Cal legend Joe Kapp has passed away at the age of 85.
Two-Sport Athlete Best Known At Cal For 1959 Rose Bowl, The Play And Signature Wins Over Stanford
BERKELEY – Cal legend and Hall-of-Famer Joe Kapp passed away from complications of dementia Monday at the age of 85. Kapp was best known at Cal for leading the Golden Bears to the 1959 Rose Bowl, serving as the school’s head football coach in 1982 when Cal used The Play to defeat Stanford in the Big Game, and several other signature wins over the Cardinal.
Kapp’s success at Cal and beyond led to his election in multiple Halls of Fame, including those of the Bay Area, British Columbia Sports, Cal Athletics, Canadian Football League, College Football, Laredo Latin American Sports and National Hispanic Sports.
In addition to his illustrious career, Kapp was also known for his memorable and often repeated phrases, most notably “The Bear will not quit. The Bear will not die.”
On the gridiron at Cal, Kapp was a three-year starter at quarterback who led the Bears to the Pacific Coast Conference title and a No. 16 ranking in the final AP Top 25 during his 1958 All-American senior campaign. He was the PCC’s rushing leader that season with 616 yards on the ground, which is the most ever in a single campaign by a Cal quarterback, while also scoring five rushing touchdowns. Kapp’s 931 career rushing yards were also the most by a Cal signal-caller for more than a half-century before Chase Garbers broke the mark in 2021. In addition, Kapp owns the school’s fourth-longest run from scrimmage of 92 yards against Oregon in 1958.
Following his Cal playing career, Kapp became the first person in his family to graduate from college when he earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in 1959.
Kapp was selected by the Washington Redskins earlier that year in the 1959 NFL Draft but spent his first eight seasons in professional football playing in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders (1959-60) and BC Lions (1961-66), leading the latter to their first Grey Cup title in 1974. He moved to the NFL for his final four pro campaigns and led the Minnesota Vikings to Super Bowl IV in 1970. Kapp played three seasons in Minnesota (1967-69) before finishing his playing career with the Boston Patriots (1970). Kapp’s seven touchdown passes for the…
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