40: Joe Kapp-NFL

Sports' Forgotten Heroes

A star at Cal-Berkley, Joe Kapp led the Bears to a Rose Bowl victory and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the 18th round of the 1959 NFL Draft. However, Washington and Kapp squabbled over terms, and Kapp decided to take his game north to the Canadian Football League and the Calgary Stampeders. After spending two years with Calgary, Kapp was traded to the British Columbia Lions (in 1961) and led them to a Grey Cup Championship in 1964. But winning in Canada wasn’t enough for Kapp. A native of New Mexico, he wanted to play in the U.S. and after the 1966 season made his intentions known. Somehow, some way, Jim Finks, the General Manager of the Minnesota Vikings engineered an incredible trade, and tricky transaction that involved trading players, waiving players and four teams: the Vikings, the expansion New Orleans Saints, the CFL’s BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts. But the move paid off for the Vikings and in just three years, Kapp led Minnesota to an NFL Championship. But … his career in Minnesota was short-lived. He only played for the Vikings for three years, and just one year for the Patriots before his career was over. But what a career it was. Edward Gruver who has written several articles for the Professional Football Researcher’s Association, and who has a new book coming out about the great rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders called, “Hell With the Lid Off: Inside the Steelers-Raiders Rivalry That Changed Pro Football,” joins the podcast for a look back at the fabulous career of Joe Kapp.

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