Eddie DeBartolo Jr. ran into some controversy off the field, but his career as an NFL owner is rivaled by few.
Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
DeBartolo took over ownership of a foundering San Francisco 49ers team in 1977, brought Bill Walsh on board as head coach and together they built the team of the 1980s and 90s.
DeBartolo was selected Tuesday as the “contributor” candidate for the Hall of Fame’s 2016 class. He joins senior candidates Ken Stabler and Dick Stanfel as finalists who will be voted on by the full voting committee the week of the Super Bowl.
DeBartolo gave up control of the 49ers in 2000 after getting caught up in the corruption case of then-Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards. But during his tenure, the 49ers posted double-digit wins in 17 of 18 seasons from 1981 through 2000, appeared in 10 NFC Championship games and won five Super Bowls.
“I’m truly humbled. My football life is going through my mind right now,” DeBartolo, Jr. says in a statement posted at the Hall of Fame website.
He, along with others selected for the final vote, need a thumbs up from 80 percent of the voters to earn enshrinement. We’ve done less discussion on contributors than seniors here on the site, but I’d be hard pressed to find an owner who had more success than DeBartolo during his reign. Solid candidate? Who else should be considered?
The 2016 class will be enshrined August 4-7, 2016.
Eddie DeBartolo is the "contributor" candidate for 2016 Hall of Fame enshrinement. That's ...
Disappointing. What did he have to do with building that 49ers dynasty? (44%, 4 Votes)
Great - his work in the NFL warrants a bronze bust in Canton. (33%, 3 Votes)
Okay pick, but other candidates would have been better (tell us who). (22%, 2 Votes)
It’s cliche, but also true – the most important thing about pre-season games isn’t winning, but getting out healthy.
Thus Sunday afternoon’s game between Green Bay and Pittsburgh can be classified as nothing but a disaster for both teams.
With a season-ending injury to Jordy Nelson‘s knee and a substantial injury to Steelers’ center Maurkice Pouncey, it had a pretty big impact on fantasy football players, too. Here are my quick thoughts on the fallout:
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Senior Committee has chosen two recently deceased former greats as its senior
Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
candidates for 2016 induction.
Dick Stanfel, who played guard for Washington and Detroit over a seven-year career in the 1950s, is getting his third look from the senior committee, his second in the last five years. He passed away in June at 87.
Former Raiders, Oilers and Saints QB Ken Stabler, who led Oakland to victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl 11 died in July. This is his first appearance in front of the senior committee. He died in July. (more…)
Cleveland has reportedly emerged as a possible landing place for embattled RB Ray Rice. I don’t think they need him.
The answer to the Browns’ running woes is on the roster now just as he was last year. Will someone please tell Mike Pettine to free Isaiah Crowell?
I know Crowell comes with some baggage. I also know he had some fumbling issues that got him in hot water with the coaching staff.
But he’s got some burst – far more than Rice showed in 2013, his last year with Baltimore. That year, Rice put up 660 yards on 214 carries – a 3.1 yards per carry average. Maybe a year away has done him some good. But … for a young, growing team, Crowell remains a better fit.
Let’s look at the 2014 season, during which it was clear to most outsiders that he was the best runner on the team, despite being constantly rotated with Terrance West and Ben Tate.
Here are the stats for six games out of a seven game stretch toward the end of the season during which Crowell finally got to touch the ball at least 12 times: (more…)
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