Joe Kapp, a one-time Pro Bowl quarterback who led the Minnesota Vikings to an NFL Championship and Super Bowl appearance during the 1969 season, has died. He was 85.
Kapp had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease these last few years. Kapp’s son, J.J., told The San Francisco Chronicle late Monday night that his father had died “after a 15-year battle with dementia.”
The Santa Fe, New Mexico, native was a standout player at Cal. He led the Golden Bears to a Rose Bowl during the 1958 season. He had 649 passing yards and two touchdown passes that season. It remains Cal’s last Rose Bowl appearance in the program’s history.
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California Golden Bears head coach Joe Kapp watches warmups before an NCAA Pacific-10 football game against the UCLA Bruins played on Oct. 23, 1982 at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California. (David Madison/Getty Images)
Kapp was initially selected by the then-Washington Redskins in the 18th round of the 1959 NFL Draft but never played for the organization. He started his professional career in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders and later the B.C. Lions. He helped the Lions to their first Grey Cup title in 1964. He was also a two-time CFL All-Star before he made the jump to the NFL.
Jim Finks, who brought Kapp to the CFL in the first place, was the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings in 1967.
Kapp would have his best season with Minnesota in 1969. He was 12-1 and finished second in NFL MVP voting to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel. Kapp had 1,726 passing yards and 19 touchdown passes during the year. He earned his first and only Pro Bowl appearance.
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Joe Kapp, #11 of the Minnesota Vikings, throws a ball to a teammate during Super Bowl IV against the Kansas City Chiefs at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans Jan. 11, 1970. (Focus On Sport/Getty Images)
Kapp led the Vikings to playoff wins over the Rams and an NFL Championship win over the Cleveland Browns. The team would lose Super Bowl IV to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-7.
He was not offered a contract for the 1970 season. The Boston Patriots would sign him and make him the highest-paid player in the league. However, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle made the Patriots give up draft compensation to the Vikings for Kapp. After a poor year in 1970, Kapp was asked to sign a standard contract but refused. His situation would later become part of a settlement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
He finished his NFL career with 5,911 passing yards and 40 touchdown passes. He was later named one of the 50 greatest Vikings players in the organization’s history.
Kapp would return to college in 1982 to coach California. He was 20-34-1 in five seasons. He was later the general manager of the Lions and the head coach of Arena Football’s Sacramento Attack.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp, #11, is tackled by Al Brenner #48 of the New York Giants during an NFL football game at Yankee Stadium Sept. 21, 1969 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (ocus on Sport/Getty Images)
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Kapp also had minor roles on the silver screen. He made appearances in “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “The Longest Yard” and “The Frisco Kid” among other roles.
