Joe Kapp, a quarterback who led the Vikings to the Super Bowl in 1970 and once threw seven touchdowns in a game, has died at 85, according to reports.
He had battled Alzheimer’s disease, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Kapp remains the only quarterback to play in the Super Bowl, Rose Bowl and the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup.
He was known for his ferocious and aggressive style of play.
“Some form of challenge is necessary on every play that you play and if you don’t come up to that line of scrimmage as the quarterback ready to challenge that defense, they’re going to eat you up,” Kapp once told NFL Films.
Center Mick Tingelhoff told NFL Films of the time Kapp was particularly upset with an opposing linebacker.
“So Joe gets under center and he goes, ‘Set. Hut one. Hut two. F–k you, 58,” Tinglehoff said, laughing. “Joe was fun to play with.”
Kapp played for the University of California Bears, leading the team to the Pacific Coast Conference title in 1958 and the Rose Bowl in 1959, which resulted in a loss to Iowa.
After playing two seasons with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders, he was traded to the BC Lions, where he led the team to a 1963 Grey Cup appearance and the 1964 Grey Cup championship.
In 1967, Kapp moved to the NFL, joining the Minnesota Vikings. The team made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1968.
The team made the Super Bowl the following year after a sterling 12-2 regular season.
In the storybook run, Kapp tied an NFL record with seven touchdowns in an early season game against the Colts.
After the Vikings were upset in Super Bowl IV by the Chiefs, Kapp went unsigned for the 1970 season. He later joined the Boston Patriots but the team struggled, finishing 2-12.
Kapp then decided to end his 4-year NFL career, but didn’t turn away from football completely
In 1982, he returned to Cal to coach the Bears, going 20-34-1 in five seasons.
Kapp was on the sidelines for the famous 25-20 win over Stanford in 1982, when Cal returned a kickoff to end the game with several laterals despite the band coming onto the field during the play.
The 6’2″, 215-pound quarterback also appeared in a number of movies and TV shows, including “The Longest Yard,” “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Frisco Kid.”