MOONEYHAM COLUMN: Mosca vs. Kapp: Battle for the Aged

It wasn’t exactly a fight for the ages, but it certainly was a fight for the aged.

Angelo “King Kong” Mosca must have had a flashback to his wrestling days when the once-rugged bruiser known as “Big Nasty” and former Canadian Football League rival Joe Kapp went Ali-Frazier in front of startled onlookers at a gathering in Vancouver, British Columbia.

On second thought, maybe Lemmon-Matthau would be closer.

The two septuagenarian CFL legends, rekindling a feud nearly a half-century old, got into a fist fight at — of all things — an alumni function honoring former league players.

And get this. The luncheon was intended to raise awareness for post-concussion syndrome.

The unscheduled brawl between the league’s version of “Grumpy Old Men” immediately went viral and turned into a YouTube favorite this past week.

Kapp, 73, a former pro quarterback and coach of the Cal Bears from 1982-86, traded blows with longtime adversary Mosca, a 74-year-old ex-defensive lineman and longtime professional wrestler.

The two old foes have disliked one another since a contentious 1963 Grey Cup game when Mosca delivered a Ndamukong Suh-like blow to Kapp’s teammate, running back Willie Fleming, a questionable shot that many felt was a late hit out of bounds. Fleming was forced from the game, and Mosca’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats won the championship over Kapp’s British Columbia Lions.

For those keeping score, that was eight days after the Kennedy Assassination.

Kapp refused to shake Mosca’s hand afterward, and apparently the bad blood has remained.

When Mosca and Kapp were introduced at the recent luncheon, host Ron James urged Kapp to offer Mosca a symbolic olive branch as a peace offering.

Kapp attempted to present a flower he had plucked from a table centerpiece, but Mosca angrily pushed his arm away. The former Minnesota Vikings QB then swiped Mosca with the flower, and Mosca responded by hitting Kapp in the head with his cane. Kapp retaliated with a right cross that felled Mosca.

“On his way down I couldn’t resist kicking him in the (behind),” Kapp said.

Mosca later took the microphone and apologized for the run-in. Kapp, meanwhile, admitted that he still held a grudge over that late hit 48 years ago. He told the audience that Fleming was a good friend of his and owned a cat that he had named after Mosca, a feline that Kapp said he took great pleasure in taking a “kick” at every time he visited Fleming.

Mosca claims Kapp started things by swearing at him after he tried to say hello. The organizers may have made a mistake by showing a clip of the 1963 incident before Kapp and Mosca took the stage.

“They showed the Willie Fleming incident on the screen — it was like it was a setup,” said Mosca. “He (Kapp) comes up to me with a flower in his hand taken from the table, one of the centerpieces, and he sticks the flower in my nose. Then he shoves it in my nose. I reacted with my cane, and then he punched me and I went down. Then he kicked me.”

Emcee James said the luncheon fracas, which left the audience in shocked silence, was definitely unplanned.

“People had assumed it was staged or premeditated, but it was nothing of the sort,” he told CBS News.

“Joe Kapp, the 73-year-old quarterback — proof positive, don’t mix with your meds with your liquor — hauled off and nailed him and the fight was on,” said James.

“Ed Nemir, the old boxing coach at Cal, would have been proud of that right cross. He kind of wanted me out for the team, but I was busy playing basketball,” Kapp joked to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Kapp, who holds the distinction of being the only person to play quarterback in the Super Bowl, the Rose Bowl and the Grey Cup, said he regretted the incident but sounded anything but contrite, calling Mosca “a professional bully.”

“The altercation should have been avoided there because it was a celebration of teamwork and togetherness within the country,” Kapp told The Canadian Press.

“It’s a shame it happened,” said Mosca, who added that he wasn’t hurt, just more stunned than anything else. Kapp said he injured his head and had to visit the doctor after returning home.

A day later, though, Mosca told the Hamilton Spectator: “It’s kind of sad. I don’t go to bed thinking about Joe Kapp every night. But Joe Kapp must go to bed every night thinking about Mosca hitting Willie Fleming. I have nothing against Joe Kapp and I don’t care about Joe Kapp.”

Mosca told the Toronto Sun that he’s had a hard time emotionally dealing with the incident.

“I’ve had an empty feeling, a very empty feeling. It’s been really tough. I’ve just been staying at home watching TV, not going out in public. I’m just getting over this. I’ve had a helluva couple of days.”

Kapp was known as a tough, bare-knuckle competitor throughout his career quarterbacking in the CFL and NFL. He also earned a measure of notoriety during a post-game press conference during the end of his run as Cal coach when he unzipped his pants in front of the media.

Mosca, a hard-nosed, 300-pound lineman-turned-bad guy pro wrestler with a gravely voice and hulking presence, came by the moniker “Big Nasty” honestly.

Blackjack Mulligan (Bob Windham), a former ring rival and partner of Mosca, chuckled at the utter absurdity of the incident and the two ex-athletes becoming viral video stars.

“That was funny ... two old geezers. Think I can take both,” he commented.

-- Matt Hardy was released from a North Carolina jail last week after his $1 million secured bond was reduced to $100,000.

Hardy, who spent 10 days behind bars, was incarcerated after being booted from his court-ordered substance abuse program. He failed a Breathalyzer test on Nov. 19, claiming that he hadn’t consumed alcohol, instead blaming the positive read on a mouthwash.

As a condition of his release, Hardy was ordered to go directly to a rehab facility to complete substance abuse treatment.

It’s still early in the game, but younger brother Jeff Hardy is apparently making strides in TNA.

Very impressed with the way Jeff Hardy is handling himself,” TNA executive producer Eric Bischoff wrote on his Twitter account. “Taken responsibility, changed his life and is 100 percent professional. I doubted Jeff. Not anymore.”

-- Singer Mary J. Blige, rock band Nickelback, comedian George Wallace, Extra’s Maria Menounos and Miss USA Alyssa Campanella will appearing on WWE’s fourth annual Tribute to the Troops show that tapes Dec. 11 in Fayetteville, N.C., and will air as a two-hour special on USA Network on Dec. 13 and as a one-hour special on NBC on Dec. 17.

Menounos is scheduled to wrestle on the show in a Divas match.

The special also will feature a goodwill visit to the troops in Afghanistan by Vince McMahon, Kofi Kingston, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, as well as WWE stars’ visit with the troops and families at Fort Bragg.

-- WWE is bringing its “Raw World Tour 2011” to the North Charleston Coliseum on Saturday night.

The main event will feature C.M. Punk, John Cena and Alberto Del Rio in a Triple Threat match for the WWE heavyweight title. Other top bouts include Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett, Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental title, and Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga vs. Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne for the WWE tag-team belts.

Tickets start at $16 and are available at the Performing Arts Center box office or online at Ticketmaster.com. Charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.