(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's Voices platform in 2011. Photo credit: APB)
Family
matters
Millions embraced the movie "Invincible" when it was released in 2006. That feature offered a snapshot of Vincent Francis Papale and his unlikely football career with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The
passion in Papale's voice was most noticeable during the afternoon I
spent with the Glenolden, Pennsylvania native. Not passion about
himself, but about the people who have been and are significant in
his life. He began by telling me about his own children.
"I'm
really blessed. My life is my family. Everything is about them,"
Papale said.
He
and his wife Janet have been married since 1993. They have two
children, Gabriella and Vincent Joseph.
Gabriella,
their daughter, is 17. She is an outgoing high school junior whose
combined goals are to become a broadcast journalist and a Victoria
Secret model. She is a cheerleader and works as a manager for the
lacrosse team. Like her mother Janet, she is also a dancer.
"Gabriella
is great with children. I support what she wants to do and also think
that a tremendous profession for her would be as a school teacher.
She is one of fifteen students who have been chosen at her high
school to go to New Orleans later this year. They will be helping to
rebuild homes in the areas that were affected by Katrina."
Vincent
Joseph is Papale's 14-year-old son, whose dream is to follow in his
father's footsteps and play in the National Football League.
"Vinny
rules the world. His favorite player is Wes Welker of the New England
Patriots. He's funny and has a lot of voices and characters, like Jim
Carey. He's a gentle, kind, kid who participates in a program at
school called 'Peer Leadership', which is an anti-bullying
initiative."
Due
to budget cuts, that program had been on the chopping block. Through
the Papale's efforts and the involvement of Dick Vermeil, funds have
been raised that will allow the program to continue for at least the
next two years.
Cinder
Block City
Life
wasn't like a movie when Papale was growing up with his parents and
an older sister. They lived in a housing project, in the Glendale
section of Philadelphia, which he referred to as 'Cinder block city.'
"They
built the place on a golf course and there was a creek that ran
through our backyard. That is where I hung out when I was young."
Papale's
mother, Almira Sage, was one of nine in her family. She was a
professional baseball player in the 1930's, but don't think "A
League of their Own." She barnstormed up and down the East Coast
in a women's hardball league. She was also a diver, swimmer and a
dancer. His mother wanted to be an Olympian, but the Great
Depression, World War II and having to work to help her family,
prevented that from happening.
Vince's
father, Frank Papale, went by the nickname 'Kingie' and was also one
of nine. Frank's mother died when he was born. His father, Vincenzo
Papale, persevered through that hardship and through the
discrimination that many Italian immigrants faced in the late 1800s
and early 1900s.
Vincenzo
was a pig farmer, a cello player, a semi-pro football, a baseball
player and a runner. He participated in the Penn Relays, as his
namesake grandson would also come to do many years later.
Kingie
and Almira
'Kingie'
met his future wife, Almira, at a football game after getting into a
fight with a player from the opposing team. That player turned out to
be his future brother-in-law.
Like
other men in the area, he provided for his family by working at a
blue collar job on the Delaware River. He called Westinghouse his
workplace home for 40 years. Because of the long hours his Dad spent
at his job, young Vince caught passes that were thrown by his mother
in their backyard.
The
blending of prevalent athletic family genes and a strong free will,
naturally made competitive sports a part of Papale's life.
"I
knew I was good at sports from Day 1. Every July Fourth we raced at
Glenolden Park. I would win all of the races for the 8 and under, 9
and under, 10 and under. People would bet on me. I ran barefoot and
was known as Seabiscuit."
But,
life wasn't all fun and games. One day in 1958, as Papale was coming
home from school, he saw his mother being taken away in an ambulance.
She was later diagnosed with Tinnitus, which is a ringing sensation
in one, or both, ears. The condition permanently influenced her
health and the life of her family.
A
good coach makes a difference
Papale
grew in size and experience during his teenage years. The roots of
his nature were also forming through a number of positive influences,
as many important coaches came into his life.
"One
of the reasons I give, is because people gave of themselves to me,"
Papale said.
A
lasting relationship was formed when Papale met George Corner, who
was his first male teacher at Interboro Junior High School. An
imposing man, Corner was also was the school's football and
basketball coach. One day Corner passed by the lunch table where
Papale was eating.
"I
had been saying some unpleasant things about my mom and he told me
that he didn't appreciate what he had heard."
Corner
relayed to him that his own mother and sister had serious health
issues when he was young. He told Papale that he understood how his
mother's condition could affect his home life. He also told him that
he would be there if he ever needed him.
"I
leaned on him a lot and he took me under his wing."
Papale
was 4 feet 5 inches tall and weighed only 75 pounds when he was in
the seventh grade. By ninth grade, after he had grown to be 4 feet 11
inches tall and had gained another 20 pounds, he decided to try out
for the football team.
"Coach
Corner let me try out for the team and I made it. I also ran track
and was a guard on the basketball team."
Marty
Stern
His
track coach, Marty Stern, became another mentor. Stern had just
graduated from West Chester and like Papale was tough, despite his
small stature.
"He
was a little guy, who wasn't much bigger than me, but he could run
like the wind. I had great speed, but he refined my style and made me
feel really special."
New
school - old coach
Papale
initially faced a different atmosphere than he was use to when he
first went to high school. The head football coach told him that he
was too small to play on the team and so he didn't become a member of
it. However, he did play basketball.
When
he was a senior in high school an old mentor came back into his life,
as coach Corner accepted a position as the head football and track
coach.
"Coach
Corner did the same thing that Dick Vermeil did for me years later,
he broke the rules. Normally, first year seniors aren't allowed to
come out for football, but I was. I wound up leading the team in
receptions and touchdowns. I went on to become an honorable mention
wide receiver as a 5 foot 7 inch, 160 pound player."
Papale
broke his wrist shortly after Thanksgiving, 1963. Because of how bad
it was shattered, he was told that he would never be able to use his
hand again. But, he willed himself through to recovery.
Corner
asked him to go out for track in the spring so that he could get into
shape for the upcoming football season. Papale wanted to pole vault,
but Corner said that he had promised his father that he wouldn't
allow him to do that.
As
a boy, Papale had practiced vaulting in his backyard using metal
clothes line poles. Because they were so easily bent, he started
using bamboo poles instead. Those poles, that were originally used in
the middle of rugs, helped him vault up to 8 feet in the air before
he landed on a makeshift bed of mattresses.
Papale
has bamboo poles in his backyard these days as well. He will be using
them to help his son practice vaulting.
The
hairy eyeball
During
his first track meet against Media, Papale's father unexpectedly
appeared.
"I
didn't know that he was going to be there. He came walking up in his
Westinghouse blues and gave me the 'hairy eyeball' look, but didn't
say anything."
Papale's
father saw his son set the school pole vault record that day. He went
on to win county, suburban and district championships. He also
finished fifth in a state competition.
On
Father's Day 1964, he went head-to-head against the best pole
vaulters in the Tri-State area. Three of his competitors had been
given scholarships to Villanova, LaSalle and St. Joe's. In dual meets
he led off by winning the 440 meter relay and ran first and second in
the high hurdles. He also won the long jump, the triple jump and the
pole vault competitions.
Papale
jumped 18 inches higher on that day than he ever had before. Four
colleges offered him track scholarships before he left the field.
Onto
college
By
the time Papale was ready to go to college, he had grown to be 6 feet
2 inches tall and weighed 185 pounds. He was accepted into the West
Chester state teacher's college. Walt Buechle was their freshman
football coach and said that he would let Papale try out for the
football team as a walk-on freshman.
Even
though the school didn't have a football program, Papale decided to
attend St. Joseph's University where he received a track scholarship.
When he was a junior, he won the United States Track and Field
Federation award at Madison Square Garden as a result of his14 foot 6
inch vault.
"Great
coaches instill discipline, fundamentals and consistency. They are
organized and fair. You know exactly where they stand," Papale
said.
College
coaches Rich Branton, Bob Cindico, Lou Nicastro and Kevin Quinn
taught him that he could be a tough guy and a nice guy at the same
time.
"My
coaches were all school teachers. One of the big factors that is
currently being lost in sports is the teaching element."
Freddy
After
graduating from St. Joe's with a Masters degree in Marketing and
Management Science, Papale accepted a job as a track coach at a
familiar location, Interboro High School.
During
the spring of his first year as coach, Papale called for a weekend
practice session to help his track team prepare for an upcoming meet.
Because it was scheduled during the Easter holiday weekend, all
senior team members chose to boycott practice. Papale decided that
his runners needed to face consequences for their actions. So, he
suspended them from participating in the upcoming meet.
"The
first dual meet we were going to have, I was going to bend and let
them back in, but I didn't. We lost that meet by one point."
One
of the runners who did understand the value of discipline and
sacrifice was Freddy Leopold. He had practiced and was going to
participate in that dual meet.
"Freddy
came from 50 yards behind in the mile relay. He got to the finish
line and gave it everything he had, but was a yard behind the winner.
Even without the seniors participating, if we had won that event, we
would have won the meet."
Papale
still has a photo of him holding Leopold in his arms after the race.
The young runner pictured went on to serve his country as a medic in
the military. He was killed after stepping on a land mine in Vietnam.
"To
this day, I still get chills when I think about him in that race."
The
NFL and Hollywood
Invincible
became a movie because its subject, Papale, never stopped pursuing
his dreams. In the 1970s, while teaching and coaching, he also played
semi-professional football and was a member of the World Football
League's Philadelphia Bell.
In
1976, Eagles coach Dick Vermeil announced open tryouts for the team.
At 30, Papale became the oldest rookie to ever make the roster of an
NFL team. The feat was all the more remarkable because he had not
played college football.
He
went on to be voted Special Teams Captain by his teammates. Due to
his charity work, he was named Eagles Man of the Year in 1978. By
1979, a shoulder injury ended his gridiron glory.
Business
career
After
retiring from the NFL, Papale worked in the mortgage banking industry
and became a sports broadcaster. He also won a battle with colorectal
cancer in 2001.
The
Disney movie Invincible and
Papale's first book, Invincible
- My Journey From Fan to Team Captain were
both released in 2006.
Invincible
Kids
"Everyone
has their invincible moment."
Today,
he is a sought after speaker who has also initiated an 'Invincible
Kids' program. This effort allows him to give voice to the spirit of
children around the country who have overcome great odds and serve as
inspirational role models.
Board
of directors
Papale
has recently been voted onto the Board of Directors, Charity
Division, for the NFL Alumni Association.
"One
of our initiatives is to help players who haven't been as fortunate
as I have been."
New
playbook
Consistency
is one of the principals that Papale lives his life by. It is also
something that he speaks about in his forthcoming book, Papale's
Playbook: You Can Be Invincible In Tough Times...Analyze, Adapt and
Achieve, which is due to be released later this year.
Never
believe that people who achieve and maintain success do so by chance.
Individuals like Vince Papale are smart and have consistently worked
to have earned all that they have accomplished.
How
we respond to the 'Invincible Moments' in our lives defines who we
are and who we can become.
Details about Papale's life, as well as all of the positive efforts that he is involved in can be found on his website: vincepapale.com. Currently, he is also a spokesperson for stopcoloncancernow.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's Voices platform in 2011. Photo credit: APB)
Family
matters
Millions embraced the movie "Invincible" when it was released in 2006. That feature offered a snapshot of Vincent Francis Papale and his unlikely football career with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The
passion in Papale's voice was most noticeable during the afternoon I
spent with the Glenolden, Pennsylvania native. Not passion about
himself, but about the people who have been and are significant in
his life. He began by telling me about his own children.
"I'm
really blessed. My life is my family. Everything is about them,"
Papale said.
He
and his wife Janet have been married since 1993. They have two
children, Gabriella and Vincent Joseph.
Gabriella,
their daughter, is 17. She is an outgoing high school junior whose
combined goals are to become a broadcast journalist and a Victoria
Secret model. She is a cheerleader and works as a manager for the
lacrosse team. Like her mother Janet, she is also a dancer.
"Gabriella
is great with children. I support what she wants to do and also think
that a tremendous profession for her would be as a school teacher.
She is one of fifteen students who have been chosen at her high
school to go to New Orleans later this year. They will be helping to
rebuild homes in the areas that were affected by Katrina."
Vincent
Joseph is Papale's 14-year-old son, whose dream is to follow in his
father's footsteps and play in the National Football League.
"Vinny
rules the world. His favorite player is Wes Welker of the New England
Patriots. He's funny and has a lot of voices and characters, like Jim
Carey. He's a gentle, kind, kid who participates in a program at
school called 'Peer Leadership', which is an anti-bullying
initiative."
Due
to budget cuts, that program had been on the chopping block. Through
the Papale's efforts and the involvement of Dick Vermeil, funds have
been raised that will allow the program to continue for at least the
next two years.
Cinder
Block City
Life
wasn't like a movie when Papale was growing up with his parents and
an older sister. They lived in a housing project, in the Glendale
section of Philadelphia, which he referred to as 'Cinder block city.'
"They
built the place on a golf course and there was a creek that ran
through our backyard. That is where I hung out when I was young."
Papale's
mother, Almira Sage, was one of nine in her family. She was a
professional baseball player in the 1930's, but don't think "A
League of their Own." She barnstormed up and down the East Coast
in a women's hardball league. She was also a diver, swimmer and a
dancer. His mother wanted to be an Olympian, but the Great
Depression, World War II and having to work to help her family,
prevented that from happening.
Vince's
father, Frank Papale, went by the nickname 'Kingie' and was also one
of nine. Frank's mother died when he was born. His father, Vincenzo
Papale, persevered through that hardship and through the
discrimination that many Italian immigrants faced in the late 1800s
and early 1900s.
Vincenzo
was a pig farmer, a cello player, a semi-pro football, a baseball
player and a runner. He participated in the Penn Relays, as his
namesake grandson would also come to do many years later.
Kingie
and Almira
'Kingie'
met his future wife, Almira, at a football game after getting into a
fight with a player from the opposing team. That player turned out to
be his future brother-in-law.
Like
other men in the area, he provided for his family by working at a
blue collar job on the Delaware River. He called Westinghouse his
workplace home for 40 years. Because of the long hours his Dad spent
at his job, young Vince caught passes that were thrown by his mother
in their backyard.
The
blending of prevalent athletic family genes and a strong free will,
naturally made competitive sports a part of Papale's life.
"I
knew I was good at sports from Day 1. Every July Fourth we raced at
Glenolden Park. I would win all of the races for the 8 and under, 9
and under, 10 and under. People would bet on me. I ran barefoot and
was known as Seabiscuit."
But,
life wasn't all fun and games. One day in 1958, as Papale was coming
home from school, he saw his mother being taken away in an ambulance.
She was later diagnosed with Tinnitus, which is a ringing sensation
in one, or both, ears. The condition permanently influenced her
health and the life of her family.
A
good coach makes a difference
Papale
grew in size and experience during his teenage years. The roots of
his nature were also forming through a number of positive influences,
as many important coaches came into his life.
"One
of the reasons I give, is because people gave of themselves to me,"
Papale said.
A
lasting relationship was formed when Papale met George Corner, who
was his first male teacher at Interboro Junior High School. An
imposing man, Corner was also was the school's football and
basketball coach. One day Corner passed by the lunch table where
Papale was eating.
"I
had been saying some unpleasant things about my mom and he told me
that he didn't appreciate what he had heard."
Corner
relayed to him that his own mother and sister had serious health
issues when he was young. He told Papale that he understood how his
mother's condition could affect his home life. He also told him that
he would be there if he ever needed him.
"I
leaned on him a lot and he took me under his wing."
Papale
was 4 feet 5 inches tall and weighed only 75 pounds when he was in
the seventh grade. By ninth grade, after he had grown to be 4 feet 11
inches tall and had gained another 20 pounds, he decided to try out
for the football team.
"Coach
Corner let me try out for the team and I made it. I also ran track
and was a guard on the basketball team."
Marty
Stern
His
track coach, Marty Stern, became another mentor. Stern had just
graduated from West Chester and like Papale was tough, despite his
small stature.
"He
was a little guy, who wasn't much bigger than me, but he could run
like the wind. I had great speed, but he refined my style and made me
feel really special."
New
school - old coach
Papale
initially faced a different atmosphere than he was use to when he
first went to high school. The head football coach told him that he
was too small to play on the team and so he didn't become a member of
it. However, he did play basketball.
When
he was a senior in high school an old mentor came back into his life,
as coach Corner accepted a position as the head football and track
coach.
"Coach
Corner did the same thing that Dick Vermeil did for me years later,
he broke the rules. Normally, first year seniors aren't allowed to
come out for football, but I was. I wound up leading the team in
receptions and touchdowns. I went on to become an honorable mention
wide receiver as a 5 foot 7 inch, 160 pound player."
Papale
broke his wrist shortly after Thanksgiving, 1963. Because of how bad
it was shattered, he was told that he would never be able to use his
hand again. But, he willed himself through to recovery.
Corner
asked him to go out for track in the spring so that he could get into
shape for the upcoming football season. Papale wanted to pole vault,
but Corner said that he had promised his father that he wouldn't
allow him to do that.
As
a boy, Papale had practiced vaulting in his backyard using metal
clothes line poles. Because they were so easily bent, he started
using bamboo poles instead. Those poles, that were originally used in
the middle of rugs, helped him vault up to 8 feet in the air before
he landed on a makeshift bed of mattresses.
Papale
has bamboo poles in his backyard these days as well. He will be using
them to help his son practice vaulting.
The
hairy eyeball
During
his first track meet against Media, Papale's father unexpectedly
appeared.
"I
didn't know that he was going to be there. He came walking up in his
Westinghouse blues and gave me the 'hairy eyeball' look, but didn't
say anything."
Papale's
father saw his son set the school pole vault record that day. He went
on to win county, suburban and district championships. He also
finished fifth in a state competition.
On
Father's Day 1964, he went head-to-head against the best pole
vaulters in the Tri-State area. Three of his competitors had been
given scholarships to Villanova, LaSalle and St. Joe's. In dual meets
he led off by winning the 440 meter relay and ran first and second in
the high hurdles. He also won the long jump, the triple jump and the
pole vault competitions.
Papale
jumped 18 inches higher on that day than he ever had before. Four
colleges offered him track scholarships before he left the field.
Onto
college
By
the time Papale was ready to go to college, he had grown to be 6 feet
2 inches tall and weighed 185 pounds. He was accepted into the West
Chester state teacher's college. Walt Buechle was their freshman
football coach and said that he would let Papale try out for the
football team as a walk-on freshman.
Even
though the school didn't have a football program, Papale decided to
attend St. Joseph's University where he received a track scholarship.
When he was a junior, he won the United States Track and Field
Federation award at Madison Square Garden as a result of his14 foot 6
inch vault.
"Great
coaches instill discipline, fundamentals and consistency. They are
organized and fair. You know exactly where they stand," Papale
said.
College
coaches Rich Branton, Bob Cindico, Lou Nicastro and Kevin Quinn
taught him that he could be a tough guy and a nice guy at the same
time.
"My
coaches were all school teachers. One of the big factors that is
currently being lost in sports is the teaching element."
Freddy
After
graduating from St. Joe's with a Masters degree in Marketing and
Management Science, Papale accepted a job as a track coach at a
familiar location, Interboro High School.
During
the spring of his first year as coach, Papale called for a weekend
practice session to help his track team prepare for an upcoming meet.
Because it was scheduled during the Easter holiday weekend, all
senior team members chose to boycott practice. Papale decided that
his runners needed to face consequences for their actions. So, he
suspended them from participating in the upcoming meet.
"The
first dual meet we were going to have, I was going to bend and let
them back in, but I didn't. We lost that meet by one point."
One
of the runners who did understand the value of discipline and
sacrifice was Freddy Leopold. He had practiced and was going to
participate in that dual meet.
"Freddy
came from 50 yards behind in the mile relay. He got to the finish
line and gave it everything he had, but was a yard behind the winner.
Even without the seniors participating, if we had won that event, we
would have won the meet."
Papale
still has a photo of him holding Leopold in his arms after the race.
The young runner pictured went on to serve his country as a medic in
the military. He was killed after stepping on a land mine in Vietnam.
"To
this day, I still get chills when I think about him in that race."
The
NFL and Hollywood
Invincible
became a movie because its subject, Papale, never stopped pursuing
his dreams. In the 1970s, while teaching and coaching, he also played
semi-professional football and was a member of the World Football
League's Philadelphia Bell.
In
1976, Eagles coach Dick Vermeil announced open tryouts for the team.
At 30, Papale became the oldest rookie to ever make the roster of an
NFL team. The feat was all the more remarkable because he had not
played college football.
He
went on to be voted Special Teams Captain by his teammates. Due to
his charity work, he was named Eagles Man of the Year in 1978. By
1979, a shoulder injury ended his gridiron glory.
Business
career
After
retiring from the NFL, Papale worked in the mortgage banking industry
and became a sports broadcaster. He also won a battle with colorectal
cancer in 2001.
The
Disney movie Invincible and
Papale's first book, Invincible
- My Journey From Fan to Team Captain were
both released in 2006.
Invincible
Kids
"Everyone
has their invincible moment."
Today,
he is a sought after speaker who has also initiated an 'Invincible
Kids' program. This effort allows him to give voice to the spirit of
children around the country who have overcome great odds and serve as
inspirational role models.
Board
of directors
Papale
has recently been voted onto the Board of Directors, Charity
Division, for the NFL Alumni Association.
"One of our initiatives is to help players who haven't been as fortunate as I have been."
New
playbook
Consistency
is one of the principals that Papale lives his life by. It is also
something that he speaks about in his forthcoming book, Papale's
Playbook: You Can Be Invincible In Tough Times...Analyze, Adapt and
Achieve, which is due to be released later this year.
Never
believe that people who achieve and maintain success do so by chance.
Individuals like Vince Papale are smart and have consistently worked
to have earned all that they have accomplished.
How
we respond to the 'Invincible Moments' in our lives defines who we
are and who we can become.
Details about Papale's life, as well as all of the positive efforts that he is involved in can be found on his website: vincepapale.com. Currently, he is also a spokesperson for stopcoloncancernow.com.
Details about Papale's life, as well as all of the positive efforts that he is involved in can be found on his website: vincepapale.com. Currently, he is also a spokesperson for stopcoloncancernow.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
