38 Facts About Franklin Cappon

Franklin C "Cappy" Cappon was an American college football and college basketball player and coach.

Franklin Cappon played football and basketball at Phillips University and the University of Michigan and coached at Luther College, the University of Kansas, the University of Michigan, and Princeton University.

The son of a wealthy leather manufacturer in Holland, Michigan, Cappon was a star athlete in both basketball and football, and was named to All-Western football teams in 1920,1921, and 1922.

In 23 years at Princeton, Franklin Cappon won five Ivy League championships, and his trademark "five-man weave" offense became closely identified with the program.

Franklin Cappon was a mentor at Princeton to a generation of student-athletes, including Butch van Breda Kolff, Bill Bradley and Frank Deford.

Franklin Cappon died at age 61 of a heart attack in the showers at Princeton's Dillon Gymnasium after a basketball practice session.

Franklin Cappon was an excellent all-around athlete at Holland High School.

Franklin Cappon played four years of varsity football and basketball and was all-state in both sports.

Holland gained 755 yards of offense in the game, and Franklin Cappon alone gained 364 yards.

When Franklin Cappon graduated from high school in 1918, he was persuaded to join his brother-in-law at Phillips.

Franklin Cappon became a star athlete in both football and basketball at Michigan.

Franklin Cappon played seven games at left end for the 1920 Michigan football team, and was named to Walter Eckersall's All-Western team at the end of the 1920 season.

In 1921, Franklin Cappon played four games at left tackle, one game at left halfback, and two at right halfback.

In 1922, Franklin Cappon moved to fullback where he started all seven games for the undefeated Michigan team.

Franklin Cappon was named a second-team All-Western fullback, and Walter Eckersall named Cappon as "general utility man" for his All-Western team.

Franklin Cappon starred as a guard on the Michigan basketball team in 1921 and 1922.

Franklin Cappon returned to Luther College in the fall of 1924 as the athletic director in charge of all sports.

In February 1925, Cappon was hired by Fielding H Yost to return to Michigan as part of the school's football coaching staff.

Franklin Cappon was charged with coaching the ends and backs, a group that included All-Americans Bennie Oosterbaan, Benny Friedman and Bo Molenda.

In 1928, Franklin Cappon returned to the University of Michigan as an assistant football and basketball coach.

Franklin Cappon served as the assistant athletic director, and in 1931 accepted the additional responsibility as head coach of the basketball team.

In 1938, Franklin Cappon was hired by Princeton University as its head basketball coach.

One of the great players coached by Franklin Cappon was Butch van Breda Kolff, who succeeded Franklin Cappon as Princeton's coach in 1962.

In January 1943, Franklin Cappon tendered his resignation as coach at Princeton in order to accept a commission with the US Navy.

Franklin Cappon was assigned to St Mary's Pre-Flight School in Moraga, California.

Franklin Cappon was a lieutenant in the Naval Aviation fitness program, where he wrote training texts and directed athletics for the fleet airwing on the West Coast.

Franklin Cappon considered a fast break as a lack of discipline and would not allow his players to shoot before five or ten passes had been completed.

Franklin Cappon was in his early sixties, and his body looked as if it had been sculpted in ice cream and left in the sun.

Franklin Cappon was bald, the skin on his face drooped, he had deep shadows under his eyes.

Franklin Cappon's voice was gravelly, and he enunciated as if he had wads of Kleenex in his mouth.

Franklin Cappon always said exactly what he meant, and his language was delightfully salty.

In 1957, Franklin Cappon was inducted into the Helms Foundation College Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 1960, Franklin Cappon was part of the committee that selected the US basketball team to compete in the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Franklin Cappon was a past president of the National Basketball Coaches Association.

In January 1961, Franklin Cappon suffered a mild heart attack, and he was hospitalized again for two weeks in the summer of 1961 with an occlusion in an artery of his left arm.

Franklin Cappon returned to work at Princeton despite the stress that coaching would put on his heart.

On November 29,1961, Franklin Cappon suffered a second heart attack while showering after a basketball practice at Princeton's Dillon Gymnasium.

Donovan called for help, and when Franklin Cappon's doctor arrived ten minutes later, he found Franklin Cappon dead on the floor.