William George Capece (born April 1, 1959) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

for three seasons with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

. Capece attended

Chaminade High School Chaminade High School is a Marianist college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola on Long Island, New York. Chaminade’s main campus is also home to Saragossa Retreat Center, one of their three retreat houses. The other retreat houses i ...

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

along with

David Shula David Donald Shula (born May 28, 1959) is a former American football coach and player. Shula served as the head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1992 to 1996, compiling a record of 19–52. He is the so ...

, and was invited by Shula's father,

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

coach

Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...

, to attend Dolphin practices and work out with placekicker

Garo Yepremian Garabed Sarkis "Garo" Yepremian (2 June 1944 – 15 May 2015) was an Armenian-Cypriot American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Miami Dolphins. During his nine seasons with ...

. It was Yepremian who provided Capece with the encouragement to consider a career in professional football. Capece attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, where he graduated as the holder of FSU's records for single-season scoring (104 points), most field goals in a game (five, against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

), and field goal percentage (100%). His 104 points in 1980 were the most by a kicker in national collegiate history. He was signed to a professional contract with the Buccaneers in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, during a week in which the Buccaneers cut both their placekicker and their punter. Ironically, Capece's signing marked the end of his former mentor's career, as Yepremian was the player he was signed to replace. Capece missed a field goal and an extra point in a

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

loss to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the 1983 home finale, and was told to stay home for the season’s final game in Detroit. After that game, a 23-20 loss, coach John McKay made his famous announcement that "Capece is kaput". Capece returned as the team's placekicker the following season, but was waived following a poor performance in a preseason game against the Dolphins. His 41 field goals stood as the Buccaneers' career record until broken in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Donald Igwebuike Donald Amechi Igwebuike (born December 27, 1960) is a Nigerian former professional player of American football who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1985 to 1989. He was selected by the Buccane ...

."Monday Morning Quarterback". St. Petersburg Times. 2 Nov 1987

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capece, Bill 1959 births Living people Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School alumni Players of American football from Miami American football placekickers Florida State Seminoles football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Players of American football from Broward County, Florida