05-09-2023, 12:11 PM
Joe Kapp, the quarterback with an unorthodox style who took the Vikings to their first Super Bowl in 1969, has died at age 85.His son, J.J. Kapp, confirmed the death to the San Francisco Chronicle, writing in an email that Kapp died after a "15-year battle with dementia."
Kapp was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League before joining the Vikings in 1967. He was known for a hard-nosed running style and throwing passes that were rarely pretty but often wobbled their way into completions.
Kapp played for only three seasons in Minnesota and one more with the Patriots before leaving pro football in the aftermath of a contract dispute. He was later the head football coach at the University of California, where he had been a college star in the 1950s.
He played in the Canadian Football League from 1959 to 1966 before coming to Minnesota.
In 1968, Kapp led the Vikings to their first playoff appearance, which ended with a loss to the Baltimore Colts. He was said to have coined the Vikings' motto of that era — "40-for-60" — which referred to the 40 players on the roster giving their all for the 60 minutes of a game.
After the 1969 season, which ended with the Vikings losing Super Bowl IV to Kansas City, Kapp was a free agent. He played the Super Bowl season without a contract after the Vikings had exercised an option clause that was standard at that time. No team made him an offer during that offseason, and he joined the Patriots several games into the 1970 season.
Kapp filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL that led to changes in contract rules in the mid-1970s.
In 2016, Kapp acknowledged publicly that he had Alzheimer's disease, telling a reporter: "Every single day I live being forgetful. I've got calendars on both of my shoes."
At the time, Kapp pledged to donate his brain for medical research after his death.
https://www.startribune.com/joe-kapp-vikings-quarterback-super-bowl-dies/600273444/
Kapp was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League before joining the Vikings in 1967. He was known for a hard-nosed running style and throwing passes that were rarely pretty but often wobbled their way into completions.
Kapp played for only three seasons in Minnesota and one more with the Patriots before leaving pro football in the aftermath of a contract dispute. He was later the head football coach at the University of California, where he had been a college star in the 1950s.
He played in the Canadian Football League from 1959 to 1966 before coming to Minnesota.
In 1968, Kapp led the Vikings to their first playoff appearance, which ended with a loss to the Baltimore Colts. He was said to have coined the Vikings' motto of that era — "40-for-60" — which referred to the 40 players on the roster giving their all for the 60 minutes of a game.
After the 1969 season, which ended with the Vikings losing Super Bowl IV to Kansas City, Kapp was a free agent. He played the Super Bowl season without a contract after the Vikings had exercised an option clause that was standard at that time. No team made him an offer during that offseason, and he joined the Patriots several games into the 1970 season.
Kapp filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL that led to changes in contract rules in the mid-1970s.
In 2016, Kapp acknowledged publicly that he had Alzheimer's disease, telling a reporter: "Every single day I live being forgetful. I've got calendars on both of my shoes."
At the time, Kapp pledged to donate his brain for medical research after his death.
https://www.startribune.com/joe-kapp-vikings-quarterback-super-bowl-dies/600273444/
