Bill Cappleman

George William Cappleman (born March 12, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played from 1967 to 1969 for the Florida State Seminoles, serving as the starting quarterback in his final two seasons. In both of his starting seasons, he was named to the All-South Independent football team. Following his college career, he was selected in the second round of the 1970 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings, serving as a backup quarterback in the 1970 season. After playing in one game for the team, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, for whom he did not play, and eventually to the Detroit Lions, where he played several games in the 1973 season. He was traded by the Lions in 1974, played in the World Football League, and was signed on as a quarterback to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1976.

Early life Cappleman was born on March 12, 1947, in Brooksville, Florida. He is a native of Dunedin, Florida, and attended Dunedin High School. In the 1967 season, he was the third-string quarterback, behind starter Kim Hammond and backup Gary Pajcic. Prior to the 1968 season, Cappleman was named the team's starting quarterback, beating out Pajcic for the spot.

In 1968, Cappleman broke the Florida State records for both passing yards and passing touchdowns, recording 2,410 yards and 25 touchdowns. Cappleman served as the quarterback for the bowl game, which the Seminoles lost by a score of 31–27 to the LSU Tigers.

College statistics Season Team Passing Rushing Cmp Att Yds Pct TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD 1967 Florida State 4 5 27 80.0 0 0 125.4 6 -5 -0.8 0 1968 Florida State 162 287 2,410 56.4 25 11 148.1 62 -68 -1.1 1 1969 Florida State 183 344 2,467 53.2 14 18 116.4 73 −332 −4.5 0 Career 349 636 4,904 54.9 39 29 130.8 141 -405 -2.9 1

Professional career Following his college career, Cappleman was selected in the second round of the 1970 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings as the 51st overall pick. However, on September 29, 1971, the Detroit Lions acquired Cappleman from the Eagles as part of a deal that granted the Eagles a third-round pick in the 1972 NFL draft. The Eagles subsequently used this pick to draft Tom Luken. Cappleman saw play time for the Lions during the 1973 season, attempting 11 passes. On August 17, 1974, Cappleman was traded by the Lions in exchange for quarterback Sam Wyche.

Following the Lions, he played in the nascent World Football League.

NFL career statistics Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fumbles 1970 MIN 1 0 — 4 7 57.1 49 7.0 49 26 0 0 78.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1973 DET 7 0 — 5 11 45.5 33 3.0 4.7 8 0 1 14.6 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 Career 8 0 — 9 18 50.0 82 4.6 10.3 26 0 1 39.6 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0 0 0 0 0

Awards and honors For the 1968 season, the Associated Press gave Cappleman an honorable mention for their 1968 College Football All-America Team. In recognition of his performance during the Seminoles' 1968 game against the Houston Cougars, Sports Illustrated named Cappleman the "national back of the week". He has a daughter who is an attorney.