BERKELEY – Cal legend and Hall-of-Famer Joe Kapp passed away from complications of dementia Monday at the age of 85. Kapp was best known at Cal for leading the Golden Bears to the 1959 Rose Bowl, serving as the school's head football coach in 1982 when Cal used The Play to defeat Stanford in the Big Game, and several other signature wins over the Cardinal.

Kapp's success at Cal and beyond led to his election in multiple Halls of Fame, including those of the Bay Area, British Columbia Sports, Cal Athletics, Canadian Football League, College Football, Laredo Latin American Sports and National Hispanic Sports.

In addition to his illustrious career, Kapp was also known for his memorable and often repeated phrases, most notably "The Bear will not quit. The Bear will not die."

On the gridiron at Cal, Kapp was a three-year starter at quarterback who led the Bears to the Pacific Coast Conference title and a No. 16 ranking in the final AP Top 25 during his 1958 All-American senior campaign. He was the PCC's rushing leader that season with 616 yards on the ground, which is the most ever in a single campaign by a Cal quarterback, while also scoring five rushing touchdowns. Kapp's 931 career rushing yards were also the most by a Cal signal-caller for more than a half-century before Chase Garbers broke the mark in 2021. In addition, Kapp owns the school's fourth-longest run from scrimmage of 92 yards against Oregon in 1958.

Following his Cal playing career, Kapp became the first person in his family to graduate from college when he earned his bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley in 1959.

Kapp was selected by the Washington Redskins earlier that year in the 1959 NFL Draft but spent his first eight seasons in professional football playing in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders (1959-60) and BC Lions (1961-66), leading the latter to their first Grey Cup title in 1964. He moved to the NFL for his final four pro campaigns and led the Minnesota Vikings to Super Bowl IV in 1970. Kapp played three seasons in Minnesota (1967-69) before finishing his playing career with the Boston Patriots (1970). Kapp's seven touchdown passes for the Vikings against the Baltimore Colts in 1969 are tied for the most all-time in a single game in NFL history.

Kapp is the only player to ever quarterback a team in the Rose Bowl, Grey Cup and Super Bowl.

His five-year tenure as Cal's head football coach ran from 1982-86 with his best season both his first at Cal and first as a coach at any level. Kapp earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors in 1982 when he turned around a Bears' squad that had been 2-9 in 1981 and led Cal to a 7-4 record that culminated with a win over Stanford. He would defeat Stanford three times in his five seasons as the Bears' head coach.

Kapp also lettered for the Bears in basketball for two seasons in 1956-57 and 1957-58.

Kapp had a knack for beating Stanford in both sports. In addition to his three coaching wins in five seasons against the Cardinal, he led Cal to an upset victory over All-American quarterback John Brodie and Stanford in 1956 and also was victorious against a nationally ranked Stanford team in his final regular-season game in 1958 to secure a Rose Bowl appearance. On the hardwood, Kapp sunk a buzzer-beater to defeat the Cardinal in 1957.

Off the field, Kapp was the first player to successfully sue the National Football League for free agency. That landmark but often overlooked lawsuit was instrumental in improving rights and pay for professional football players. After being locked out by the NFL in 1971 leading to the free agency lawsuit, he started an acting career that led to more than 50 roles in television and feature films including The Longest Yard. He also worked with Cesar Chavez in support of farmworker rights and was a lifelong fundraiser for organizations supporting the Latino community and UC Berkeley.

Kapp was a four-sport athlete at Hart High School (Newhall, Calif.) before arriving in Berkeley in 1955.

Joe's full biography is now available at joekappbook.com.

Memorial services are pending. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Joe Kapp scholarship for first time Latinx students at Cal through ucbclaa.org.