Vince Papale on his charity work, being dubbed the real-life Rocky, and where the Eagles stand

When fans think of the perfect Philadelphia Cinderella story, the movie Rocky is what typically comes to mind. Rocky Balboa was a small-timer from working-class Philadelphia who defied all expectations and made his way to the top. The same can be said about the former schoolteacher turned professional football player — Vince Papale.

The legend of Papale is immortalized in the 2006 movie Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg. At 30, Papale became the oldest rookie to play in the NFL, after landing a tryout with the Eagles in 1976. Listed at 6-foot-2, 195, he was listed as a wide receiver but had just one reception in three seasons. He made his mark on special teams.

After three seasons with the Eagles, Papale was named the team’s Man of the Year in 1978 for his charity work. His work still continues today as an ambassador for the Tackle Obesity initiative set out by the NFL Alumni Association. But when he’s not promoting charity events or winning Living Legends awards, he’s watching the Birds as that same fan who had season tickets before the fame.

» READ MORE: Vince Papale of ‘Invincible’ fame got his start in pro football 50 years ago. It was not with the Eagles.

The NFL Alumni Association’s Tackle Obesity initiative has partnered with the Obesity Action Coalition, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society. The collaboration is highlighted by this weekend’s Rocky Run. Before Papale is the official starter of the Rocky Run on Saturday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he sat down with The Inquirer to talk about what he’s up to now, being dubbed the real-life Rocky, and the current Eagles.

Papale: Well, because if it weren’t for people helping me, I never would have gotten to where I got. That was such an honor to get that [award] and a lot of it was because of the work that I’ve done with the Eagles. We had this great program called the Eagles Fly for Leukemia, and I know Jeffrey Lurie has the Autism Challenge now, which is really wonderful. I’m also really involved with the military and wounded veterans. Janet [Papale’s wife] and I just had a charity event here in South Florida right in West Palm for wounded veterans.

To make the long story short, I always swore that whatever I could do, with whatever I was doing, that I would get involved in the community and it just happened … I got the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association’s Living Legend Award a few months ago. I’m like, “Are you kidding me, I’m just this guy from Glenolden and Interboro High School,” but you know, it’s pretty cool.

A: They’ve got the potential to do something great. They’re starting to jell a lot. Jason Kelce was a big miss and I think he was missed a little bit more than they thought he might be, not only on the field but also in the locker room. And I think now, I don’t know who or what, but somebody has stepped up. I can see the difference in this team and I can see the enthusiasm on the sideline that I didn’t see the first three or four games. Maybe it’s because of confidence, and certainly winning helps. It’s the best medicine ever, you know.

Saquon Barkley may be the best move that Howie Roseman ever made as a Philadelphia Eagles general manager, you can’t deny that. They have to stay healthy, Jalen [Hurts] has got to stay healthy and continue to improve as he seems to be getting more confidence. I like where they’re going and we’re going to find out in the next couple of weeks with two of our archenemies, the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders. We’ll see what the team is after that.

» READ MORE: Former Eagle Vince Papale receives Gilda Radner Courage Award

A: It’s because of Rocky there’s Invincible. A lot of people don’t know the story but when I was trying out and I made the team, there was this guy that came up to me and it was a Philadelphia sports writer, Jack McCaffery. He goes, “Hey Vince, have you ever seen that movie Rocky?” I go, “Yeah I’ve heard about it.” And he says, “Well, it’s your story. You need to see that movie Rocky.” So I started being called the real-life Rocky. Every city I went into — whether it was Chicago, L.A. or New York — they would be like, “Hey, it’s the real-life Rocky.” It didn’t really sit well with my teammates back then, but they got used to it. And I got that Rocky tag and then I go see the movie and I put this on Mount Rushmore along with Miracle and The Rookie. Then in 2002, I get a call from NFL Films saying they want to feature me on Monday Night Football, comparing me to Rocky. Then the next thing you know, Hollywood comes.

A: Tremendously. I’ve traveled all over the world and it’s given me the confidence to do some things. It took me to a different world. I’m still being contacted, I’m still busy, and still traveling. Just doing events like this [the Rocky Run] and just being with Mark Wahlberg. Mark and I were texting yesterday because I know he’s coming into South Florida in a couple of weeks and we’re hoping to get a chance to connect with him. It’s just a total life change. Here’s what is really cool, our son Vinny was playing in Helsinki, Finland for the Italian Olympic flag football team, I had kids and athletes — and there were 32 countries there — coming up because they found out the guy from the movie Invincible was in the stands. This was in Europe and it just blew my mind.