Okay, so anyone who is anyone within the Philadelphia Eagles fan base from Philly, from any part of PA or this country, or perhaps even those outside the country across the many seas can tell you about Vince Papale. Sure, Papale never played college football and got in during an open invite when new head coach Dick Vermeil opened up the opportunity back in 1976, but how many people knew anything about Vince BEFORE his Eagles tenure or kept tabs on him AFTER his tenure? That is where the balk of this article will be focusing on so sit back, relax, and perhaps even YOU Joe Q. Eagles diehard will learn a thing or two!
Vincent Francis Papale was born on February 9th in 1946 in Glenolden, Pennsylvania into an athletic family with his father and grandfather being pig farmers and his mother having a run as a baseball player in the 1930’s. Papale attended Interboro High School in Glenolden and lettered in basketball, football, and track and field however he only played one year of football, earning All-Delaware Country Honorable Mention. But he was a standout pole vault, triple and long jump as he won the District-I championship in pole vault during his senior year and finished 4th in the state meet. In fact, his best pole vault was 12 feet and 9 inches which, at the time, put him in the top-10 all-time highest vaulters in state history.
From 1964 to 1968, Papale attended St. Joe’s University in Philadelphia as he graduated with an MS degree in Marketing and Management Science, but once again his true love came out: track and field. He took this up solely because the school did not have a football program as he placed 2nd in pole vault and triple jump as a sophomore, 1st in the long jump as a junior, and 1st in long and triple jump and 3rd in pole vault his senior year. And Papale even earned national honors with a United States Track and Field Federation (USTFF) college development PV at the world famous Madison Square Garden on February 19th of 1967.
Fresh out of college, Papale took a job as a substitute at his high school alma mater from 1968 to 1974. After the 1974 school year ended, Papale decided to go and tryout for the Philadelphia Bell, a World Football League (WFL) team and played for them in 1974 and 1975: he caught nine passes for 121 yards in two years. While playing football for the WFL, he tended bar at Max’s in Prospect Park whenever he had the chance to make additional cash.
But in 1976, New Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil offered an open invitation to ANYONE who thought they could make the football team. And while the thought of this was pretty unusual and an inviting measure for them to fail, Papale defied the odds and made the final 53-man roster. Vince Papale would later go on and play for the Eagles from 1976 to 1978 and possibly longer had he not suffered a career ending shoulder injury in the Pre-season of 1979.
Soon after retiring, Papale took up radio and TV work for the Eagles for eight years until 1987 when he decided to become a broking manager and eventually earned a top spot in the Sallie Mae Company. In 2001, Papale was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and has since recovered from the condition and became a spokesman for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Currently, Papale is the regional director of higher education for Sallie Mae while residing in Cherry Hill New Jersey with daughter Gabriella, son Vincent, and his wife Janet.
But the legend of Papale, whether it was in 1976, 1998, or even the year 2005 lives on. In 1977, Papale earned the nickname “Rocky” after the movie on the famous boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. Then in 1998 came a small Disney film based loosely off of Papale but instead the man Barney Gormon (played by Tony Danza) was a garbage man who was spotted by the Eagles and became their star kicker. There is also the allusion that the Eagles signed former construction worker and Packers tight end Jeff Thomason for Superbowl 39 (a one game deal) because it came from the mold of Papale: hard worker turned football player.
Then came the movie in 2006 called “Invinceable” staring Mark Wahlberg as Papale and while Vince had a large hand in the filming and production of the movie for authentic measures, things also were exaggerated and mislead. For example:
-The movie never alludes to the fact that Vince played for the WFL even WHILE he was tending bar.
-At the beginning it has Vince getting upset over the fact that his first wife left him: in real life that happened in 1971 not 1976.
-Vince never scored a touchdown in real life: that was for dramatic effect.
-When Vince finds out he made the team it was in the locker room not outside in the parking lot when his car broke down.
-In the movie, Vince’s buddies beg him to go to the tryouts while in real life the exact opposite happened: he hardly let anyone know in real life.
Originally the movie came to fruitarian when a Papale special was shown in November of 2002 during a Monday Night match-up between the 49ers and Eagles to celebrate the 25th anniversary of him joining the team and Rocky the movie.
Not bad: and all that for $21,000 dollars too*
*21,000 was the initial salary of Vince’s in his rookie year with the Eagles: by the 1978 season his contract was worth $45,000.
-RipperEagle
