John Cappelletti

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John Cappelletti
Date of birth:	August 9, 1952 (1952-08-09) (age 55)
Place of birth:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Career information
Position(s):	Running Back
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	206 lb (93 kg)
Jersey №:	22
College:	Penn State
NFL Draft:	1974 / Round: 1/ Pick 11
Organizations
As player:
1974-1978 1980-1983	Los Angeles Rams San Diego Chargers
Career highlights and Awards
Awards:	1973 Heisman Trophy 1973 Maxwell Award
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com
College Football Hall of Fame

John Cappelletti (born August 9, 1952) 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".

Cappelletti attended Monsignor Bonner High School in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. As a senior tailback at Penn State, he gained 1,522 yards on 286 carries scoring 17 touchdowns as the Nittany Lions rolled to an undefeated season. He was awarded the 1973 Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell 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 touchdowns 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.

Cappelletti is currently a businessman and father of four sons residing in Laguna Niguel, California. Also, according to the book Something for Joey, he married Betty Anne Berry, a woman he had dated for two years in high school.

[edit] See also

John Cappelletti's 1973 Heisman Trophy is part of an exhibit at the Penn State All-Sports Museum.

• Beaver Stadium
• Heisman Trophy
• Joe Paterno
• Monsignor Bonner High School
• Pennsylvania State University
• List of Pennsylvania State University people
• List of people from Pennsylvania
• Maxwell Award

[edit] External links

• Official Website of John Cappelletti
• John Cappelletti's Heisman Trophy Acceptance Speech, Special Collections Library, Penn State University Archives
• Delaware County, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
• College Football Hall of Fame page
• Info on Something for Joey
• Amazon listing for book - Something for Joey
• The Pennsylvania Football News All-Century Team