Joe Kapp RIP

[booth]

Joe Kapp has died at the age of 85. He played in the CFL for 8 years before getting his chance in the NFL. He led the Vikings to the Super Bowl.

Joe Kapp, Quarterback Who Led Vikings to Super Bowl IV, Dies at 85

He found his way to the N.F.L. after playing eight seasons in Canadian football and was remembered for his toughness, playing through injury after injury.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Flint]

Joe Kapp seemed like a nice guy. He was more of a game manager then a big arm and ended up getting beat in the Super Bowl by KC. He ended up a free agent due to a contract snafu and no team was interested in him for over a year. Imagine a Super Bowl QB with no teams interested.

He eventually signed a big contract with the Patriots who were woeful and he did not play well. Pete Rozelle the Commissioner at the time tried to force him to sign a smaller contract and Kapp told him to get lost.

The Pats drafted JimPlunkett and when it came time for Kapp to sign he refused to sign the standard contract and walked away from the game. Several lawsuits came out in his favor and the contract structure of the game was changed.

Because of his early departure from the game he is not remembered very much, but his legal issues and determination to stand up for himself changed the game of football. Players today owe him a debt of gratitude.

It certainly was a different time, owners showing fiscal restraint, colluding against a player, and the Commissioner looking out for a poorly run franchise. And a player with balls to walk away from the game on principle.

 

[white is right]

Joe Kapp seemed like a nice guy. He was more of a game manager then a big arm and ended up getting beat in the Super Bowl by KC. He ended up a free agent due to a contract snafu and no team was interested in him for over a year. Imagine a Super Bowl QB with no teams interested.

He eventually signed a big contract with the Patriots who were woeful and he did not play well. Pete Rozelle the Commissioner at the time tried to force him to sign a smaller contract and Kapp told him to get lost.

The Pats drafted JimPlunkett and when it came time for Kapp to sign he refused to sign the standard contract and walked away from the game. Several lawsuits came out in his favor and the contract structure of the game was changed.

Because of his early departure from the game he is not remembered very much, but his legal issues and determination to stand up for himself changed the game of football. Players today owe him a debt of gratitude.

It certainly was a different time, owners showing fiscal restraint, colluding against a player, and the Commissioner looking out for a poorly run franchise. And a player with balls to walk away from the game on principle.

The pay of the players isn't anything in the inflationary range what players make today. That's part of the reason why he did that he was making the equivalent of CFL money.

He was one tough bird more of a NFL journeyman that caught fire than a star but was one in the CFL. I remember seeing him power running similar to Cam Newton and he had a line on why he trucked defenders instead of sliding and he said to the affect that he was a " dumb Mexican(his paternal ancestry is German)".

Sad news about his passing.

 

[sprintstar]

His "jump passes" in the CFL were legendary. He will also be tied to the event of Willie Fleming(BC Lions) having his career ended by Angelo Mosca(late hit out of bounds) Kapp and Mosca hated each other for the rest of their lives, even had a scrap of live TV during a talk show about that incident.

 

[Carolina Speed]

I remember Joe Kapp from his performance in the movie, "The Longest Yard." No, not the one with Adam Sandler, That one stunk. The original with Burt Reynolds. RIP Mr. Kapp.

 

[HaywoodZarathustra]

Lol...

 

[The Hock]

Lol...

I was just telling someone about that scene the other day. This "Longest Yard" was far superior to the newer attempt.

Adam Sandler was convincing when he played a waterboy. Not so much as a QB.

 

[sport historian]

Joe Kapp as Minnesota Viking QB during 1967-69 made his reputation as an inspirational leader rather than a skilled passer. Kapp's slogan was "40 for 60." When at a banquet to receive the team MVP award in 1969, Kapp refused to accept it, saying something like, "There were 40 MVPs."

Kapp played out his option and had a bad year with the Patriots in 1970. It was his last year as a player.

 

[wile]

I was just telling someone about that scene the other day. This "Longest Yard" was far superior to the newer attempt.

Adam Sandler was convincing when he played a waterboy. Not so much as a QB.

Saw it in the theater, funny as hell, back when America could cheer for the underdogs not take every group of degenerates and venerate them.