional athletes often have some unusual and unlikely circumstances at their heart. The story of Tony Romo is curious not only because of how he came to fame but also because of his family. You see, Tony Romo is the grandson of a Mexican worker who came to Texas as a young man to make a better life for himself. Tonys grandpa later moved to Wisconsin and there met his wife (she is Mexican American, born in Texas) and raised his family. Now, Wisconsin is not the first place that comes to mind when most people think about Mexican Americans, but Mexican Americans are a piece of that states story, and the Romos are part of t hat tale.

Tony was born in California, but he grew up in Burlington, Wisconsin, a small town in the Midwest. He was a great athlete for his local high school. He lived a common life but did great things on the football field, the basketball court, the golf course, and in his classes. He worked hard to provide breaks for himself and made his dreams reality. This wonderful, all (Mexican) American tale is what you will learn about by reading this book. The story of the Romo family is an example of how many families, even those that include persons born outside of the United States, can, through hard work and effort, make their American dream come true.

That is not the only unusual or unlikely aspect of Tonys career. His time in the NFL ties in with two players in particular who would play major roles in his football life: one to whom he would be compared, the other whom he would replace as quarterback for the Dallas Cowboy s huddle.

Tony Romo and Tom Brady are both famous NFL quarterbacks. They are known for what they did on the field while playing for two well-liked teams: the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys. While the years they played overlapped, their careers were different. First, Brady led his team to many titles, while Romo did not take Dallas to a final. Second, Brady came from a large, well-known school, while Romo played at a smaller one. Still, their experiences are alike in several ways. For instance, scouts believed that, coming out of school, there was little hope either of the two would make it big in the NFL. Their principal link, however, is that they both got their chance as starters thanks to one man: Drew Bledsoe. Brady came in for Bledsoe with New England after he was hurt in 2001, and then the Dallas Cowboys replaced Bledsoe with Romo in 2006. It is odd how one player was important in the lives of these two stars.

Tom Brady (still playing, now with Tampa Bay) has had a successful career. He was impressive at the University of Michigan, throwing for about 4,800 yards and 30 scores. His teams won 20 of the 25 games he started. In his final game, Brady threw for 369 yards and four scores as Michigan beat Alabama 3534 in the Orange Bowl. Brady showed he could play at that level. Still, he was not picked until the sixth round of the April 2000 NFL draft. Other teams chose almost 200 other players before Tom had his name called. He never gave up, though, and when he got a chance to play, he did very, very well. He led his team to nine Super Bowls and 219 wins in 20 years. Not bad for such a l ate pick.

Tony Romos career started differently. In the long history of the NFL there have been players who were not well known yet became stars. Romo did not play for a large college powerhouse; he played for Eastern Illinois University, which gets a lot less notice than Michigan does. But through hard work he was ready when he got his chance. Romo went from being unknown, not even drafted, to one of the Cowboys greatest play ers ever.

Tony Romo

C hapter 1:
Life in Wisconsin via Mexico and California

T ony Romos granddad, Ramiro Romo Sr., was born in Mzquiz, Mexico, in 1933. The chief work there was, and still is, digging coal, silver, and lead. At age 11, Ramiro, with his mom and dad, went north. He said that it was easy to cross the border then. This was because, in 1944, Texans wanted Mexicans to work the fields to help the US during World War II. So, the Romos were just like many othershoping for a bet ter life.

When Ramiro turned 18 his mother died. His older brother moved the young man away from Texas to help him forget his pain. They went to a city called Racine, in Wisconsin. While it might surprise some, there is a long history of Mexicans in Wisconsin. The brothers arrived in November and Ramiro did not like the cold weather. After having lived all his life in Mexico and Texas, snow and cold were new to him. Ramiro did not think he would stay for

long and said that his biggest hope was to learn English, work and retur n home.

The brothers were not alone in Wisconsin, since many Mexicans went to the state in the 1950s. A report noted that they had been coming since the 1930s. Mexicans picked cherries and peas and then worked canning fruits and vegetables. They also planted and picked sugar beets. This was very hard work. Tending sugar beets is what is called stoop labor. This means that workers were bent over most of the time to reach the plants with a short hoe. This kind of toil made backs ache. Also, the work did not pay much.