Vince Papale

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Vincent Francis Papale (born February 9, 1946 in Glenolden, Pennsylvania) is a former professional American football player. He played three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL following two seasons with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League. Papale was the inspiration for the 2006 movie Invincible.

[edit] High school years

Papale attended Interboro High School, and was a student and a letterman in football, basketball, and track and field. In his only year of varsity football, Papale won All-Delaware County Honorable Mention honors. In track, he was a standout pole vaulter, triple jumper, and long jumper. Vince began competing in track during his senior year at Interboro. He won the District I (Philadelphia suburban area) large-schools championship in pole vault, then finished 4th in the state meet. His best pole vault that year was 12'9", which edged him into the top 10 all-time PA high school vaulters (at that time).

[edit] College

Papale attended Philadelphia's St. Joseph's College (now University) on a track scholarship (the university did not have a football team). As a junior, he won a United States Track & Field Federation (USTFF) college development PV at Madison Square Garden (February 10) with a vault of 14'6". He never placed at IC4A or Penn Relays. He did score in the Middle Atlantic Conference championships (University Division, included La Salle College, Temple University, Lehigh University, Lafayette College, University of Delaware, Bucknell, Gettysburg College, American University, West Chester University).

His college track statistics:

Sophomore Year (1966)

Second in Pole Vault (winner 14'-3")

Second in the triple jump (winner 45'-3")

Junior Year (1967)

First in the long jump (22'-1¼")

Senior Year Guti

Third in the pole vault (winner Peter Chiniese 15'-1¾")

First in the long jump (22'-1¼")

First in the triple jump (46'-6")

He graduated in 1968 with a MS degree in Marketing/Management Science.

[edit] Professional

In 1974, while bartending at Max's in Prospect Park and substitute-teaching at Interboro High School, he successfully tried out for the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League as a wide receiver. Papale caught 9 passes for 121 yards, 13.4 average.

His performance with that team earned him a meeting with Coach Dick Vermeil of the Philadelphia Eagles after general manager Jim Murray got him an invitation to a private work-out held by Coach Vermeil.

Papale and Wahlberg during the filming of Invincible, a film based on Papale's football career

Papale, at 6-feet 2-inches (1.88 m) and 195 pounds (88.5 kg), eventually made the team, thereby becoming, at age 30, the oldest rookie in the history of the NFL to play without the benefit of college football experience (other than kickers). He went on to play wide receiver and special teams for the Eagles from 1976 through 1978. During that time, he played in 41 of 44 regular season games (regular seasons being 14 games in 1976-1977 and 16 games in 1978) recording two fumble recoveries, (including one that led to Vermeil's first NFL victory), and one 15-yard reception. He was voted Special Teams Captain by his teammates and "Man of the Year" by the Eagles in 1978 for his many charitable activities. A shoulder injury ended his career in 1979. After retiring from the NFL, he worked as a TV and radio broadcaster for eight years, then became a commercial mortgage banker.

Papale, who earned the nickname "Rocky" (after the 1976 Sylvester Stallone movie and character) while playing with the Eagles, is the subject of the Disney movie Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg. He was also reportedly the inspiration for the 1998 Tony Danza movie, The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon.^[1] In addition, Papale's legend was cited as a factor in the Eagles' signing of construction-foreman/tight-end Jeff Thomason for 2005's Super Bowl XXXIX.^[2]

Diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2001,^[3] Papale has recovered from the disease, to become a spokesman encouraging people to get regular check-ups. He has appeared in commercials for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital encouraging others to be tested.

Currently, Papale is the regional director of marketing and senior account executive for higher-education marketing at Sallie Mae. He resides in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, with his wife Janet and two children, Gabriella and Vincent.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• IMDB link to Invincible
• Papale feature at Eagles Website
• Vince Papale's Official Website
• Eagles Fly for Leukemia
• Career Statistics at pro-football-reference.com
• 7/26/2006 USA Today article, including photo