John Cappelletti
Encyclopedia
John Cappelletti is a former professional American football
running back
for the NFL
's Los Angeles Rams
and the San Diego Chargers
. Prior to his professional career, he attended the Pennsylvania State University
, where he won the Heisman Trophy
in 1973. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1993. Penn State football
coach Joe Paterno
said that Cappelletti was "the best football player I ever coached".
in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
. As a senior tailback
at Penn State
, he gained 1,522 yards on 286 carries scoring 17 touchdown
s as the Nittany Lions rolled to an undefeated season. He was awarded the 1973 Heisman Trophy
, Maxwell Award
, the UPI College Football Player of the Year
, the Walter Camp Award
as well as receiving All-America
honors. In his two-year running career, he gained 100 yards in thirteen games and had a career total of 2,639 yards and twenty-nine touchdown
s for an average of 120 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry. Cappelletti's Heisman acceptance speech, where he dedicated his award to his dying brother Joey, is one of the most memorable in the history of college sports.
The relationship between Cappelletti and his younger brother Joey, who died of childhood leukemia
on April 8, 1976, was made into a television movie
in 1977 called Something for Joey
. Cappelletti was played by Marc Singer
. The movie was based on the book of the same name written by Richard E. Peck and chronicled the bond between the two brothers as Cappelletti supported his young brother through his battle against cancer.
Cappelletti went on to play professional football
from 1974 through 1983 for the Los Angeles Rams
and the San Diego Chargers
. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1993. Also a member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
. His wife is Betty (née Berry), his sister-in-law is the daughter of Heisman Trophy winner Alan Ameche
.
Cappelletti is also a classic car
enthusiast.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
and the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Prior to his professional career, he attended the Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, where he won the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
in 1973. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1993. Penn State football
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
coach Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
said that Cappelletti was "the best football player I ever coached".
Career
Cappelletti attended Monsignor Bonner High SchoolMonsignor Bonner High School
Monsignor Bonner High School is an all-male Augustinian Catholic High School in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, United States. Bonner was created in 1953 as Archbishop Prendergast High School for Boys...
in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
Drexel Hill is a census-designated place in Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel Hill is located southwest of Center City, Philadelphia and is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area...
. As a senior tailback
Tailback
Tailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...
at Penn State
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, he gained 1,522 yards on 286 carries scoring 17 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s as the Nittany Lions rolled to an undefeated season. He was awarded the 1973 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
, Maxwell Award
Maxwell Award
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
, the UPI College Football Player of the Year
UPI College Football Player of the Year
The United Press International College Football Player of the Year Award was among the first and most recognized college football awards. With the demise of UPI in 1997 the award was discontinued. Offensive and defensive players were eligible. Tommy Nobis was the runner-up that season...
, the Walter Camp Award
Walter Camp Award
The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football Player of the Year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation;...
as well as receiving All-America
1973 College Football All-America Team
The 1973 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
honors. In his two-year running career, he gained 100 yards in thirteen games and had a career total of 2,639 yards and twenty-nine touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s for an average of 120 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry. Cappelletti's Heisman acceptance speech, where he dedicated his award to his dying brother Joey, is one of the most memorable in the history of college sports.
The relationship between Cappelletti and his younger brother Joey, who died of childhood leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
on April 8, 1976, was made into a television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
in 1977 called Something for Joey
Something for Joey
Something for Joey was a 1977 made-for-TV movie about the relationship between college football player John Cappelletti , and his younger brother Joey . Other cast members included Linda Kelsey and Steve Guttenberg...
. Cappelletti was played by Marc Singer
Marc Singer
Marc Singer is a Canadian-born American actor best known for his roles in the Beastmaster film series and as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series V.-Personal life:...
. The movie was based on the book of the same name written by Richard E. Peck and chronicled the bond between the two brothers as Cappelletti supported his young brother through his battle against cancer.
Cappelletti went on to play professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
from 1974 through 1983 for the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
and the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1993. Also a member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
Personal
Cappelletti is married with four sons and now resides in Laguna Niguel, CaliforniaLaguna Niguel, California
Laguna Niguel is an affluent city located in southern Orange County, California. The name "Laguna Niguel" is derived from the Spanish word "Laguna" which means lagoon, and the word "Nigueli" which was the name of a Juaneño Indian village that was once located on Aliso Creek. The population was...
. His wife is Betty (née Berry), his sister-in-law is the daughter of Heisman Trophy winner Alan Ameche
Alan Ameche
Lino Dante "Alan" Ameche , nicknamed "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League after winning the Heisman Trophy in college at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was elected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first...
.
Cappelletti is also a classic car
Classic car
A classic car is an older car; the exact meaning is variable. The Classic Car Club of America maintains that a car must be between 20 and 40 years old to be a classic, while cars over 45 years fall into the Antique Class.- Classic Car Club of America :...
enthusiast.
See also
- Beaver StadiumBeaver StadiumBeaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, on the campus of The Pennsylvania State University. It is home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference. The stadium is named for James A...
- Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
- Joe PaternoJoe PaternoJoseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
- Monsignor Bonner High SchoolMonsignor Bonner High SchoolMonsignor Bonner High School is an all-male Augustinian Catholic High School in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, United States. Bonner was created in 1953 as Archbishop Prendergast High School for Boys...
- Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
- List of Pennsylvania State University people
- List of people from Pennsylvania
- Maxwell AwardMaxwell AwardThe Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
External links
- Official Website of John Cappelletti
- Delaware County, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
- John Cappelletti's Heisman Trophy Acceptance Speech, Special Collections Library, Penn State University Archives
- Pro Football Reference - John Cappelletti