Joe Kapp (Photo Courtesy Of Pats Pulpit).
To kick off Hispanic Heritage Month 2024, we will begin with Joe Kapp – a man and a football player before his time. Kapp is one of the many people of Hispanic descent that have been largely overlooked when discussing influential members of the NFL of yesteryear. Today, we will honor Mr. Kapp and his many contributions to football and the world.
The Early Life of Kapp
Little Joe was born in 1938 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His mother was Ms. Florence Garcia, who was Mexican-American, and his father was Robert Kapp, who was German. The QB discusses the challenge of reconciling with his bi-racial background. This is challenging in any period of time, but especially in the 1940s and 1950s. Kapp’s response to race-related bullying as a kid was to talk with his fists. Something he carried through most of his life.
Growing up, Joe Kapp lived in the San Fernando and Salinas valleys. He recalls race wars and a tremendous amount of violence that he grew up witnessing in San Fernando. Kapp then moved to the Salinas Valley and recalls growing up in the projects.
He identified “Machismo” as something he identified with from a young age. The future QB felt it meant not backing down and acting like a man. One of the least offensive descriptions of Machismo this author has ever read. It’s not totally surprising. Kapp actually worked with Cesar Chavez to support farmworkers. The family was also invested in fundraising for other similar worthy causes.
Kapp’s Football Debut
Joe Kapp started getting serious about playing ball in high school. He did so well it earned him a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley. This is not the typical “come-up” story we know and love of a young man escaping a bad neighborhood to get rich in the NFL someday—players didn’t make real money playing football until the 1980s, long after Kapp retired.
The California Golden Bear was named All-American and was a recipient of the W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy. He maintained the record for most rushing records by a QB until 2021 at Berkeley! In his final year playing, his third college year, 1958, he led his team to the Pacific Coast Conference Champion and then on to the Rose Bowl, where they lost.
Kapp both graduated from Berkeley in 1959 and was drafted by the now Washington Commanders. The team never contacted him, so he moved on to the CFL. Mr. Kapp had tremendous respect for the CFL and didn’t appreciate that the league is looked down upon. He played for Calgary and B.C. from 1959 until 1966.
NFL Nonsense
The QBs four-year stint in the NFL was not a smooth transition from league to league. He came back to the United States as a 29-year-old, had a knee joint that resembled hamburger, and missed training camp for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the third-string QB with little hope to be anymore. However, Joe Kapp’s enthusiasm and charisma charmed players and fans alike. He didn’t wear the “wallflower” vibe well.
In his second year with the Vikings, he led the team to their first playoff appearance ever. The following year, he led the team to the Super Bowl, losing to the New York Jets. That same year, 1969, Kapp made himself a record that has kept him a NFL legend with other greats. Early in the season, he threw for seven touchdown passes against the defending NFL champs and joined the ranks with the likes of Sid Luckman, Adrian Burk, George Blanda, Y.A. Tittle, Nick Foles, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees.
Despite making it to the playoffs in 1968 and the Super Bowl in 1969, when he became a free agent in 1970, no one called him. He did get to be the highest paid player for one season in 1970, when he was signed by the then Boston Patriots. The team was terrible, and Kapp wasn’t much better. Some disagreements over contracts led Joe Kapp to decline a 1971 contract with the Patriots, and he hung up his well-used cleats on his fascinating NFL career.
Race, Race, And More Race
Kapp is a good sport when it comes to his race forever being highlighted. People who were born and raised in an earlier time may have greater tolerance for a higher level of problematic stereotyping – not because it didn’t hurt, but because other people weren’t worried about if it hurt. The QB might be one of those individuals. Kapp was bullied from a young age due to his race and grew up in a tough neighborhood, so things like race relations were not on the forefront of his mind. So whether it’s right or wrong, it is commendable that Kapp is so gracious about the constant mention of his racial background.
There is a difference between celebrating and exploitation, and things like his Sports Illustrated article seem to navigate towards the latter. He was described as the “Toughest Chicano” on the cover of SI, and the heading of his article was “A Man of Machismo.” In the article, Kapp mentions a friend calling him a “crazy Mexican” and one of his nicknames from his teammates, “El Cid.” There was no nickname referring to his race that he didn’t get, even if it wasn’t the correct ethnicity (El Cid was a Spanish knight and ruler). No wonder Kapp was always up for a fight; most of us would in that circumstance. Joe Kapp was far too kind to us all.
Kapp’s Personal Life
Post-NFL retirement, Kapp tried his hand at acting. He had many impactful acting gigs over the years. Next, he turned to coaching. He was the Golden Bears head coach from 1982 to 1986. The former QB was even Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1982! He also coached an AFL team in 1992 and was GM for one of his old CFL teams in 1990.
Outside of coaching, he was also a partial owner of “Kapp’s Pizza Bar and Grill.” The forever Californian was married to his second wife Jennifer, had four kids, and he passed away when he had six grandchildren. Kapp traditions die slow, and both his son and grandson played at UC Berkeley.
Always Up For A Fight
One thing that can be said for Joe Kapp is that he was never afraid of a fight. He fought his way through a rough neighborhood and bullies as a kid. In his SI article, he shows his biting sarcasm and hilarious word choice. It’s not hard to believe he would ruffle some feathers with a mouth like that. A lifetime fighter, Kapp threw hands against an old CFL enemy when he was in his 70s. There was bad blood that needed to get sorted out over a single play in 1963.
The Most Brutal Brawl
Joe Kapp got and gave several licks through his college, CFL, and NFL days. Besides brawling in his early 70s, his other most noticeable skirmish is the day he got the big scars on his face. During his time with the Calgary Stampedes, he had his face forever altered. The QB was enjoying drinking some beers and hanging out with the teammates on a warm night after the annual rookie show. Kapp walked into a room, and a linebacker randomly came over and broke a bottle on the QB’s jaw and raked the broken glass over his throat. Never one to decline a fight, Kapp squared up, but so much blood was spurting from his face that his teammates broke it up.
The injury was bad enough that when the team trainer woke up to the sight of Joe Kapp, he fainted. At the hospital, the rough and tumble player received over 100 stitches. His jugular was missed by only about half an inch. The linebacker did apologize to Kapp, and the QB let bygones be bygones. In his SI article, he breaks down what happened to the linebacker. A few years later, he knocked on the door of a rectory and shot the priest that answered the door. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was a long-time resident of a mental institution. He could still be there, for all we know. Kapp can tell a story.
Joe Kapp’s Final Days
One battle Kapp didn’t know he would need to fight was the one with his mind. In Kapp’s day, no one talked about the dangers of concussions and the long-term impact of football. But that didn’t stop dementia from giving the former QB a lick he couldn’t recover from. He passed away at 85 in 2023 after a 15-year battle with dementia. In 2016, he mentioned experiencing memory loss and was afraid he had CTE. Those types of symptoms started in his 60s.
That was a very realistic fear. Joe Kapp did, in fact, have CTE. He had stage four, the most advanced type of CTE. The former QB was selfless even at the end. He agreed to donate his brain to science, and his family supported that decision. His contribution to scientific research cannot be overemphasized. His battle with dementia caused by football will not be diminished.
Conclusion
Joe Kapp was a treasure the world is worse without. He was a tough cookie who defended himself and the rights of his community. The former QB used his passion for football to create a beautiful family legacy at Berkeley. He was a good friend with a fantastic sense of humor. Kapp never met a fight he didn’t like, except for his final one that he couldn’t win. Neurocognitive decline haunted Kapp for over a decade, and he was diagnosed post-death with CTE. Due to his selflessness, players in the future will also benefit.
