Joe Kapp Dies at Age 85

[David]

Before my time, but I know the history of the football club very well and this man's name was synonymous with Lions football. A tough competitor and a great teammate (he still carried a grudge against Mosca decades after the dirty hit that knocked Willie out of the '63 Grey Cup).

Joe Kapp passed away today at 85. RIP.


DH

[Ballistic Bob]

Always liked Joe. Shook his hand outside his lounge on Broadway around 1972 after his nfl career came to an end. BB

[South Pender]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... ies-at-85/

[B.C.FAN]

Peanut Butter Joe was my first B.C. Lions hero in 1963. He’ll always be remembered as the QB for the team’s first Grey Cup victory in 1964. His tenure as GM was less successful but he was given some credit for helping lure Doug Flutie to the CFL in 1990.

[DanoT]

Peanut Butter Joe was my first B.C. Lions hero in 1963. He’ll always be remembered as the QB for the team’s first Grey Cup victory in 1964. His tenure as GM was less successful but he was given some credit for helping lure Doug Flutie to the CFL in 1990.

I was at that 1964 Grey Cup in Toronto, but as a Hamiltonian at the time, I was cheering for the TiCats. The Lions had a brilliant strategy for dealing with the TiCats Free Safety, Garney Henley, who was at the time, 4 seasons into a 16 year career in which he was the fastest player in the CFL for most of it. The Lions simply made sure that one of their players was on Henley, on every single play, and knocking him down whenever possible, no matter where Henley lined up or where the play was going. It turns out that neutralizing the fastest and one of the CFL's best players was a very successful plan.
A similar strategy applied to Adam Bighill when facing the Bombers might have similar success...just sayin.

[OV:54-40]

Peanut Butter Joe was my first B.C. Lions hero in 1963. He’ll always be remembered as the QB for the team’s first Grey Cup victory in 1964. His tenure as GM was less successful but he was given some credit for helping lure Doug Flutie to the CFL in 1990.

I was at that 1964 Grey Cup in Toronto, but as a Hamiltonian at the time, I was cheering for the TiCats. The Lions had a brilliant strategy for dealing with the TiCats Free Safety, Garney Henley, who was at the time, 4 seasons into a 16 year career in which he was the fastest player in the CFL for most of it. The Lions simply made sure that one of their players was on Henley, on every single play, and knocking him down whenever possible, no matter where Henley lined up or where the play was going. It turns out that neutralizing the fastest and one of the CFL's best players was a very successful plan.
A similar strategy applied to Adam Bighill when facing the Bombers might have similar success...just sayin.

Very cool that you were at that game ! My Dad took me to a play-off game in Hamilton when Ottawa faced them, circa early 60s - just a very vague memory though

Read comments from ex-Rider great LB Wayne Shaw - something along the lines of how he neutralized young Ticat TE Tony Gabriel in the 72 GC by "knocking him on his can" every chance he could; but then the coach pulled Wayne for some reason later in the game and Tony started to have some success.

[TheLionKing]

One of the toughest quarterback to don the black and orange. RIP Kapp

[DanoT]

Peanut Butter Joe was my first B.C. Lions hero in 1963. He’ll always be remembered as the QB for the team’s first Grey Cup victory in 1964. His tenure as GM was less successful but he was given some credit for helping lure Doug Flutie to the CFL in 1990.

I was at that 1964 Grey Cup in Toronto, but as a Hamiltonian at the time, I was cheering for the TiCats. The Lions had a brilliant strategy for dealing with the TiCats Free Safety, Garney Henley, who was at the time, 4 seasons into a 16 year career in which he was the fastest player in the CFL for most of it. The Lions simply made sure that one of their players was on Henley, on every single play, and knocking him down whenever possible, no matter where Henley lined up or where the play was going. It turns out that neutralizing the fastest and one of the CFL's best players was a very successful plan.
A similar strategy applied to Adam Bighill when facing the Bombers might have similar success...just sayin.

Very cool that you were at that game ! My Dad took me to a play-off game in Hamilton when Ottawa faced them, circa early 60s - just a very vague memory though

Read comments from ex-Rider great LB Wayne Shaw - something along the lines of how he neutralized young Ticat TE Tony Gabriel in the 72 GC by "knocking him on his can" every chance he could; but then the coach pulled Wayne for some reason later in the game and Tony started to have some success.

I was at the '72 Grey Cup in Hamilton as well. It was a very close game. I recall Gabriel, who was a rookie, caught something like 3 catches in the final drive and Henley, who play O that year and was Most Outstanding Player that season, also caught a couple catches to set up the winning FG.

[Toppy Vann]

Joe Kapp and the likes of Willie Fleming were prominent in the city of Vancouver in the 60s with Kapp owning the Joe Kapp Time Out Lounge in the Centennial Motor Hote on Broadway and Willie the Lions Den mens' clothing store on Granville.

In those days the Canucks were in the old Western Hockey League and while prominent in the sports community, the Lions were king in the 60s. Fire a coach like Clem Crowe and it was front page of the Vancouver Sun. GM Herb Capozzi was a great showman for the Lions along with business acumen but I'd stop short of saying he was the greatest talent spotter.

Those were some good, fun days.

This a long read, great story of Kapp with lots of football wisdom in it. No paywall even though it's New York Times.

Mr. Machismo Is Hanging Tough in Exile

As a quarterback, he never peeked to see where the sideline was. When trapped, he ran at line backers. In his Mexican heritage, he called it “machismo,” which means never having to say you ran out of bounds.

“Tarkenton has the ability to put points on the board. And he has the experience to offset some of Bud Grant's conservatism. For a quarterback, the freedom under Bud Grant is there. You've got to recognize that the Vikings function with a simple offense. But within Bud Grant's system, there are times you can open up. To me, the definition of a quarterback is to win, And if it took a risk to win, I took the risk.”


Dave Anderson
May 6, 1972

https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/06/arch ... exile.html

[cromartie]

Alas. If only Joe could have hit Angelo Mosca harder.

Willie Fleming is still alive and lives here in the Cleveland area.

[Dusty]

Alas. If only Joe could have hit Angelo Mosca harder.

Willie Fleming is still alive and lives here in the Cleveland area.

At one of the pre-gam STH events when Willie and Joe came to town , I had a chance to thank Joe for his takedown of Mosca in support of Willie. He just shook his head and said that Mosca shouldn't have started that.... Joe certainly finished it...

Also had a chance to chat with Willie and his wife. A good night....

[WestCoastJoe]

OK, I have to comment on this one too.

Joe Kapp owned Vancouver when I was a kid. He had so much charisma. And Vancouver was starved for sports heroes. He brought us a Grey Cup when previously, it had seemed impossible.

The punch he threw at Angelo Mosca? LOL. I thought it was great. Two really old fogies. Ha ha. Kapp never forgot how Mosca drove through Willie Fleming, already on the ground in the 1963 Grey Cup Game. Don't mess with a Chicano. Embarrassed by his behaviour? Not a chance.

No surprise that Bud Grant and Jim Finks brought him down to Minnesota. Grant knew what he brought to a team.

IMO Grant was a superb regular season coach. NFL title games? Not so much. As noted earlier, it seemed to me he did no special game prep. He just did what got them there. And as noted, following his Super Bowl losses the Vikings won the return games the next year.

It seems Kapp made a mistake when he challenged the NFL contract.

He was certainly head strong. After winning the Grey Cup, imo, he contributed greatly to the downfall of the Lions. I recall seeing the coach send in the field goal team. Kapp sent them off. LOL.

Tough as nails. He knocked out that linebacker, (I think it was Jim Houston), when Kapp's knee caught him in the head.

In his first year in the NFL, they were facing the fearsome L.A. Rams, with their front four of Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Rosie Grier and Lamar Lundy. At the LOS, Kapp growled: "Fu** you, Rams." Ha ha. That is machismo.

Jack Wasserman was a "man about town" reporter in Vancouver in Kapp's time here. Kapp was all the news, and wanted to show him his new house. Wasserman described how they were standing under the tall trees, looking through the fence in West Vancouver, before the move in date. Kapp was as happy and excited as a child.

He is part of our history here in Vancouver. God Bless. Rest in Peace. And maybe keep an eye out for Angelo Mosca up there. Ha ha.

One time post.

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[Toppy Vann]

Westcoast Joe, you are right when you use the term "owned" the town. That's what I felt and I'm old enough to have experienced that.

IMO Grant was a superb regular season coach. NFL title games? Not so much. As noted earlier, it seemed to me he did no special game prep. He just did what got them there. And as noted, following his Super Bowl losses the Vikings won the return games the next year.

That article I posted quoted Kapp as saying how he felt Fran Tarkenton would do in that "conservative" offense which as you note failed come big game times when the title was on the line.