He joined the station as a weekend sportscaster in 1981 and was promoted to the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. newscasts in 1991, and was named sports director one year prior.

Papa co-hosted the Saturday evening public affairs show Primetime Weekend with Cecily Tynan.

On April 20, 2004, he revealed to viewers that he had been receiving treatment for prostate cancer and lost his hair as a result.

[2] Papa died on June 19, 2009, at 2:57 p.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, at the age of 54; his final sportscast on WPVI had been a month earlier, on May 13.

[3] He was survived by his father, insurance adjuster Frank Papa (1926–2019);[4] his wife, Kathleen; and his two sons, Nathaniel and Tucker, along with his brother Greg.