When Angelo Mosca was the 'Meanest Man in the Game'

Back in 1964, Angelo Mosca was the most hated man in Canadian football.

Thursday, in Hamilton, he becomes only the second player to have his jersey retired in Tiger-Cat history when the team plays Montreal.

In 1964, the CBC's acclaimed news-magazine program This Hour Has Seven Days aired a 10-minute documentary about Mosca. It was "a behind the scenes study of the meanest man in the game." Nowhere was Mosca more hated than in B.C.. In the 1963 Grey Cup game, Mosca knocked out star running back Willie Fleming with a hit that many in the province called dirty.

In the documentary, Mosca says, "I created an image and everyone thinks I'm dirty. There's no such thing as dirty play unless you're kicking people in the face."

Mosca was accused of kicking Fleming in the head while he lay on the field. You can see the hit in the first few seconds of the video on this page and judge for yourself. Dirty or not, it led to a grudge that continued until 2011 when Mosca and former Lions quarterback Joe Kapp, both well into their '70s at the time, got into a fight at a CFL Alumni Association charity luncheon.

Fued continued with Lion's QB Joe Kapp in 2011

"It's a shame it happened," Mosca told the CBC in Novemner of 2011. "That's the way I look at it."   

Added Kapp: "The altercation should have been avoided there because it was a celebration of teamwork and togetherness within the country." 

"Somebody hit me on the side of the head with a cane — a club — so I had to respond," Kapp said. "I don't think there's any person anywhere that wouldn't respond the way I did."   

Mosca said things got heated after he had a "dead-ass flower" shoved in his face.   

"I don't care if you're the king or the queen, you're not going to shove something in my face and get away with it," Mosca said from his Hamilton home.  

The Ticats won that game in 1963 21-10 over B.C. in front of the Lions hometown fans. Mosca is an honoured legend in Hamilton but he's never been forgiven in B.C.

Mosca was a defensive terror during his day. A five-time all-star, he appeared in a record-tying nine Grey Cup games, winning five. He played for Hamilton in 1958-59, then from 1963 until 1972, retiring after the Ticats' 13-10 Grey Cup victory over Saskatchewan at Ivor Wynne Stadium.