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Former NFL player, Spanish-language TV pioneer dies at 77 (The Associated Press)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -- Danny Villanueva, a former NFL kicker and a pioneer of Spanish-language television, has died. He was 77.

Family members and officials at New Mexico State University, where Villanueva was a member of the athletic hall of fame, confirmed that he died Thursday after suffering a stroke earlier this week.

Villanueva lived in Southern California but had been a longtime booster for his alma mater.

Villanueva attended New Mexico State on a football scholarship. After graduating in 1961, he went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys.