Joe Kapp
No. 82, 22, 11 | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S. | March 19, 1938||||||||||||
Died: | May 8, 2023 San Jose, California, U.S. | (aged 85)||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Hart (Santa Clarita, California) | ||||||||||||
College: | California (1956–1958) | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1959 / Round: 18 / Pick: 209 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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As an administrator: | |||||||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Career CFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
Joseph Robert Garcia Kapp (March 19, 1938 – May 8, 2023) was an American
Kapp is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the BC Lions Wall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the University of California Athletic Hall of Fame. Kapp's #22 jersey is one of eight numbers retired by the Lions.[1] In November 2006, Kapp was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.[2] Sports Illustrated once called him "The Toughest Chicano".[3] Kapp is the only player to play quarterback in the Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, and the Grey Cup.
Early years
Kapp was born in
Kapp played college football at the University of California, Berkeley, where he led the California Golden Bears to a Pacific Coast Conference championship in 1958 and the Rose Bowl, where they lost to Iowa.[4] This remains California's most recent Rose Bowl appearance. Kapp was named an All-American, and was also awarded the W. J. Voit Memorial Trophy in 1958 as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. A two-sport athlete and fraternity member of Kappa Alpha Order in college, he also played on the basketball team and was a member of the 1956–57 and 1957–58 squads that won the Pacific Coast Conference championships.[3] He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from the university in 1959.[5] Kapp held the UC Berkeley record for most rushing yards by a quarterback until Chase Garbers broke it in 2021.[6]
Professional career
Canadian Football League
The
Kapp joined the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL for his rookie season in 1959.[7] The following year, Kapp led Calgary to their first playoff appearance in years. The season was a difficult one, because he injured his knee against the Toronto Argonauts early in the season, but did not miss any games, because he played heavily taped.[8]
In 1961, the
By that time, Kapp had proved he was an elite quarterback, and also developed the reputation of being a tough player and a great leader. While most quarterbacks dislike being hit, Kapp was the opposite. He loved to hit and when he took off on a run he'd try to run over defenders.[9]
Before the 1967 CFL season, Kapp made the decision to return to the U.S. to play pro football. The AFL's Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, and Houston Oilers were heavily pursuing him.[10]
Kapp ended up signing with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings in a multi-player "trade" between the CFL and NFL teams, one of the very few transactions to ever occur between the two leagues.[11]
The Minnesota Vikings in 1965 had
The Minnesota Vikings general manager was Jim Finks, who had brought Kapp to Canada in 1959, and their head coach was Bud Grant, who had faced Kapp while coaching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Both Finks and Grant thought Joe Kapp would be the best replacement for Fran Tarkenton, who had been traded to the New York Giants.[14] To make this transaction possible, the BC Lions traded all-star defensive lineman Dick Fouts, and future Canadian Football Hall of Fame running back Bill Symons to Toronto for the CFL rights to future Canadian Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Jim Young.[15][16] They then managed to get Kapp waived out of the CFL. The Vikings managed to waive Jim Young out of the NFL, which allowed the BC Lions to sign him.[17] The expanding New Orleans Saints wanted Young and it took some work from Finks to keep them from claiming Young. Kapp, now waived from the CFL, was free to sign with the Vikings, who had previously claimed his NFL playing rights from Washington.[18]
National Football League
In 1967, Kapp's first season in the NFL, he started 11 of 14 games for the Vikings, compiling an unusual record of 3 wins, 5 losses and 3 ties. Kapp completed only 47 percent of his pass attempts with 8 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Kapp also scored two rushing touchdowns. Of note, the team was winless without Kapp starting at quarterback. The Green Bay Packers won the division (and the Super Bowl).[19]
In 1968, Kapp led Minnesota to their first ever playoff appearance, losing to the favored Baltimore Colts, 24–14.[14] The Colts were upset a few weeks later by the New York Jets in Super Bowl III.[20]
Early in the
Prior to the 1969 season, the Vikings had exercised the option clause of his contract, so Kapp had played the entire season without a new contract. It was unusual for teams to use the team's option and not to offer a new contract prior to a season. This dispute made him a free agent for the 1970 season, by the NFL's own rules.[24][25]
Despite Kapp being a Super Bowl quarterback, no team in the NFL made contact with him until after the start of the 1970 regular season,
The Patriots of
With the top pick in the
Kapp started an anti-trust lawsuit vs. the NFL, claiming the standard NFL contract was unconstitutional and a restraint of trade. He won the
Although Kapp was not awarded any damages, in 1977 the rules at issue in the Kapp case were later revised, a new system was instituted, and a multimillion-dollar settlement was made between the NFL and the
Post-football playing career
Acting career
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Kapp appeared in several television programs as well as theatrical film titles.
California head coach
In 1982, Kapp was hired as the head football coach at his alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley. He had never coached before.[40]
In December 1981, Kapp made a promise to the football team that he would not consume any of his favorite alcoholic beverage, tequila, until the Golden Bears reached the Rose Bowl, which they did not under Kapp; indeed, as of 2022, the Golden Bears have yet to return to the Rose Bowl – they were Pac-10 co-champions in 2006 but a loss to USC sent them to the Holiday Bowl instead (in a 1994 interview, Kapp stated that he had resorted to drinking rum instead).[41]
Kapp had several philosophies while coaching at Cal. He called his special teams the "special forces." He told his players to play "One hundred percent for 60 minutes." He also wanted the players to have fun. On Sundays, he would have his players play a game of "garbazz", described as a mix of basketball and football where the only objective is to pass the ball downfield. There are no football rules such as offsides or forward passes.[40]
In his first year as head coach in
During the
General manager of the BC Lions
In an effort to recapture their past glory, the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) hired Kapp as the team's new general manager in 1990. Kapp's tenure was marked by his tendency to recruit ex-NFL players such as Mark Gastineau whose best football days had passed. Kapp was fired eleven games into the Lions' schedule; his most valuable legacy was the signing of quarterback Doug Flutie, who would blossom into a star in the CFL during the 1990s.[9][49]
Sacramento Attack head coach
In 1992, Kapp was named the head coach of the
Personal life
Kapp lived in
Kapp and fellow
Health and death
In February 2016, the San Jose Mercury News reported that Kapp was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[57] He died from complications of the disease at a care facility in San Jose, California, on May 8, 2023, at age 85.[4][58]
Head coaching record
College
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
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California Golden Bears (Pacific-10 Conference) (1982–1986) | |||||||||
1982 | California | 7–4 | 4–4 | 6th | |||||
1983 | California | 5–5–1 | 3–4–1 | 8th | |||||
1984 | California | 2–9 | 1–8 | 10th | |||||
1985 | California | 4–7 | 2–7 | 10th | |||||
1986 | California | 2–9 | 2–7 | 9th | |||||
California: | 20–34–1 | 12–30–1 | |||||||
Total: | 20–34–1 |
References
- ^ "BC Lions Retired Numbers". BCLions.com. Retrieved August 20, 2006.
- ^ "TSN Top 50 Honour Roll". TSN.ca. November 28, 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Kapp, Joe (July 20, 1970). "A man of machismo". Sports Illustrated. p. 26.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Goldstein, Richard (May 9, 2023). "Joe Kapp, Quarterback Who Led Vikings to Super Bowl IV, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ^ Taylor, Dennis (October 1, 2021). "An El Sausal Legend: Joe Kapp's fiery career traced from Salinas". Voices of Monterey Bay.
- ^ "Golden Bear Legend Joe Kapp Passes Away | Pac-12". pac-12.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "Joe Kapp Stats". Pro Football Archives.
- ^ "Ex-CFL, NFL QB Joe Kapp dies at 85". CBC. May 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Ralph, Dan. "'Tough as nails': Remembering quarterback Joe Kapp, 'one of the all-time great' B.C. Lions". The Province. The Canadian Press.
- ^ a b c Halliburton, Suzanne (May 9, 2023). "Legendary Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp dead at 85". Yardbarker.
- ^ "Vikings Mourn Passing of Legendary QB Joe Kapp". www.vikings.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "Former Vikings QB Joe Kapp dead at 85 after battle with dementia". Yahoo Sports. May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Craig, Mark (May 9, 2023). "Joe Kapp, first Super Bowl quarterback for the Vikings, dies at 85". Star Tribune.
- ^ "Jim Young". BC Sports Hall of Fame.
- ^ Snelgrove, Brian (August 6, 2010). "Retro Profile: Jim 'Dirty Thirty' Young". Canadian Football League.
- ^ A. O. L. Staff (May 9, 2023). "Former Vikings QB Joe Kapp dead at 85 after battle with dementia". www.aol.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "Former Vikings QB Joe Kapp dead at 85 after battle with dementia". Yahoo Sports. May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Flaherty, Dan (August 30, 2014). "The Story Of The 1967 Minnesota Vikings". thesportsnotebook.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Maule, Tex (January 20, 1969). "Say It's So, Joe: Jets upset Colts in Super Bowl III". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Kapp's 7 TD passes take kick out of Colts". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. September 29, 1969. p. 36.
- ^ "NFL Passing Touchdowns Single Game Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Joe Kapp, NFL Quarterback". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved April 8, 2002.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Tupa, Mike. "TupaTalk: Kapp was the relentless warrior". Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "Ex-player sees move to cool off Joe Kapp". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 1, 1970. p. 19.
- ^ "Patriots obtain Joe Kapp; terms being worked out". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 2, 1970. p. 3B.
- ^ "Patriots sign Kapp". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. October 2, 1970. p. 7.
- ^ "Kapp says 'We'll be a winner' after signing with Patriots". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 3, 1970. p. 10.
- ^ Forbes, Gordon (October 5, 1970). "Colts, Vikings Get OK to Sign Mira". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 24. Retrieved May 10, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chiefs still bother Kapp; Patriots shattered, 23–10". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. October 12, 1970. p. 15.
- ^ "Kansas City stops Boston Pats, 23–10". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 12, 1970. p. 8.
- ^ "Joe Kapp leaves Patriots". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. July 17, 1971. p. 14.
- ^ "Kapp quits camp without contract". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. July 17, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ Carlson, Adam (May 9, 2023). "Remembering former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp". The Viking Age.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Brady, Dave (August 9, 1978). "Court Reversal on Suit Proves Costly to Kapp". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b Gardner, Steve (May 9, 2023). "Joe Kapp, former Vikings quarterback and Cal coach, dies at 85". USA Today.
- ^ a b c d e f "Joe Kapp". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ a b Fimrite, Ron (September 1, 1983). "The Anatomy of a Miracle". Sports Illustrated. pp. 212–228.
- ^ Cheatham, Dan (May 3, 1994). "Interview with Joe Kapp". Cal Band Archive. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007.
- ^ "Golden Bear Legend Joe Kapp Passes Away". Pac-12 Conference. May 9, 2023.
- ^ Straka, Dean (May 9, 2023). "Joe Kapp dies at 85: Legendary former Cal player coached Bears during iconic 'The Play' moment". CBS Sports.
- ^ "Kapp unzipped; heat's on at Cal". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. October 7, 1986. p. 3D.
- ^ Cawood, Neil (October 7, 1986). "Beavers have their own problems". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 3D.
- ^ Reilly, Rick (November 17, 1986). "Coming out of the desert darkness with the Sun Devils". Sports Illustrated. p. 32.
- ^ "Bears give Kapp a win for farewell". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 23, 1986. p. 9C.
- ^ Glick, Shav (November 23, 1986). "Cal's 17–11 Upset of Stanford Gives Kapp Quite a Lift". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Legendary B.C. Lions, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp passes away at 85". 3DownNation. May 9, 2023.
- ^ Lonnie White (March 6, 1992). "Joe Kapp to Coach New L.A. Team : Arena football: The sport attempts comeback in city. Club will play at Sports Arena". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ Shav Glick (April 22, 1992). "L.A. Arena Football Team Scrubs Plans for Season". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ "1992 Sacramento Attack (Arena)". Pro Football Archives.
- ^ Cal Bears Archived November 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Frank Kapp – Football".
- ^ Toni Monkovic (November 28, 2011). "Joe Kapp, the C.F.L. and a 48-Year-Old Grudge". New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ Almond, Elliott (February 5, 2016). "The struggles of Joe Kapp: A football family copes with game's painful aftermath". The Mercury News. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Former Vikings, Cal QB Joe Kapp dies at age 85". AP NEWS. May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "Joe Kapp Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015 – via Wayback Machine.
Bibliography
- Olsen, Jack (October 19, 1970). "He Goes Where the Trouble Is. He is Joe Kapp, wandering quarterback, and last week he was in Kansas City, playing for the Boston Patriots, who are in deep trouble. Despite Kapp, the Pats lost, but wait until the new boy learns the system". Sports Illustrated.
External links
- Joe Kapp at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
- Joe Kapp at Pro-Football-Reference.com
- Joe Kapp at the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame
- Joe Kapp at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Joe Kapp at IMDb