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 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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Biography

Establishment of 49ers

Following his graduation from the

University of Santa Clara Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

he had a moderately successful lumber hauling business in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

during the late 1930s and early 1940s. During this time, he realized 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 for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, Notre Dame Fi ...

, 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 St ...

. 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, the Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournamen ...

, the sports editor of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' who was trying to organize a rival league, the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(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 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 coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. The 49ers first home game was played at

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium () is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, United States, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It serves as the home of San Francisco City FC of USL League Two ...

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 The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. Having suffered a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion, or coronary artery disease, is the partial or complete Coronary artery disease, obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition was first discussed in 1910 by William Osler, Sir William Osler. This condition s ...

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 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 Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, took over. Josephine Morabito, known as Josephine Morabito-Fox after 1975, 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