John Cappelletti
No. 22, 25 | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. | August 9, 1952||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Monsignor Bonner (Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||
College: | Penn State (1971–1973) | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1974 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
John Cappelletti (born August 9, 1952) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Los Angeles Rams and the San Diego Chargers.
He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1973.[1][2][3][4] He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Coach Joe Paterno said that Cappelletti was "the best football player I ever coached." Cappelletti's relationship with his younger brother Joey, who was stricken with leukemia, was chronicled into a book and television movie, Something for Joey.
Early years
Born in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, Cappelletti attended St. Laurence School in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania prior to Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, a suburb west of Philadelphia. He played quarterback[4] and graduated in 1970.
College career
In the era before freshman eligibility, Cappelletti was a running back on the freshman team at Penn State in
As a senior
He was also a member of the Gamma Phi chapter of Phi Gamma Delta at Penn State.
The relationship between Cappelletti and his younger brother, who died of childhood
During Cappelletti's senior season, Penn State played West Virginia in late October. The morning of the game, Cappelletti asked Joey what he wanted for his upcoming 11th birthday. Joey replied "I want you to score three touchdowns for me. No, four." In Something for Joey, a shocked Cappelletti is seen confiding to a teammate: "How am I going to score four touchdowns?" At the end of the first half, Cappelletti had scored 3 touchdowns, well on his way to four. But head coach Joe Paterno did not like to run up the score against opponents, so when the game resumed after halftime, Paterno told Cappelletti he would be on the bench. Cappelletti quietly took his seat on the bench, without telling Paterno of Joey's wish. Late in the third quarter, one of Cappelletti's teammates told Paterno of Joey's wish. On Penn State's next possession, Paterno shouted "22" and Cappelletti took the field; he scored his fourth touchdown on the same possession,[9] and pointed to Joey as he ran off the field. The Lions scored three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter and won 62–14.[9]
Later honors
Cappelletti was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993, and is also a member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the 2009 Inductee Class.
The undefeated 1973 team was honored at Beaver Stadium during halftime of the 2013 home opener on September 7, and Cappelletti received special recognition – his No. 22 was retired by the program, the first and only number to be retired by any sport at the university.
On December 11, 2014, the Big Ten Network included Cappelletti on "The Mount Rushmore of Penn State Football," as chosen by online fan voting. He was joined in the honor by linebackers Jack Ham, LaVar Arrington, and Shane Conlan.
Professional career
Cappelletti was the eleventh overall pick of the
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
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Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
1974 | RAM | 14 | 1 | 55 | 198 | 3.6 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 35 | 5.8 | 9 | 0 |
1975 | RAM | 13 | 0 | 48 | 158 | 3.3 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1976 | RAM | 14 | 14 | 177 | 688 | 3.9 | 38 | 1 | 30 | 302 | 10.1 | 32 | 1 |
1977 | RAM | 14 | 14 | 178 | 598 | 3.4 | 15 | 5 | 28 | 228 | 8.1 | 25 | 1 |
1978 | RAM | 14 | 14 | 174 | 604 | 3.5 | 26 | 3 | 41 | 382 | 9.3 | 37 | 1 |
1980 | SDG | 10 | 8 | 101 | 364 | 3.6 | 46 | 5 | 13 | 112 | 8.6 | 12 | 0 |
1981 | SDG | 16 | 6 | 68 | 254 | 3.7 | 30 | 4 | 10 | 126 | 12.6 | 25 | 1 |
1982 | SDG | 9 | 6 | 22 | 82 | 3.7 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 48 | 6.9 | 22 | 0 |
1983 | SDG | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
105 | 63 | 824 | 2,951 | 3.6 | 46 | 24 | 135 | 1,233 | 9.1 | 37 | 4 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
1974 | RAM | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
1975 | RAM | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1976 | RAM | 2 | 2 | 35 | 113 | 3.2 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 13 | 0 |
1977 | RAM | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 1.6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
1978 | RAM | 2 | 2 | 13 | 63 | 4.8 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 15 | 0 |
1980 | SDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1981 | SDG | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1982 | SDG | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | 0 |
14 | 7 | 63 | 211 | 3.3 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 56 | 7.0 | 15 | 0 |
Personal life
Cappelletti is married with four sons and resides in Laguna Niguel, California[11] with his wife Betty (née Berry). His sister-in-law is the daughter of Heisman Trophy winner Alan Ameche.[12] He is not related to former Boston Patriots star and 1964 AFL MVP Gino Cappelletti.[13]
Cappelletti also is a classic car enthusiast.[11]
See also
- List of Pennsylvania State University people
- List of people from Pennsylvania
- List of Phi Gamma Delta members
References
- ^ "Cappelletti wins Heisman Trophy". Chicago Tribune. UPI. December 5, 1973. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^ a b "John Cappelletti wins Heisman Trophy". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. December 4, 1973. p. 20.
- ^ Parascenzo, Marino (December 5, 1973). "Heisman Trophy cometh to the Iceman - Cappelletti". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 30.
- ^ a b "Cappelletti had doubts Heisman Trophy". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. December 5, 1973. p. 68.
- ^ "Cappelletti talks about football..." Daily Collegian. (University Park, Pennsylvania). September 21, 1985. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ Lyon, Bill (December 15, 1973). "Sports hero dedicates prize to dying brother". Chicago Tribune. Knight Newspapers. p. 1, sports final.
- ^ Cappelletti, John; Bradley, Ken (December 12, 2009). "I remember..." Sporting News. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ "::Biography - John Cappelletti::". Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ a b "Cappelletti scores four". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. October 28, 1973. p. 67.
- ^ "Cappelletti to miss 1979 season". Gettysburg Times. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. August 21, 1979. p. 9.
- ^ a b Fernandez, Bernard (2009-12-21). "Cappelletti recalls poor conditions at first PSU-LSU bowl". Philadelphia Daily News.
- ISBN 0-553-27199-7.
- ^ "Cappelletti '73 Heisman Winner". Spartanburg Herald. South Carolina. Associated Press. December 5, 1973. p. B2.
External links
- Official website
- John Cappelletti at the College Football Hall of Fame
- John Cappelletti at Heisman.com
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference