Joe Kapp, “The Toughest Chicano”: A Life of Leadership
The new memoir, Joe Kapp, “The Toughest Chicano”: A Life of Leadership, offers a candid glimpse into Joe Kapp’s deeply inspiring life as one of the most unique quarterbacks and voices for justice in the history of football.
Joe Kapp with his mother Florence.
In the beginning…
From Kapp’s earliest days as a young kid organizing competitive street games in vibrant, 1940s immigrant neighborhoods across California, to his Purple People Eater days and current battle with dementia, The Toughest Chicano lays bare everything about Joe Kapp’s remarkable life with his signature tenacity and irreverent sense of humor.
Football fans will relish his migration through the Canadian Football league and his extensive, game-by-game analysis of the break-out 1969 Vikings season—where he led the team to a 12-2 record and their first Super Bowl—and his refusal to accept the Vikings MVP award in favor of highlighting the team’s success as a whole.
The book also weaves through his post-Vikings days as the coach of UC Berkeley’s California Golden Bears, where he was awarded the 1982 Coach of The Year honors during his first year as a coach. Kapp notably led three out of five wins against school rival Stanford, including the five lateral kick-off return comeback known as “The Play.” Additionally, cherished memories from the Hollywood sets of sports films like The Longest Yard are humorously recounted.
The memoir also touches on Kapp’s Dementia diagnosis and personal struggles living with the disease. CTE—Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy—is a startling reality for an alarming number of pro football players caused by years of concussions and brain injuries suffered on the job. One particular memory of a brutal hit—told by Kapp’s son J.J.—gives readers insight into the unsafe working conditions players faced:
“I remembered that in one game in the CFL, he said he got hit so hard that the left side of his body went numb and his left eye closed—yet his team would not let him off the field. The old-school football ethic dictated that he play through it.”
True to form as a lifelong vocal proponent of players rights, The Toughest Chicano dives into his first of its kind lawsuit against the NFL for free agency which led the way to vastly expanded modern players rights.
““Benefits players enjoy today come on the back of people like Joe, who had the courage to stand up for what he thought was right.””
“ Joe Kapp paved the way for free agency in the N.F.L”
- Ken Belson, New York Times
Kapp and his co-authors are donating proceeds from The Toughest Chicano to help fund scholarships through the Joe Kapp and Family Scholarship Fund for first time Latino students attending UC Berekeley and college bound students from the Salinas (CA) Uninion High School District. Joe Kapp: “The Toughest Chicano” A Life of Leadership ($25) is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Itasca Books, Fan HQ -Ridgedale Mall, Minnetonka MN, National Steinbeck Center Bookstore, Salinas CA, The British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame Store ($35), Vancouver B.C. Canada, and other major and independent retailers nationwide. Listen to Joe Kapp’s interview with John Boston recalling the early days of his athletic career: https://scvtv.com/2005/09/18/joe-kapp-veteran-nfl-cfl-quarterback-2005/ Listen to J.J. Kapp’s interviews about the book with Doug Miles: https://youtu.be/3yDgq0RCt-w and Ron Barr: https://wetransfer.com/downloads/4b0ee47be4339d4b9a81e3473bb98b4320200330230426/3501f557b3f7bb2bbb7007b757ca800d20200330230447/43d756
We hope you enjoy the book. In 2019 the Kapp family with Wise Ink Publishing published - The Toughest Chicano … a project that took over 30 years to complete. In conjunction with the publication of the book the Kapp family established the Joe Kapp & Family scholarship for first time Latino students attending UC Berkeley (Cal) which is administered through Cal’s Chicano Alumni Association (ucbclaa.org); and last year the Joe Kapp scholarship for college bound students from the Salinas (CA) Union High School District which is administered through the Salinas Valley Dream Academy (ruben@svdreamacedmy.org). To date 30 scholarship recipients have received over $40,000. in scholarship awards. The scholarships are funded through book sales, family donations, and direct donations.
The following additions are new in the book for this 2024 printing: front cover quote - Howie Long, back cover quote - Ken Belson, all quotes in the insert, SOUL poem written for Joe by Tom Meschery found on the last page of the insert, excerpts from Ken Belson’s NY Times article found at the end of chapter 18, The Play afterward [The Zebra’s View on Cal Football Epic Improvisation] by Jim Rainey found at the end of chapter 21. We really appreciate the participation of our new contributors. At this point we feel that we have our best work on the shelf. Salud! The Kapp Family