Joe Kapp
A quarterback of ferocious will who led two different professional football leagues to championships they had never before won.
1938–2023 (age 85)·American gridiron football player, coach, and executive·Birthday: March 19·The Silent Generation
Biography
Joe Kapp’s career was defined by a rugged, almost defiant style of play that made him a folk hero on both sides of the border. At the University of California, Berkeley, he was a star, but his professional path began in the Canadian Football League. There, with the BC Lions, he broke through in 1964, willing the team to its first-ever Grey Cup victory with a performance that cemented his reputation for clutch play. His success caught the attention of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, who were building a formidable team. In 1969, Kapp delivered again, quarterbacking the Vikings to their sole NFL championship, famously refusing to wear a facemask in the title game to embody a tougher image. His later years included a brief, contentious stint with the Boston Patriots and a return to Cal as head coach, where his fiery passion remained undimmed. Kapp’s legacy is that of a winner who transformed franchises with sheer force of personality and an unyielding competitive drive.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Joe was born in 1938, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Joe Was Born
The biggest hits of 1938
#1 Movie
You Can't Take It with You
Best Picture
You Can't Take It with You
Joe's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1938Born
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1943Started school
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1951Became a teenager
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1954Could drive
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1956Could vote
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1959Turned 21
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1968Turned 30
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 40
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 50
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 60
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 70
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 80
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2023Died at 85
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
Key Achievements
- Quarterbacked the BC Lions to their first Grey Cup championship in franchise history in 1964.
- Led the Minnesota Vikings to victory in the 1969 NFL Championship Game, the team's only league title.
- Threw for seven touchdowns in a single game while playing for the University of California against Washington in 1958.
- Inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1984.
- Served as the head football coach at his alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley, from 1982 to 1986.
Did You Know?
He is the only quarterback to have played in the Rose Bowl, Grey Cup, and Super Bowl.
Kapp famously refused to wear a facemask during the 1969 NFL championship game.
He was of Mexican and Native American (Yaqui) descent on his father's side.
After his football career, he had a small acting role in the 1974 film "The Longest Yard."
He was involved in a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the NFL that went to the Supreme Court in the 1970s.
“The meek may inherit the earth, but they'll never get the football.”
