# John Cappelletti

John Raymond Cappelletti (born August 9, 1952) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers.
He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1973. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Coach Joe Paterno said that Cappelletti was "the best football player I ever coached" or words to that effect. Cappelletti's relationship with his younger brother Joey, who was stricken with leukemia, was chronicled into a book and television movie, Something for Joey.

## Early life

Cappelletti was born on August 9, 1952, in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, where he was raised. He was one of five children born to John and Anna Cappelletti. Cappelletti attended St. Laurence School in Upper Darby (a kindergarten to 8th grade Catholic school) prior to entering Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, a suburb west of Philadelphia in Delaware County, where he played football and basketball. He played quarterback for the Friars and graduated in 1970.
In 1969, he was selected first team All-Catholic and All-Delaware County. In 1974, Bonner presented Cappelletti with the Coach Jack Gottschalk Memorial Award. On the same day, Bonner's alumni association established the John Cappelletti Award, to be given annually to the senior who best exemplifies qualities of character, dedication and athletic success. During the same ceremony presenting these awards, Cappelletti was inducted as the first charter member of Bonner's Hall of Fame, and his jersey number 11 was retired by the school.

## College career

In the era before freshman eligibility, Cappelletti was a running back on the freshman team at Penn State in 1970. During his sophomore season in 1971, he played as a defensive back, as the Nittany Lions had two senior running backs who were taken early in the 1972 NFL draft: Franco Harris (13th overall) and Lydell Mitchell (48th). Head coach Joe Paterno considered Cappelletti too good an athlete not to play somewhere on the team, and intended to switch Cappelletti back to offense as a junior after Harris and Mitchell graduated.
As a senior tailback at Penn State in 1973, Cappelletti gained 1,522 yards on 286 carries scoring 17 touchdowns as the Nittany Lions rolled to an undefeated 12–0 season. In his two-year running-back career, Cappelletti gained over 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. In the final month of the 1973 season, he rushed for more than 200 yards in three consecutive games. His 2,639 yards in only two years is 14th all-time at Penn State (as of 2024).
He was awarded the 1973 Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, the UPI College Football Player of the Year, the Walter Camp Award, the Touchdown Club of Columbus Chic Harley Award, ABC-TV Player of the Year, as well as receiving first team consensus All-America honors. He was also named Amateur Athlete of the Year by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association. He was the first Penn State player to be awarded the Heisman Trophy. His 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. When Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was to follow Cappelletti's speech with a closing benediction, he said "'There is no need for a benediction. God has already blessed you with John Cappelletti.'"
He was also a member of the Gamma Phi chapter of Phi Gamma Delta at Penn State.
The relationship between Cappelletti and his younger brother, 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, ill with cancer.
During Cappelletti's senior season, Penn State played West Virginia in late October. The morning of the game, Cappelletti asked Joey what he wanted for his upcoming 11th birthday. Joey replied "I want you to score three touchdowns for me. No, four." In Something for Joey, a shocked Cappelletti is seen confiding to a teammate: "How am I going to score four touchdowns?" At the end of the first half, Cappelletti had scored 3 touchdowns, well on his way to four. But head coach Joe Paterno did not like to run up the score against opponents, so when the game resumed after halftime, Paterno told Cappelletti he would be on the bench. Cappelletti quietly took his seat on the bench, without telling Paterno of Joey's wish. Late in the third quarter, one of Cappelletti's teammates told Paterno of Joey's wish. On Penn State's next possession, Paterno shouted "22" and Cappelletti took the field; he scored his fourth touchdown on the same possession, and pointed to Joey as he ran off the field. The Lions scored three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter and won 62–14.

### Later honors

Cappelletti was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993, and is also a member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (1989). He was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the 2009 Inductee Class. In 2006, Cappelletti was inducted into the Regions Bank Orange Bowl Hall of Honor.
The undefeated 1973 team was honored at Beaver Stadium during halftime of the 2013 home opener on September 7, and Cappelletti received special recognition – his No. 22 was retired by the program, the first and only number to be retired by any sport at the university.

## Professional career

Cappelletti was the eleventh overall pick of the 1974 NFL draft, taken by the Los Angeles Rams. He played nine seasons in the league, five with the Rams (1974–1978), and four with the San Diego Chargers (1980−1983). From 1976-78 he started every game at fullback for the Rams. In 1976 and 1978, he had nearly 1,000 total yards rushing and receiving each year; leading the Rams in rushing in 1978. He missed the entire 1979 season due to a groin injury, and was traded to the Chargers before the 1980 season for a draft pick. Cappelletti said the Rams could have gotten more in the trade, but accommodated his wish to play in San Diego. Over three years with the Chargers, he played more sparingly each year, with less than 100 rushing attempts during that entire time. The groin injury ultimately led to his retirement.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 1974 | RAM | 14 | 1 | 55 | 198 | 3.6 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 35 | 5.8 | 9 | 0 |
| 1975 | RAM | 13 | 0 | 48 | 158 | 3.3 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | RAM | 14 | 14 | 177 | 688 | 3.9 | 38 | 1 | 30 | 302 | 10.1 | 32 | 1 |
| 1977 | RAM | 14 | 14 | 178 | 598 | 3.4 | 15 | 5 | 28 | 228 | 8.1 | 25 | 1 |
| 1978 | RAM | 14 | 14 | 174 | 604 | 3.5 | 26 | 3 | 41 | 382 | 9.3 | 37 | 1 |
| 1980 | SDG | 10 | 8 | 101 | 364 | 3.6 | 46 | 5 | 13 | 112 | 8.6 | 12 | 0 |
| 1981 | SDG | 16 | 6 | 68 | 254 | 3.7 | 30 | 4 | 10 | 126 | 12.6 | 25 | 1 |
| 1982 | SDG | 9 | 6 | 22 | 82 | 3.7 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 48 | 6.9 | 22 | 0 |
| 1983 | SDG | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | 105 | 63 | 824 | 2,951 | 3.6 | 46 | 24 | 135 | 1,233 | 9.1 | 37 | 4 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 1974 | RAM | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1975 | RAM | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | RAM | 2 | 2 | 35 | 113 | 3.2 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 13 | 0 |
| 1977 | RAM | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 1.6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1978 | RAM | 2 | 2 | 13 | 63 | 4.8 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 15 | 0 |
| 1980 | SDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | SDG | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | SDG | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | 14 | 7 | 63 | 211 | 3.3 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 56 | 7.0 | 15 | 0 |

## Personal life

Cappelletti is married with four sons and resides in Laguna Niguel, California with his wife Betty (née Berry). His sister-in-law is the daughter of Heisman Trophy winner Alan Ameche. The first time Cappelletti ever saw a Heisman Trophy was as a college sophomore visiting Ameche's home with his teenage brother, where Ameche's trophy was on the mantle. He is not related to former Boston Patriots star and 1964 AFL MVP Gino Cappelletti.
Cappelletti also is a classic car enthusiast.