Jason
Lowbridge
Professor McKeever
English 1020
3 July 2013
Word Count: 1808
Eddie DeBartolo and
the Making of the San Francisco 49er Dynasty
It was Super Bowl XXIII and Bill Walsh was hoisting the
Lombardi trophy in the air. It was the third Super Bowl trophy for the San
Francisco 49ers in the last eight years. Outside of the New York Yankees, such
dynasties in professional sports are almost unheard of. It was a proud moment
for Eddie DeBartolo too. As owner of the San Francisco 49ers, he was the critical
component in their success. Eddie DeBartolo was the most important factor in
making the San Francisco 49ers one of the rare dynasties in professional sports
because he knew how to treat those that worked for him, took a chance on a man
named Bill Walsh, and was willing to spend top dollar to have hall of fame
talent on his team.
The San Francisco
49ers are a professional football team based in San Francisco,
California. The team was formed in 1946 and played in the All-American Football
league and later joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1949. For the
first thirty years of their existence, they celebrated only mild success. “As
members of the All-American Football Conference from 1946-1949, they were in
fact considered the second best team, right behind the Cleveland Browns”
(Barber 17). At the time the San Francisco 49ers were owned by the Morabito
family, Anthony and his brother, junior partner Vic. Tony Morabito
died of a heart attack at age 47, during halftime of a 49ers game against the Chicago Bears
in 1957. In 1964, eight years after Tony Morabito's death, Victor Morabito also
died of a heart attack, at 47. Josephine Morabito, Anthony’s widow, joined her
30 percent share of the team's franchise with a 25 percent share held by Jane Morabito,
the widow of Victor. The sisters held the distinction of being the first female
owners of a professional sports team at the time. The
women were considered to be more knowledgeable about football than many men,
but they considered the game to belong to a man's world. Because of this, the sisters-in-law chose to remain in the background of the
team's operations and left the day- to-day management to Lou Spadia, who was then president of the club. While the relationship
between Spadia and the Morabito widows was not always great, they deferred to
him. Unfortunately, for thirty-one straight seasons, the San Francisco
49ers never won a championship. In spite of this, fans loved the
Morabito family. But things were about to change when then family sold the
team.
On
March 31, 1977 Edward DeBartolo Sr., who had made his fortune in construction,
specifically malls and strip malls, purchased the franchise for his son Edward
DeBartolo Jr, and the making of a dynasty was born. Edward (Eddie) DeBartolo
Jr., born in Youngstown, Ohio, was 31 years old when he took over ownership of
the San Francisco 49ers. He was as old as the 49ers franchise and now was the
youngest owner in the NFL. At the time he acquired the team, the team was
terrible. Tight end Brent Jones tells a story about how his younger brother
cried when he gave him a 49ers jacket for Christmas. Funny thing was, his
brother was no small child. He was only three years younger than Brent. The
49ers were so bad that literally, it made a grown man cry. Eddie was in a hurry
to produce a winning team, but “perhaps it was his youth that made him
impatient” (Barber 17).
Despite
his eagerness and desires, early impressions of Eddie DeBartolo were not
necessarily positive with the team and their fan base. In one of his first
press conferences, he announced that the team would be run like a business and
they were going to do their best to make money (Barber). Not what the players
or fans, who were tired of the recent losing ways, really wanted to hear. In
addition, early staffing decisions were not successful. One of Eddie’s first
hires was a man named Joe Thomas. He was named General Manager. Randy Cross
described Joe Thomas as, “he was to an NFL franchise what scorched earth is to
landscape” (Barber 18). Immediately, Joe Thomas wanted to eliminate the rich
tradition of the 49ers and start fresh. At one point he removed all 49ers
memorabilia and was going to take it to the city dump. Joe Thomas was quoted as
saying, “history begins today” (Barber 18).
The new owner went through multiple coaches and general managers. They
actually went through five coaches in a two year span. Despite his family’s
success in business, Eddie was the first DeBartolo to test the waters owning a
sports franchise. There was no point of reference for him and he was learning
solely by trial and error. However, what he did learn from the family business
was the right way to treat his employees. Eddie credits his father for teaching
him this. All 600 employees in Youngstown, each and every one of them, were
considered a member of their family. It was something he wanted to carry over
to the San Francisco 49er organization. Any member of the franchise, no matter
what position they held, whether they were sick or had a problem, could go to
Mr. D, as he was affectionately known. He worked hard to be close to his
employees and build a family atmosphere. He spared no expense either.
Everything he did was first-rate. Players had their own hotel rooms. They
travelled on private jets, rather than commercial. Births and graduations were
always remembered and recognized. Elaborate parties where thrown. He knew the
name of every person that was a member of the franchise and knew their family
members names as well. From the starting quarterback to the equipment manager,
Eddie made them feel special, wanted and important to the cause. “When it came
to running the 49ers DeBartolo violated one of the cardinal rules of the sports
business. Ownership and talent cannot be pals. But somehow it worked in San
Francisco.” (Barber 27). The 49er franchise was starting to establish an
identity. Truly, the way he ran his business and treated people was
instrumental in establishing a solid franchise. Clearly, this laid the foundation for the dynasty.
People wanted to play and work for Mr. D. But, it really wasn’t until the
hiring of head coach Bill Walsh in 1979 that the 49ers would emerge as a
perennial contender in the NFL and write the 49ers legacy.
Bill Walsh was a local guy, head
football coach at Stanford University. A local radio talk show host suggested
that Eddie DeBartolo meet with him about the 49ers head coaching job. No members
of the 49ers front office were sold on him, but Eddie DeBartolo knew he was the
man for the job the instant that they met. Their initial meeting, when he was
hired, lasted less than an hour. Eddie was impressed with his talk of family,
how to run an organization, and most importantly, his vision for the San
Francisco 49ers. Bill Walsh would remain head coach of the 49ers from
1979-1988. He was the winner of six NFC West titles and Super Bowls XVI, XIX
and XXIII. His career record was 102-63-1 when he retired. In 1999 he returned
to the team as General Manager and later served as a consultant. He had an
amazing and hugely successful career. Rightfully so, Bill Walsh will be
remembered as one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. He is affectionately
known as “the genius.” Other football coaches study his body of work, hoping to
replicate the blueprints that have made the 49ers so successful. Walsh’s
philosophical changes to the game caused smash-mouth football, with deep and
inaccurate passes to change to short and accurate passes. It was a
well-choreographed dance, or a beautiful sonnet. Receivers glided in unison
with their quarterbacks. Offensive lineman set their splits accordingly. The
NFL would not be the same. “Rough Magic” was born and it would be several
decades before defensive coordinators could even hope to contain it.
All the great coaches were a lot
like old war heroes. Paul Brown, Vince Lombardi and George Halas to name a few.
Much like Patton, they would out muscle their enemy and overpower their
opponent into submission. Torrential warfare was executed over and over again
on the gridiron. However, Bill Walsh was different. He did not subscribe to
Woody Hayes theory of three yards and a cloud of dust. He looked and acted very
much like a conductor. He was Ludwig Van Beethoven and his team was a finely
tuned orchestra. Each department complimented the other, blending together to
maximize impact and production. When done right, it was just like a fine
symphony. Eddie DeBartolo took a huge leap of faith in hiring Bill Walsh. Rumor
had it that coach Bill Walsh was blacklisted by head coach and NFL icon, Paul
Brown. It was a hiring that Eddie DeBartolo had the courage and gut instinct to
make. It was one that he and the San Francisco 49er organization would not live
to regret.
Finally, I would be remiss to not
mention the players who helped Eddie DeBartolo make the 49ers into an NFL
dynasty. Eddie DeBartolo spared no expense in acquiring and keeping top talent.
A number of Hall of Fame players were members of the team during the dynasty
years. Hall of Famers like Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young,
Randy Cross, Fred Dean and Roger Craig all played for him. It was because of
this lavish spending, the Salary Cap was put into place in the NFL. The Salary
Cap essentially limits player’s salary and puts a global cap on the total team
salary. Despite the salary setbacks, the successful blueprint that the 49ers
had in place would allow the team to continue their winning ways.
In 1997 Eddie DeBartolo was
suspended by the NFL for his role in illegal casino licenses in Louisiana. In
2000 Eddie DeBartolo was convicted of failing to report extortion in Louisiana
Federal Court. He was forced to sell the team to his sister Denise DeBartolo
York. As a side note, the law firm I was employed at worked on the deal that
transitioned the team to Denise. His nephew Jed York is now the team’s CEO. Jed
York credits his uncle as an inspiration and acknowledges Eddie’s help and
guidance in recent years. Jed York even hired head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was
Bill Walsh’s last hire at Stanford, and subscribes to Bill Walsh’s
philosophies. And, by the looks of things the last couple of years, the 49ers
may soon have another dynasty on their hands.
Works
Cited
Barber,
Phil. We Were Champions. Chicago:
Triumph, 2002. Print.
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