Early life
Capp was born on April 9, 1942, in Portland, Maine. [1] He attended Deering High School in Portland where he competed in football, baseball, basketball and track and field. [2] He was an All-Maine selection at end in football and helped Deering win the 1959 state championship, their first. [3] [4] In high school, Capp was "tall and lean", standing at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) while weighing 170 pounds (77 kg). [2] After attending Deering, Capp spent a post-graduate year at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts before enrolling at Boston College to play basketball for the Boston College Eagles, having no intention of playing football there. [4]
College career
Capp attended Boston College from 1962 to 1965. [1] He did not play football in his first year and instead played basketball. [1] [5] In a summer spent at his parents' house, he began lifting weights and "drank milkshakes loaded with half a dozen raw eggs"; according to the Portland Press Herald , "Fifty pounds later, bony and lanky became a rock-solid 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m), 255 pounds (116 kg)". [4] During a basketball practice, Capp was noticed by the football team's coach and invited to join. [2] Capp made the team at end in 1963 and then was shifted to start at right tackle due to injuries. [3] [5] Later on, he was moved to playing defensive end for Boston College, then finally to linebacker. [4] [6] As a senior in 1965, he was described as one of Boston College's "defensive stars". [7] Capp also spent two years on the varsity basketball team for the Eagles. [8]
Professional career
Capp was selected by the Boston Patriots in the 17th round (147th overall) of the 1966 American Football League draft. [1] He signed with the Patriots in June 1966. [7] Prior to the season, he trained for two weeks in the United States Army Reserve, which left him "ill-prepared for football". [4] In preseason, he was "manhandled" by lineman Art Shell, and afterwards, he was one of the team's last roster cuts. [4] [9] He subsequently joined the team's taxi squad and was sent to the Lowell Giants of the minor Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL). [4] During the 1966 ACFL season, he "played brilliantly" for Lowell and scored one touchdown on an interception return. [1] [10]
Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi was interested in a kicker who played for the Giants and while watching film, became interested in Capp as well, saying to "Bring that kid playing linebacker". [4] He was brought to the Packers' camp and after impressing there, was signed for the 1967 season as a linebacker and tight end. [2] [11] He then joined the team after completing two weeks of military service. [12] Capp recalled that Lombardi "just liked guys that would run down the field, hit somebody and add to the special teams. That was something I could do". [4] He ended up making the final roster for the Packers. [4] After being active for the first two games, he was placed on the taxi squad after the return of an injured Willie Davis. [2] [4]
According to the Press Herald, "Capp spent the rest of the season working in practice and wearing a headset on the sideline during games, relaying messages from defensive assistants in the press box to the defensive coordinator on the field". [4] He held this role during the 1967 NFL Championship Game, otherwise known as the "Ice Bowl" for its temperature of negative 13° F. [4] He recalled that "I had to stand there. It would've been better to play. It's the closest I've ever been in my life ... [to] quitting". [4] The next week, he was activated by the Packers for Super Bowl II against the Oakland Raiders. [4] With the Packers winning 13–7 in the second quarter, Capp made a key play that contributed to their victory. [4] A punt to Raider Rodger Bird was muffed and Capp recovered, allowing the Packers to retain possession and later increase their lead; they ended up winning by a score of 33–14. [4] By participating, Capp became the only person from Maine ever to play in the Super Bowl, a distinction he still held by 2016. [2]
Prior to the 1968 season, Capp was traded by the Packers to the St. Louis Cardinals. [13] Then, at the start of the season, he was traded from the Cardinals to the Pittsburgh Steelers. [14] He appeared in all 14 games for the Steelers during the 1968 season as a linebacker. [1] He was waived by the Steelers in July 1969. [15] He did not play for any other team in his career, finishing with 16 games played. [1]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
