Time heals no wounds...
Why old men fight: Bad blood runs deep for elderly former football players
Some wounds never heal . . .
Canadian football legends Joe Kapp and Angelo Mosca duked it out on stage at a Canadian Football League luncheon meant to raise awareness for post-concussion syndrome within professional sports.
Both men are well into their seventies. The former players were asked by the CFL to discuss a controversial 1963 incident that's caused the two to harbor bad blood for nearly five decades.
Kapp handed a flower to Mosca, who swatted away the peace offering with some unfriendly words. Kapp proceeded to hit his rival with the flower until Mosca counter attacked with his walking cane.
"Sportsmanship," Kapp shouted to the crowd after pushing Mosca to the ground. "That's what it's all about."
The entire fight and aftermath was caught on video, which went viral over the weekend. Monday Night Football even aired snippets of the video tonight before the Saints-Giants game with host Chris Berman leading the laughter.
"Sportsmanship," Kapp shouted to the crowd after pushing Mosca to the ground. "That's what it's all about."
Serving as the luncheon’s master of ceremonies, comedian Ron James spoke about the passion of the game as the two players returned to their seats.
The trouble goes back to the 1963 matchup between Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the B.C. Lions in the Grey Cup — Canadian football's Super Bowl equivalent. Playing for the "Ti-cats," Mosca hit Lions star running back Willie Fleming in what many believe to have been a deliberate attack. Fleming was knocked out of the game by the controversial hit — a spear in the back with Fleming already lying on the ground out of bounds.
With the star tailback out, Mosca's team won the Cup and Kapp's team lost.
Ever since, Mosca has maintained a reputation as the sport’s meanest player, a claim he later fostered in his career as a professional wrestler.
“You know I’ve always respected this man,” Mosca said, looking at Kapp. “I have never figured out why [he dreamt] of knocking the sh*t out of me.
“He’s carried a grudge for 48 years. This is one of the most unbelievable things that has happened to me in public.”
Mosca says that Kapp kicked him while he was on the floor of the stage, defenseless during the luncheon fight.
After the onstage scuffle, Kapp offered an apology for the scuffle and then told an unsettling story of how Fleming had a dog named Angelo that he used to hit.
According to The Canadian Press, tension between the two septuagenarians resurfaced at the luncheon when Kapp refused to shake Mosca’s hand at the start of the event.