Gino Cappelletti

Gino Raymond Michael Cappelletti (March 26, 1934 – May 12, 2022) was an American professional football player. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was an All-Star in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots,<ref name=upicret>Template:Cite news</ref> winning the 1964 AFL Most Valuable Player Award.<ref name=evnwmvp>Template:Cite news</ref> Cappelletti is a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, and the Patriots' All-1960s team. He served as the Patriots' radio color commentator until July 2012. His nicknames included "the Duke" and "Mr. Patriot".<ref name=cksxfg>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Cappelletti was born in Keewatin in northern Minnesota, on March 26, 1934.<ref name="PFR player">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Globe obit">Template:Cite news</ref> He attended Keewatin High School in his hometown,<ref name="PFR player"/> and was employed on the railroad and in iron ore mines during his teenaged years, also dating Patricia Morris.<ref name="Globe obit"/> He went on to play college football at the University of Minnesota, where he was a quarterback, backing up All-American Paul Giel.<ref name=ntcphr>Template:Cite news</ref> Cappelletti kicked extra points, but the Golden Gophers did not kick field goals in those years. as a sophomore in 1952, though, Cappelletti talked the coach into letting him try a game-winning 43-yard kick against Iowa.<ref name=mcbfhe>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=grbiowa>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As a senior in 1954, Cappelletti switched to T-quarterback and led Minnesota to a 7–2 record, missing the final game with an elbow injury,<ref name=bfomin>Template:Cite news</ref> a 27–0 loss at Wisconsin.<ref name=setintre>Template:Cite news</ref> He was named to the All-Big Ten second team, but was not selected in the 1955 NFL draft.<ref name="Globe obit"/>

Professional football career

Canada

Cappelletti played quarterback for the Sarnia Imperials of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) in Canada during 1955. He joined Toronto Balmy Beach in 1956, but was drafted into the U.S. Army in midseason, returning to Canada in 1958. Cappelletti signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, but was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was later cut, and went back to the ORFU, leading the Sarnia Golden Bears (the team having changed its name in 1956) to the league championship.<ref name=Grasso>Template:Cite book</ref>

Boston Patriots

Cappelletti was out of professional football in 1959, back in Minnesota working as a bartender in his brother's lounge, when he asked the Patriots for a tryout in the summer of 1960.<ref name=NYT/> With the launch of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960, he joined the Boston Patriots and was initially a kicker and defensive back.<ref name=ntcphr/><ref name=pfuaigc>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=golftip>Template:Cite news</ref> He switched to offense late in that season and teamed with quarterback Babe Parilli to form a tandem nicknamed "Grand Opera Twins", due to their Italian surnames.<ref name=pglawr>Template:Cite news</ref> Cappelletti won AFL MVP honors in 1964,<ref name=evnwmvp/> led the league in scoring five times, and was a five-time AFL All-Star.<ref name=upicret/><ref name=gcpret/> One of 20 AFL players active during the entirety of the league's 10-year existence, Cappelletti, George Blanda, and Jim Otto were the only players who played in every one of his team's AFL games.<ref name=NYT>Template:Cite news</ref> He played with the Patriots all 11 years in Boston, from 1960 through the 1970 NFL merger season, and retired in late August 1971 at age 37;<ref name=upicret/><ref name=gcpret>Template:Cite news</ref> he was the AFL's all-time leading scorer with 1,130 points (42 TDs, 176 FGs, and 342 PATs) and among the AFL's top-10 all-time receivers in yards and receptions. Cappelletti had two of the top-five scoring seasons in professional football history, with 155 points in 1964 and 147 points in 1961 (14-game seasons). His Patriots team scoring record lasted until it was broken by Adam Vinatieri on December 5, 2005.<ref name=mrpatriot>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time of his death, Cappelletti was the Patriots' 12th all-time-leading receiver in receptions with 292 catches and 10th in receiving yards with 4,589 yards.<ref name="Pats receiving leaders">Template:Cite web</ref> He was fifth in Patriots history in receiving touchdowns with 42,<ref name="Pats receiving leaders"/> and had the second-most field goal attempts (333) in team history behind Stephen Gostkowski.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During Cappelletti's professional career, he also returned punts and kickoffs, played defensive back, and even had one pass completion for a touchdown. He was the second AFL player to record three interceptions (off Tom Flores) in a regular-season game,<ref name=Borges>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Judge>Template:Cite news</ref> scored 18 points or more in a game 10 times, and scored 20 or more points in a game eight times. He set the AFL single-game record by scoring 28 points in the Patriots' 42–14 rout of Houston on December 18, 1965.<ref name=clptri>Template:Cite news</ref> Cappelletti is the only player in professional football history to run for a two-point conversion, throw for a two-point conversion, catch a pass, intercept a pass, return a punt, and return a kickoff in the same season.<ref name=Borges/><ref name=Judge/> He kicked six field goals (without a miss) in a 39–10 win at Denver on October 4, 1964,<ref name=cksxfg/> and became one of only two AFL kickers with at least four field goals per game for three consecutive games.<ref name=Judge/> Cappelletti led the AFL in field-goal percentage in 1965.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cappelletti's entire career with the Patriots was spent playing home games at Fenway Park. To avoid interfering with spectator views, both home and visiting teams shared the same sideline along Fenway's left field wall, an arrangement that sometimes led to players wandering to the opposing team's bench to eavesdrop on play calls. After his retirement, he told an interviewer that during one game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he remembered coach Hank Stram "...calling for screen passes and us yelling to our defense about what was coming."<ref name=NYT/>

In 1984, Cappelletti was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was inducted to the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His number, 20, was retired by the team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was not selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, though, at the time of his death.<ref name=Judge/><ref name="NFL obit" /> He was part of the inaugural class of the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Broadcasting

Cappelletti worked alongside Gil Santos as a color commentator for the Patriots' radio broadcasts on the New England Patriots Radio Network (in the 1988–90 period, he worked alongside Dale Arnold).<ref name="Globe obit"/> The Santos–Cappelletti duo lasted 28 seasons, the longest radio tandem in modern NFL history. They called 585 regular-season and postseason games together, including six Super Bowls.<ref name=mrpatriot/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cappelletti also served as color commentator for the Boston College Eagles during the famous "Hail Flutie" game in 1984. Cappelletti can be heard supporting Dan Davis' now-famous call by yelling, "He got it! He got it! I don't believe it!"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On July 20, 2012, Cappelletti announced his retirement from broadcasting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Cappelletti was the father-in-law of ex–Boston College and Chicago Bears receiver Tom Waddle.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was not related to running back John Cappelletti of Penn State, the Heisman Trophy winner in 1973.<ref name=sccaphei>Template:Cite news</ref> Cappelletti died on May 12, 2022, at the age of 88.<ref name="Globe obit"/><ref name="NFL obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

AFL/NFL career statistics

Legend
	AFL MVP
	Led the league
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Receiving					Kicking
		GP	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
1960	BOS	14	5	1	28	28.0	28	0	8	22	36.4	35	30	32	93.8	60
1961	BOS	14	14	45	768	17.1	53	8	17	32	53.1	46	48	50	96.0	147
1962	BOS	14	14	34	479	14.1	40	5	20	37	54.1	45	38	40	95.0	128
1963	BOS	14	12	34	493	14.5	38	2	22	38	57.9	47	35	36	97.2	113
1964	BOS	14	12	49	865	17.7	58	7	25	39	64.1	51	36	36	100.0	155
1965	BOS	14	14	37	680	18.4	57	9	17	27	63.0	53	27	27	100.0	132
1966	BOS	14	14	43	676	15.7	63	6	16	34	47.1	49	35	36	97.2	119
1967	BOS	14	12	35	397	11.3	35	3	16	31	51.6	45	29	30	96.7	95
1968	BOS	14	2	13	182	14.0	30	2	15	27	55.6	42	26	26	100.0	83
1969	BOS	14	0	1	21	21.0	21	0	14	34	41.2	43	26	27	96.3	68
1970	BOS	13	0	–	–	–	–	–	6	15	40.0	41	12	13	92.3	30
Career		153	99	292	4,589	15.7	63	42	176	336	52.4	53	342	353	96.9	1,130

See also

• List of American Football League players

External links

• New England Patriots bio
• Template:Footballstats