Alfred Richard Carapella (April 26, 1927 – October 17, 2020) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

who played for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

Early life and education

Carapella was born on April 26, 1927 in Tuckahoe, New York. During the Depression, Carapella lived with his three siblings in a cold water flat in Tuckahoe. While attending

Tuckahoe High School Tuckahoe High School is a historic high school located in Eastchester, Westchester County, New York. It was built in 1930–1931, and is a three-story brick building with Aztec-inspired cast stone trim in the Art Deco style. The front facade is co ...

, he lettered in football and baseball, excelling at both. Carapella was named to

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

's All-County football team in 1942, and he helped Tuckahoe High's baseball team win conference championships in 1943 and 1944. After his junior year, Carapella had his older brother sign a waiver to allow him to try out for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

baseball club. After a tryout at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

, the Giants signed Carapella to a minor league contract. He was assigned to the

Richmond Colts The Richmond Colts were a minor league baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1953. They played in the Virginia League in 1894, and in another Virginia League in 1900, and another Virginia League from 1906 ...

, then moved to the

Erie Sailors The Erie Sailors was the primary name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Erie, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1994. Pre-1930s Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the Interstate League (1906–1907, 1913, 19 ...

. Because he signed a professional contract, Carapella was ineligible to compete in high school athletics during his senior year.

U.S. Army

Upon graduating from Tuckahoe High School in 1945, Carapella was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. Carapella was deployed to Germany, where he played football with the

Berlin Bears ''Buddy Bears'' are painted, life-size fiberglass bear sculptures developed by German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with sculptor Roman Strobl. They have become a landmark of Berlin and are considered unofficial ambassa ...

, an interservice team composed of several college and

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

football players. Upon noticing that he could compete with players of that caliber, Carapella decided to pursue football when he was discharged from the Army. He asked his former high school coach to try to set up some workouts with college programs, and Carapella was invited to try out for the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Carapella garnered scholarship offers from both schools, but his offer letter from Kentucky was addressed to his uncle by mistake, and he was unaware of the offer until after he had enrolled at Miami.

University of Miami

During his first year at Miami, Carapella played on the freshman football team, playing offensive line and fullback. In his senior year, Carapella helped lead the undefeated Hurricanes to an

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

berth, where they were defeated by Clemson by a score of 15-14 after Miami surrendered a late safety. Carapella died on October 17, 2020, in Tuckahoe, New York at age 93.

References

1927 births 2020 deaths American football defensive linemen Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Miami Hurricanes football players Military personnel from New York (state) People from Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York San Francisco 49ers players United States Army personnel of World War II Western Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from New York (state) {{defensive-lineman-1920s-stub