John C. York (born April 18, 1949) is an American retired cancer research pathologist, married to Marie Denise DeBartolo York, and former co-owner and current co-chairman of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

. and board member of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Career

York was born in

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...

. The son of John Clement York, a dentist who died when York was 15, York grew up in Little Rock and attended local schools until college. He graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

in 1971. He received a doctorate in blood pathology from Stritch School of Medicine at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

in 1975, and engaged in seven years of post-doctoral study, specializing in the laboratory diagnosis of lymphoma and leukemia. York left academia to establish DeYor Laboratories in Boardman, Ohio. In 1993, he sold DeYor Laboratories to

Corning Inc. Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company specializing in glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The company was name ...

York has made a number of contributions in the medical field, having given a $1.5 million contribution to establish an Endowed Chair in Pathology and an Endowed Chief Residency in Pathology at the

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a Public university, public medical school in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research cente ...

. In 1999, he donated a science and math building to Catholic High School for Boys, his alma mater. He also joined

Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. (born October 13, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman who is the owner, president, and General manager (American football), general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He bought t ...

and an anonymous donor in donating $10 million to the school. On December 28, 2008, John and Denise York announced that their son, Jed York, would become team president and operating head of the franchise, while they would become co-chairpersons responsible for providing resources and maintaining their role of interacting with other owners and NFL executives. John continues to serve as chairman of the NFL's International Committee and also sits on the league's Audit and Business Ventures Committees. In 2024, Denise sold enough equity to her son to make him principal owner in name as well, in order to comply with the NFL regulations on an annual succession plan. On May 24, 2018, the York family via 49ers Enterprises (the 49ers' business arm) bought shares in English soccer club

to become a minority investor.

References

External links

Profile at official 49ers websiteProfile at ''San Francisco Chronicle'' website
1949 births University of Notre Dame alumni Loyola University Chicago alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Living people San Francisco 49ers owners DeBartolo family {{Amfoot-bio-stub