Growing up in Western Canada in the late '50s and early '60s, my guy was Joe Kapp. He broke into the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders, then was traded to the B.C. Lions, where he teamed up with the great Willie Fleming to guide the Lions to their first Grey Cup championship. In 1965, when I was 9 years old, the Lions held their training camp at the military college where my father served as head PE instructor, so for three glorious weeks I got to hang around the players. Getting to meet and play catch with Kapp was a dream come true, and he couldn't have been a nicer guy. In fact, all the players were terrific in going out of their way to make a star-struck kid feel at home. Great memories.
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