Anthony James Morabito (January 12, 1910 – October 27, 1957) was the founder of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. Following his graduation from the

University of Santa Clara Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

he had a moderately successful lumber hauling business in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

during the late 1930s and early 1940s. He realized, however, that air travel would make coast-to-coast NFL rivalries feasible. In 1944, after several years of his expansion applications being rejected by the NFL, Morabito led a visit to the NFL in Chicago. His meeting was presided over by

Elmer Layden Elmer Francis Layden (May 4, 1903 – June 30, 1973) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame where he starred at full ...

, the NFL commissioner and one of the legendary

Four Horsemen of Notre Dame The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame comprised a group of American football players at the University of Notre Dame under coach Knute Rockne. They were the backfield of Notre Dame's 1924 football team. The players that made up this group were Harry S ...

. Layden was dismissive of Morabito's requests. Following that meeting, Morabito and his partners walked across the street to see

Arch Ward Archie Burdette Ward (December 27, 1896 – July 9, 1955) was an American journalist who served as sports editor for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He was the creator of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the Golden Gloves amateur boxing tourna ...

, the sports editor of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' who was trying to organize a rival league, the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). On June 6, 1944, the first meeting of the AAFC was held in St. Louis. Morabito agreed to form a franchise in San Francisco, with the AAFC set to start play after the end of the war. Tony, his brother Victor P. Morabito, and his partners in the Lumber Terminals of San Francisco, Allen E. Sorrell and Ernest J. Turre, became the founding owners of the soon to be San Francisco 49ers.

Al Ruffo Albert J. Ruffo (July 1, 1908 – February 10, 2003) was an American politician, philanthropist, educator, lawyer, and football coach. Ruffo grew up in Tacoma, Washington. In 1927 he moved to San Jose, California to attend nearby Santa Clara Uni ...

did the legal work while serving as the assistant coach to head coach Lawrence T. "Buck" Shaw. The University of Santa Clara's famous "Silver Fox", Shaw was paid the then fabulous sum of $25,000. The 49ers played their first game on August 24, 1946, a 17-7 exhibition win over the Los Angeles Dons at Balboa Park in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

. The 49ers first home game was played at

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders (first AFL s ...

on September 1, 1946, a 34-14 exhibition win over the Chicago Rockets in front of 45,000 . Morabito was seen as controversial by some, but throughout his tenure, the players supported him.

Death

On October 27, 1957, Tony Morabito died of a heart attack while watching the 49ers play the Chicago Bears at

. Having suffered a coronary occlusion in 1952, Morabito had been living on "borrowed time". Doctors citing the dangerous, high emotional factors of football urged him to get out of football. The 49ers were losing 17–7 when a note reading "Tony's gone" was passed to the coach. They stormed back for a 21–17 upset victory. After Morabito died, majority control of the club passed on to his widow Josephine, and to his brother Victor. Most of the remaining partners from the lumber business had sold their interest after the 1946 season. Following Victor's death in 1964, Tony's and Victor's widows, Josephine and Jane, retained control of the 49ers until 1977, when a new team owner, Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. of

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

, took over. Josephine Morabito-Fox was one of the first women ever to hold a majority ownership in a professional sports team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morabito, Tony 1910 births 1957 deaths All-America Football Conference San Francisco 49ers owners Santa Clara University alumni Businesspeople from San Francisco American people of Italian descent