Establishing his Dynasty
These were the Glory Days for the 49ers; the team was a unified, unstoppable body that produced numerous Hall of Fame players like Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Ronnie Lott, with DeBartolo (“Mr. D” as he was affectionately called,”) always as the team’s backbone. And although there was money to be made, a lot of money, for Mr. D, it was never really about that. “Our bottom line was nowhere near as important as our record,” he says. “Whether it was playing the Cowboys or whoever it was, it was about the team going out there every Sunday and doing the best they can.” He admits that he really was “a different type of owner,” refusing to get involved with any of the players’ contracts, or meddling in coaching decisions. Yet his passion and commitment to the team was certainly in a class of its own. “I was very competitive,” he recalls. “When you’re in a business like pro football, it’s competitive from the minute you’re involved. It just gets in your blood.” Although he laughs, “I probably was a little more competitive than the normal person.”
It is clear that Mr. D truly poured his heart into his team. He felt their triumphs and their struggles; he celebrated their wins, and mourned their losses. He cared for them, and they, in return, cared for and played their very best for him. “They were warriors!” he exclaims, reliving some of the team’s most memorable moments. “Jerry Rice put ‘warrior’ on his shoe with magic marker; Ronnie Lott had the tip of his pinky finger cut off during a game and went back and played! Does it take anything more than that?” He nostalgically gushes about his former players and his fond memories of working with them.
The city of San Francisco too certainly felt both the team’s fervor and camaraderie. They saw themselves not only as fans, but as players and owners too. “The team was always such an integral part of the city,” DeBartolo explains. “I don’t think this was ever more evident than in 1989 when we had the earthquake and there was such devastation and destruction out there. We couldn’t even play in Candlestick Park, so we had to play New England in Stanford Stadium…I think that the 49ers were the glue that helped bring the Bay Area back to its consciousness after that horrible disaster.” Throughout the ‘90s, the 49ers continued to reign, picking up their fifth Super Bowl win in 1994, and continuing on to the playoffs for consecutive years after that.
His Legacy Continues
Today, although the DeBartolo dynasty has since come and gone, the former owner will forever remain an icon in the Golden City. He was enshrined into the 49ers Hall of Fame in 2009 during a special halftime ceremony, which brought in thousands of fans who came out to show their support. A year later, during Jerry Rice’s jersey retirement ceremony, DeBartolo, along with other former players, were on the field right beside him. Again, the sheer number of fans who came out to pay tribute was remarkable. “It was unbelievable!” DeBartolo recalls. “It was truly like a family reunion, and the fans were the icing on the cake; they always meant so much to me—and they still do. Even being removed from the team for ten years, I think that I’m still important to them too.”
Yet when pressed to discover if he compares himself to the likes of Jerry Buss or George Steinbrenner, DeBartolo humbly replies, “Oh, I don’t know, I never even thought about it. It was always the fact that I was lucky enough to be so much a part of that team, and so much a part of the players and the coaches. I just felt like the luckiest person in the world.” Remarkably modest sentiments from a man who is held in such high regards by the city and the NFL.
So if the right opportunity came along, would he go for it? “Well, I’m certainly not happy being away from them,” he admits. He pauses for a moment before he adds, “But you know that old saying, ‘been there done that’?” Instead, DeBartolo looks forward to spending time with his friends and his family. He even took his grandson onto the field when he was enshrined into the hall-of-fame and at the Jerry Rice jersey retirement. “I think it finally dawned on him when he heard the fans and when he saw the players; it hit him like a ton of bricks—his grandfather has five Super Bowl trophies! He’s such a sports fanatic now! He’s only 7 and he knows more about what’s going on in football than I do. It’s fun talking to him about that…” he trails off from his heartfelt story, and affectionately professes, “I guess that’s just part of being a grandfather.” And while Mr. D is undoubtedly a true idol in the eyes of his grandchildren, he remains an idol for San Francisco as well. Mr. D. will forever be remembered as one of the greatest professional team owners of all time.
