Joe Kapp

At 86 years old, Joe Kapp has this physical status:

Joseph Robert Kapp (born March 19, 1938) is an American football player, mentor, and executive.

At the University of California, Berkeley, he played college football as a quarterback.

Kapp played for Calgary (CFL) with the Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions and then with the Minnesota Vikings and the Boston Patriots in the National Football League (NFL).

Kapp returned to his alma mater as the Golden Bears' head coach from 1982 to 1986.

In 1990, he was both the general manager and president of the BC Lions. Kapp is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, located in B.C. The College Football Hall of Fame, the BC Lions Wall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the University of California Athletic Hall of Fame are among the Sports Hall of Fame.

Kapp's #22 jersey is one of eight Lions' retired numbers.

Kapp was voted to the Honour Roll of the Canadian Football Association's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN in November 2006.

He was once dubbed "The Toughest Chicano," according to Sports Illustrated. Kapp is the only one to play quarterback in the Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, and the Grey Cup.

Early years

Kapp's mother, Florence Garca, was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and his father, a German immigrant. He was born in California and raised in Salinas, California. He played quarterback for Hart High School in Newhall, now a part of Santa Clarita.

Kapp played college football at the University of California, Berkeley, where he led the Golden Bears to a Pacific Coast Conference championship in 1958 and the Rose Bowl, where they lost to Iowa. This is California's most recent Rose Bowl appearance. Kapp was named an All-American and was also named the Best Football Player on the Pacific Coast in 1958. In college, he served on the basketball team and was a member of the 1956–57 and 1957–58 squads that captured the Pacific Coast Conference championships. He was also a member of Kappa Alpha Order and fraternity co-founder. In 1959, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education from the university.

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Professional career

Kapp was chosen in the 18th round of the 1959 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, who retained his right to play professional football in the United States. After the draft, Washington did not contact him, so his only alternative was to accept Jim Finks, the general manager of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Kapp's rookie season with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL in 1959. Kapp led Calgary to their first playoff appearance in years the following year. He suffered his knee against the Toronto Argonauts early in the season, but he didn't miss any games because he was heavily taped.

In 1961, the BC Lions, then the CFL's newest franchise, sold four starters to the Calgary Stampeders for Joe Kapp. When Kapp led the Lions to a Grey Cup appearance in 1963, the move paid dividends for the team. Kapp led the Lions to their first Grey Cup victory in 1964 during the following season. However, the Lions were unable to defend their championship in 1965.

By that time, Kapp had established himself as a top quarterback and a great leader, as well as the reputation of being a tough player and a great leader. Although most quarterbacks load being struck, Kapp was the exact opposite. He loved to run, and if he took off a run, he'd love to run over defenders.

Kapp decided to return to the United States to play pro football before the 1967 CFL season. The Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, and the Houston Oilers had been heavily hunting him throughout the AFL.

Kapp became a member of the Minnesota Vikings in a multi-player "trade" between the CFL and NFL teams, one of the very few trades to ever occur between the two leagues.

Jim Young, the Minnesota Vikings' in 1965, was drafted running back Jim Young out of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He had spent time with the Vikings in 1965 and 1966, but wanted to return to Canada. Young was very keen on the BC Lions, but the Toronto Argonauts had his CFL rights.

Jim Finks, the Minnesota Vikings' general manager, and head coach Bud Grant, who had met Kapp while coaching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, all agreed. Both Finks and Grant felt Joe Kapp would be the right replacement for Fran Tarkenton, who had been traded to the New York Giants. The BC Lions flipped over all-star defensive lineman Dick Fouts and future Canadian Football Hall of Fame running back Bill Symons to Toronto for the CFL rights to young prospect Jim Young, according to future Canadian Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Jim Young. Kapp was later ruled out of the CFL after they managed to get him waived out of the league. Jim Young was able to be traded out of the league by the Vikings, who then allowed the BC Lions to sign him. The new Orleans Saints wanted Young, but Finks wanted to discourage them from claiming Young. Kapp, who had previously claimed his NFL playing rights from Washington, was eligible to sign with the Vikings.

Kapp's first season in the NFL, he appeared in 11 of the Vikings' games in 1967, accumulating an impressive record of three victories, 5 losses, and 3 tied. With 8 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, Kapp completed only 47% of his pass attempts. Two rushing touchdowns were also scored by Kapp. Of note, the team was winless without Kapp starting at quarterback. The Green Bay Packers won the division (and the Super Bowl).

Kapp led Minnesota to their first playoff appearance in 1968, losing 24-14 to the favored Baltimore Colts. In Super Bowl III, the Colts were upset by the New York Jets just a few weeks later.

Kapp threw for seven touchdown passes against the defending NFL champion Colts on September 28 early in the 1969 season. He is tied with seven other players (Sid Luckman, Adrian Burk, George Blanda, Y). A. Tittle, Nick Foles, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees were all in attendance. After beating the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 in the Western Conference championship game, Kapp led the Vikings to a 12–2 record and a spot in Super Bowl IV, and the Cleveland Browns defeated the Cleveland Browns 27–7 in the last NFL Championship game ever played. However, he was unable to lead the Vikings to victory in the Super Bowl after the Vikings lost 23–7 to the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Vikings were unable to win the Super Bowl. The NFL and AFL merged in 1970, signaling the conclusion that had been promised to in 1966, and the NFL Championship game was canceled after 37 years and 50 years of NFL play. Sports Illustrated's "The Toughest Chicano" on the front of its weekly magazine on July 20, 1970. He was named team MVP, but he declined the team MVP award because, "There is no one more valuable Viking." "There are 40 of the most valuable Vikings" in the United States.

Kapp had been without a new contract through the 1969 season until he was forced to use the option clause in his deal, so he did not complete the season without a new one. It was unusual for teams to use the team's selection rather than offering a new deal prior to a season. By the NFL's own rules, this controversy made him a free agent for the 1970 season.

Despite Kapp's being a Super Bowl quarterback, no one in the NFL made contact with him until the 1970 regular season, when the Boston Patriots (1–1) signed him to a four-year deal on October 2, making him the highest paid player in the league. Pete Rozelle stepped in and compelled the Patriots to fork over two number-one draft picks as punishment to the Vikings. In the third quarter of a 23–10 loss, his first appearance for Boston came at Kansas City on October 11.

The 1970 Patriots were a weak-performing unit, and the late-arriving Kapp struggled poorly throughout the season, leading to the team's worst record in the league at 2–12. Rozelle demanded that Kapp sign a standard player deal at the end of the year. Kapp refused to sign after consulting with his advocate and the NFL Players Union.

The Patriots selected quarterback Jim Plunkett of Stanford, the winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1971, with the top pick in the NFL Draft. Kapp was sent to the newly named New England Patriots' training camp in 1971, but he was unable to sign a generic deal and departed. "KAPP QUITS!" was the headline in Boston papers. Kapp never played again after this incident; his 12-year as a professional football player came to an end.

Kapp began an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, alleging that the standard NFL deal was unconstitutional and a trade restraint. After four years, he received the summary decision. Kapp's trade was indeed suspended, according to the court. In the case for injuries, the jury found that Kapp was not damaged two years ago (April 1, 1976).

Although Kapp was not fined any money in 1977, the Kapp case's laws were later amended, a new one was introduced, and a multimillion-dollar deal was reached between the NFL and the NFL Players Association.

Post-football playing career

Kapp appeared in numerous television shows as well as theatrical film titles in the 1970s and early 1980s. In most cases, the character roles were minor. Ironside, The Six Million Dollar Man, Adam-12, Fire and Rescue, Police Woman, Captains, and the Kings, among other services, were included in this series. Climb An Angry Mountain (1972), The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), The Longest Yard (1974), Two-Minute Warning (1976), Two-Minute Warning (1976), and Offsides (Pigs vs. Freaks) (1984).

Kapp's alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley, was recruited in 1982 as the head football coach. He had never been taught before. He was named the Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year in his first year as head coach.

Kapp made a promise to the football team in December 1981 that he would not drink tequila until the Golden Bears reached the Rose Bowl, but the Golden Bears did not return to the Rose Bowl in 2020, but they did not return to the Holiday Bowl after losing to USC, which they did not experience in a 1994 interview.

While teaching at Cal, Kapp had several philosophical theories. His special forces, he called, were "extraordinary powers." His children were encouraged to participate "one hundred percent for 60 minutes." He also wanted the players to have fun. On Sundays, he'll have his players participate in a game of "garbazz," which is described as a combination of basketball and football in which the sole aim is to pass the ball downfield. There are no football rules such as offsides or forward passes.

Kapp's first season as head coach began with The Play, Cal's most famous five-lateral kickoff return to score the winning touchdown on the final play of the Big Game against archrival Stanford.

The Bears lost to Boston College, defeated Washington State, and then lost to San Jose State during the 1986 season. Kapp expressed indignation over his pants unzipping his pants in front of the Seattle crowd after an embarrassing 50–18 loss at Washington on October 4, citing an embarrassing 50–18 loss. After the Big Game, he was told he would be released in Berkeley. By defeating the Gator Bowl-bound #16 Cardinals 17–11, giving Kapp a 3–2 record in the Big Game, the Bears responded to the student section's chanting of "Win one for the zipper." His players carried him off the field, shouting from the student section, "We want Kapp!" The Boston Patriots' chanting is a remembrance of his youth.

The BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) recruited Kapp as the team's new general manager in 1990 in an attempt to recapture their past glory. Kapp's tenure was marked by his ability to draft ex-NFL players, including Mark Gastineau, whose best football days had passed. Kapp was fired eleven games into the Lions' schedule, but his most notable legacy was the signing of quarterback Doug Flutie, who would develop to become a hero in the CFL during the 1990s.

Kapp was named the head coach of the Los Angeles Wings in 1992, but the Los Angeles Wings never came to existence in Los Angeles and became known as the Attack. In the first round of the playoffs to the Detroit Drive, the franchise went 4–6 under Kapp. The franchise went to Miami, Florida, after the season.

Kapp lives in Los Gatos, California, and is often available as a guest speaker. He has a wife, four children, and four grandchildren. He was one of the founders of Kapp's Pizza Bar & Grill in Mountain View, California, which featured memorabilia from his work and closed in 2015. Will's son, Will, followed in his footsteps as a complete back at UC Berkeley. Frank Kapp, a grandson of the Cal football team, brought the Cal football tradition to a close conclusion with the Golden Bears in 2015.

At a 2011 Canadian Football League Alumni luncheon, Kapp and fellow Canadian Football Hall of Fame member Angelo Mosca went to blows. Kapp's bad blood feud with Mosca was caused by a hit by Mosca on Kapp's colleague Willie Fleming in 1963 Grey Cup games. Fleming was forced out of the game after Kapp and several others were described as dirty. The Tiger-Cats of Mosca defeated Kapp's Lions 21–10 in the 1963 championship.

Kapp was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, according to the San Jose Mercury News in February 2016.

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