Primo Villanueva

Primo Villanueva (born December 2, 1931) is an American former gridiron football player. He played college football at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), leading the national championship 1954 UCLA Bruins football team in total offense. He subsequently played for the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League (CFL). After his football career ended, Villanueva became a successful restaurateur in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Biography Early life Villanueva is a Mexican-American who grew up in Calexico and attended Central Union High School in California's Imperial Valley.

Football player Villanueva accepted a football scholarship to play for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), over offers from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

Villanueva played halfback and defensive back for coach Henry Russell Sanders's UCLA Bruins from 1952 to 1954 and was known as the "Calexico Kid". He was a member of the 1953 Bruins team that played in the 1954 Rose Bowl and the 1954 team went 9–and was named national champions by the FWAA and the United Press International (UPI). In a nine-game season, Villanueva led the 1954 Bruins in total offense with 886 yards—486 yards rushing and 400 yards passing. He also had 106 yards on punt returns, 80 yards on four kickoff returns, and 21 yards on two pass interceptions. and was named a second-team College Football All-American by the United Press.

In January 1955, the Southern California Council of Mexican-American Affairs honored Villanueva at its first testimonial dinner.

After graduating from UCLA, Villanueva played professional football for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1955 to 1960. In September 1956, Villanueva took over as the Lions quarterback and led BC to an 11–1 win over the Edmonton Eskimos—breaking an eleven-game losing streak against Edmonton.

Restaurateur In 1959, Villanueva opened a Mexican restaurant, Primo's Mexican Grill, in Vancouver, British Columbia. After his first restaurant became a popular and successful Vancouver establishment, Villanueva opened additional restaurants in Calgary, Edmonton(1970), West Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Richmond.

Family As of 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Villanueva was living in Surrey, British Columbia with his second wife, Phyllis. Interviewed in 1962, Danny Villanueva recalled playing football with Primo as a boy:

Danny says his mother used to listen to their high school game on the radio back home in Tucumcari and lock them out when they played poorly.