Longtime Los Gatos resident Joe Kapp, who played quarterback at Cal and led the Minnesota Vikings to the Super Bowl, died May 8. He was 85.
Multiple media reports confirmed Kapp’s death came after a long battle with dementia. A private service will be held at Cal (UC Berkeley) on June 11.
Kapp had a decorated career, and has the distinction of being the only quarterback to lead teams to a Rose Bowl, Grey Cup and Super Bowl.
Kapp was the QB on the last Cal team that went to the Rose Bowl, in January 1959. He later became Cal’s head coach, serving in that capacity from 1982-1986. Of course, the 1982 Big Game between Cal and Stanford is etched in history as it ended on The Play, a game-winning, five-lateral kickoff return that remains one of the most celebrated and improbable endings in college football history.
But, as Mark Purdy wrote in his Nov. 29, 2006 column in the San Jose Mercury News, the final outcome of The Play was no accident.
Purdy: “Every week in practice, for enjoyment, he had his Bears play a keepaway game called ‘grab-ass’ that Kapp had learned while playing Cal basketball for Pete Newell. The players’ instincts took over in the final seconds against Stanford, famously replayed every year with radio announcer Joe Starkey’s frenzied description of Kevin Moen running through the Stanford band to victory.”
Kapp was a four-sport athlete in high school and played basketball and football at Cal.
Born in New Mexico in 1938, Kapp’s family moved to the San Fernando Valley, to Salinas when he was 9 years old and then to Newhall in Santa Clarita County.
He earned All-American honors and was fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting in his senior season quarterbacking Cal to the Pacific Coast Conference championship in 1958. The following spring, Kapp was drafted 13th overall by the Washington Redskins (now Commanders).
But nothing materialized from that so he signed with the Canadian Football League and spent a total of eight seasons there, twice leading the British Columbia Lions to the Grey Cup title game.
He got his opportunity in the NFL in 1967 with the Minnesota Vikings, leading them to Super Bowl IV following a 12-2 season in 1969. The Vikings lost to the Kansas City Chiefs but Kapp’s place in Vikings’ history had been established.
“Men like Joe Kapp are the cornerstones the Minnesota Vikings franchise was built upon,” Vikings Owner and President Mark Wilf said to ESPN. “Joe’s toughness and competitive spirit defined the Vikings teams of his era, and his tenacity and leadership were respected by teammates and opponents alike. We mourn Joe’s loss with his family, friends and Vikings fans around the world.”
Kapp spent a total of four seasons in the NFL, compiling a 24-21-3 record as a starter. He threw for 5,911 yards with 40 touchdowns and 64 interceptions. He holds the NFL single-game record with seven touchdown passes, tied with seven others, including Drew Brees and Peyton Manning.
However, Kapp’s greatest impact was off the field, as he won an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL in 1972. Even though he wasn’t awarded any damages, Kapp is credited with helping pave the way for NFL free agency and players’ rights protection, something that resonates in every facet of pro sports today.
Kapp also had small acting roles, appearing in “The Longest Yard” in 1974.
Kapp is survived by his wife, Jennifer, daughters Emi and Gabi, and sons Will and JJ. Will was a standout running back at Los Gatos High and currently serves as an assistant coach on the Wildcats junior varsity team.
