Angelo Mosca, one of the greatest players in Hamilton Tiger-Cats history in the Canadian Football League, died on Saturday. He was 84 years old.
His wife Helen Mosca broke the news in a Facebook post.
She said Mosca died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, which he contracted in 2015, shortly after his 78e birthday.
A member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Mosca has won the Gray Cup on five occasions.
But Mosca’s name will be forever remembered by fans of the Canadian Football League for the controversial blow that knocked Willie Fleming out in the 1963 final against the BC Lions, and for the eventual brawl. with Joe Kapp, a teammate of Fleming, more than 40 years later.
Mosca was born on February 13, 1938 in Waltham, Massachusetts, and played college football with Notre Dame. He joined the Tiger-Cats in 1958 before being chosen in 30e round, 350e in total, by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1959 NFL Draft.
Mosca chose to remain in Canada and was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1960, where he won his first of five Gray Cup rings.
After a season with the Montreal Alouettes, he returned to Hamilton in 1963 and remained with the Tiger-Cats until he announced his retirement following the team’s triumph over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1972.
Mosca has made nine Gray Cup finals.
“He was bigger than everyone, and meaner than everyone,” said former quarterback Joe Theismann, who faced him with the Toronto Argonauts.
“Lucky for me, it only bumped into me a few times. That’s why I was able to continue playing. ”