Sometimes in sports – and in life – a story comes along that is almost to fantastic to be real, except that it is. If a Hollywood screenwriter had come up with it, it would be rejected because no one would buy it because it wouldn’t be believable. Vince Papale’s story is one of those kinds of stories.

An underdog from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Papale would defy all the odds and all logic to find success at the highest level of football. Born in Glenolden, Pennsylvania, Papale was a typical kid who wanted to play sports – especially football – from an early age. And, pretty early on, Papale found he had an aptitude and a love for the game and both would carry him all the way to the NFL.

“I started playing as a little leaguer in my small town that’s just about three or four miles south of Philadelphia,” Papale said. “I was a shrimp when I played too. They used to call me ‘wink’ because if you blinked your eyes you couldn’t see me. I loved the speed of the game and I had a favorite player that I idolized too. Tommy McDonald was my favorite player and I loved watching him with the Eagles. That’s where the love of the game started and it never ended.”

Papale would excel in both football and track and field while he attended Interboro High School. He was an all-county honorable mention awardee as a wide receiver his senior year and district honors in the pole vault, triple jump, and long jump. Papale would frequently put on displays of speed that would be his hallmark for his entire career.

“I knew I was fast and I was the fastest kid in my neighborhood,” he said. “I ended up going to Saint Joseph’s University on a track scholarship and they didn’t have a football team so that’s why I didn’t play in college. I wasn’t really on anybody’s radar in football, so I didn’t have an opportunity to go anywhere else to play.”

After distinguishing himself with the Hawks, Papale turned his attention to potentially making the U.S. Olympic team in the decathlon. When that dream went unfulfilled, he began a career as a teacher and coach at his high school alma mater. While there, the itch to play football surfaced. He started playing semi-pro football and this led to a tryout with the fledgling World Football League’s (WFL) Philadelphia Bell.

“They had a tryout for this league literally right around the corner from where I was from in suburban Philadelphia,” Papale said. “Eventually, after five tryouts, I ended up starting for them. It was then that I realized that, even though I was 28-, 29-years-old, I was in there with some top-notch former college players and former NFL guys and I was holding my own with those guys.”

After the WFL folded, Papale’s life took an unexpected turn. In 1976, Dick Vermeil was hired as Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. He instituted an open tryout for the team that year and defying all odds, Papale outlasted everyone to earn a spot with the Eagles. The former season ticket-holder was now a full-fledged member of the team.

“I was out of my mind, I was so excited, I mean these guys were my idols and I was going to play with them,” Papale said. “My first home game, being there at the Miracle at the Meadowlands, and being on the first Eagles team to make the playoffs in over a decade, these are all things I will always remember.”

It would take some time, but he would win over his teammates with his toughness and hard-nosed style of play. Before long, Papale would also become a hero to the Philly fans, an honor he still holds to this day. His story would become the basis for the Hollywood film Invincible. The underdog had fully arrived.

“My favorite memory is getting told on the field that I made the team,” he said. “It was different than the way it happened in the movie because if we did it the way it happened it would’ve been too similar to what they did in the movie Rudy. I called my Dad collect from the stadium at his job at Westinghouse and let him know. I could hear everyone erupting in the background. I loved every minute of my time with the Eagles.”

Injuries ultimately did in Papale’s career and he retired after four seasons in the league. He would embark on a career in television and in business and these days he is in high-demand as a public speaker. Papale’s journey through football was an incredible one and while his playing days are behind him, he has never forgotten what the game has given him and what it has taught him.

“I would think playing sports gave the me the discipline to attack even the toughest of challenges head on,” he said. “At the same realizing that i can’t do it alone and that it takes teamwork to make the dream work.”