CANTON, Ohio – Fernando Von Rossum narrated thousands of NFL games between 1963 and 2016 for the Mexican and Latin American public television, in a solid career that allowed him to become a legend of American football, as well as being a communicator much loved by fans.
The elegant and dedicated columnist from Monterrey never claimed credit or accolades, despite being the most important voice in Spanish in the sport of tackles. His work on the microphone as a friendly guide to a complex sport that he helped popularize outside the United States will finally be recognized.
Fernando Von Rossum will be formally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Friday when he receives the Ralph Hay Pioneer Award.which has been awarded only 10 times. The recipients were individuals who, as pioneers, helped positively impact and revolutionize the league that is considered by many to be the best in the world of sports.
Von Rossum’s special night will be in Canton, a small town located in Ohio that in the NFL universe represents greatness and sporting immortality.
“It is a positive blow, but a strong one, especially when you don’t imagine it, when you don’t expect it,” said Von Rossum in a recent interview with La Opinión about her historic election to the hall of fame announced on June 18.
“I am very excited and I am very pleased because it is not just for me; it is already the recognition of journalists who use Spanish to broadcast the NFL. That is what gives me the most satisfaction.”
Don Fernando will be with family and friends on his special night
According to the organizers, Von Rossum will be on stage at the Canton Civic Center alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame officials and the 2024 class of inductees.who will receive their famous “Gold Jacket” at a traditional honor dinner. Don Fernando will give a speech upon receiving his award in the presence of Commissioner Roger Goodell, according to the plan. Family and friends of the legendary Mexican narrator will be at the event that will take place one day before this year’s enthronement ceremony.
A 2021 La Opinión article about Von Rossum’s life and legacy gave rise to a quiet nomination campaign led by Raúl Allegre with valuable collaboration from Álvaro Martín. Both are prominent communicators in NFL coverage.
Von Rossum was nominated for the Pete Rozelle Award – given to outstanding communicators – in 2022, 2023 and 2024 without being elected, but receiving increasing attention from the constituency’s voting members. Eventually, Von Rossum was seen as a suitable candidate for the Ralph Hay Pioneer Award.
“There were some heavyweights involved here. Peter King, who is actually one of the writers who has a vote for the Hall of Fame, gave me some very good advice,” Allegre explained about the process.
“I had contact with Roger Goodell himself, I wrote to Jerry Jones (Cowboys owner) Jeff Lurie (Eagles) and Robert Kraft (Patriots). I received a response from Lurie and Jones saying that they really liked the idea.”added the two-time Super Bowl champion, who revealed that there was also a prominent former player and member of the Hall of Fame who strongly supported Von Rossum’s candidacy. That person asked to remain anonymous.
Von Rossum, reflecting on his role as a key driver of the NFL’s internationalization over the decades, continues to claim no credit in a gesture typical of his humility.
“I tell my friends that it is a great parade and I had to lead it because I was the one who was there at the beginning,” said the man who recounted more than 20 Super Bowls, including Super Bowl 50, his final game “on air.”
Thousands of messages from fans and now a message in Canton
A crucial aspect of Von Rossum’s legacy was to have educated the fans based on the use of Spanish terminology at times when this was absolutely necessary“I think it helped a lot to make people understand, because if they didn’t understand and there was no audience, there wouldn’t be any broadcasts.”
That was Fernando Von Rossum’s tool, the word in Spanish. His goal and great achievement was to gain the respect of the people.
“I always told my teammates that if someone lets you into their living room, it’s no small thing, we have to enter with a lot of respect; that respect is reflected in a lot of preparation for the games, in the use of language, in never using an incorrect or offensive word, and that accumulates over the years,” said Von Rossum. “That someone saw you in ’63 and that they saw you in 2008 or 2009, that’s the great satisfaction, that you continued to reach the hearts of the fans.”
“He is not the father of American football in Spanish because he was the first, he is because he lived for a long time and because he set such a high standard that he never snubbed and that he demanded others to reach or surpass it,” said Álvaro Martín. when assessing Von Rossum’s arrival to the Hall of Fame, he said: “The NFL was lucky that Fernando had the aptitude, the attitude and the opportunity to carry his shield and march forward.”
Since it was announced that Don Fernando would become the first man born and raised in Mexico to arrive in Canton, he and his family have received thousands of messages of congratulations and appreciation, as he revealed: “They are so well written and contain so much love that I told Fernando (his son, also a communicator) to take them out. ‘We have to print them and make me a little booklet for Christmas’, to keep those memories.”
The man whose voice permeated the Christmas season by calling crucial football games year after year can print those fan messages if he wants, but he’s still On the walls of the immortals’ enclosure there will soon be an engraved plaque dedicated to him for eternity..
And so, this Friday Fernando Von Rossum will become immortal.