John Cappelletti
Football
Local, Monsignor Bonner High
Played football at Monsignor Bonner High School
Named 1st Team All-Delco (1969)
Named 1st Team All-Catholic (1969)
Played at DB and RB for Penn State Univeristy (1971-73)
Career stats at PSU: 2639 YDS RUSH, 29 TD, 120 YDS/GM, 5.1 YDS/ATT
Switched to RB for his Junior and Senior season
Gained 1522 YDS RUSH with 17 TD in his senior season
Established an NCAA record by rushing for 200+ YDS in three consecutive games (1973)
Led the Nittany Lions to an undefeated season and a win in the Orange Bowl (1973)
During his collegiate career, PSU had a record of 34-2 with 3 bowl victories
Coach Paterno has called him “the greatest player I have ever coached”
Current rank on the Nittany Lions Career Leaders
Consensus 1st Team All-American (1973)
- AP
- UPI
- The Sporting News
- The College Football News
- Walter Camp Foundation
- AFCA
Named College Football Player of the Year by various groups (1973)
- ABC
- UPI
- Washington Touchdown Club
- Walter Camp Foundation
Named Amateur Athlete of the Year by the PSWA (1973)
Received the Maxwell Award as the Collegiate Football Player of the Year (1973)
Recipient of the Heisman Trophy (1973)
His Heisman acceptance speech, where he dedicated his award to his dying brother, is one of the most memorable in college sports
Drafted in the 1st Round (11th overall) by the LA Rams in the NFL Draft (1974)
Played 9 seasons as a RB in the NFL
- Los Angeles Rams (1974-78)
- San Diego Chargers (1980-83
Career NFL stats: 2951 YDS RUSH, 24 TD RUSH, 3.6 YDS/ATT, 1233 YDS REC, 4 TD REC
Named to the Pennsylvania Football News 2nd Team high school football All-Century Team
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (1993)