2012 NFL Hall Of Fame Finalists: Eddie DeBartolo In Rare Position

by David Fucillo on Feb 4, 2012 6:00 AM PST in San Francisco 49ers News

Later today the Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce the 2012 class. This year's class of finalists does not feature a sure-fire entrant, which opens the door for a few players. Guys like Chris Carter, Aeneas Williams and former 49ers linebacker Charles Haley all could potentially make their way into Canton this year.

The most intriguing name on the ballot, however, is former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo. Twelve owners have been enshrined at Canton, but all twelve purchased their teams before the AFL-NFL merger and got in as much for their contributions in growing the league. The guidelines are fairly loose when selecting deserving candidates:

"The only criteria for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame are a nominee's achievements and contributions as a player, coach, or contributor in professional football in the United States of America."

Eddie DeBartolo was arguably the first owner to basically spare no expense for his team. He brought in the best team money could buy and he spared no expense in keeping his players happy. It is noteworthy that other owners sought his counsel after purchasing their teams. Given the fact that he did join the league well after the merger, it will be interesting to see how voters handle his case.

Eric Branch has a pair of great Q&As with Eddie DeBartolo and Carmen Policy if you are looking for some fun reading material this morning. We'll have more at approximately 2:30pm ET when the 2012 class is announced.

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Eddie D!

The best thing about Eddie was his ability to let people who knew more than him, make the team’s decisions. If Carmen Policy said " we need to get this guy" Eddie got him. Bill Walsh trusted his coordinators and coaches and went along with all the decisions management made. The whole system just worked…..even if it did end up putting the team in salary cap hell later. Simply put, Eddie D. just wanted to win. Thankfully for the Faithful, they did.

As the team moves forward, it appears that all the pieces are in place for another run at greatness…..Jed Y. is showing promise, (no doubt listening to Eddie) Harbs and Baalke are pushing all the right buttons so far (except Braylon and Johnson in the draft) With a full offseason to coach and evaluate, this team is going to be dangerous.

by Youve been Gored on Feb 4, 2012 6:15 AM PST reply actions

Walsh didn't 'go along with all the decisions management made'

He was furious that Eddie went behind his back and destroyed his attempts to impose a salary structure on his team.

by Karl Cuba on Feb 4, 2012 8:25 AM PST up reply actions

I can't stand the guy

DeBartolo was a pimp, literally in one case, who took money he earned in the womb and did one thing right in his career when he hired Walsh.

He also piled so much pressure on Walsh that he forced him out early, the niners should have been the first team to win three straight and maybe four.

Carmen Policy is described in the very good biography of Walsh as ’Debartolo’s Laywer’. He was the enabler of a spoiled little prick, who took all the credit for the wins earned by the players Walsh left behind until he ran the team into the ground.

by Karl Cuba on Feb 4, 2012 8:24 AM PST reply actions

Wow.

Personal attacks aside…….as a fan, I have to appreciate the results that they were able to achieve…..could things have been better? Perhaps…….ask a cowboy fan how they are liking their situation right now……How about the redskins? Owners who crave the spot light more than the team are never going to succeed. Eddie spared no expense for his team and the results speak for themselves.

by Youve been Gored on Feb 4, 2012 10:11 AM PST up reply actions

When I called him a pimp it was in reference to the time he sent a hooker to Walsh’s hotel room. That’s pretty much what a pimp does.

Not being Jerry Jones doesn’t mean you should be in the hall of fame and I give Walsh the credit for the results, not the owner.

by Karl Cuba on Feb 4, 2012 10:38 AM PST up reply actions

Candidates

Those who want to recall (or discover) what DeBartolo meant to the 49ers should check out this brief video on the Hall of Fame candidates. Former Niner Haley also gets a mention.

Now, is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York
--Richard III, Act I, Scene 1

by silverjay on Feb 4, 2012 11:30 AM PST reply actions

+1

by Youve been Gored on Feb 4, 2012 11:34 AM PST reply actions

Eddie D was great but not without his faults

but he is Hall of Fame worthy for his contributions to the game. What the Niners did in the 80’s would revolutionize the game and take it into the modern era. Without Eddie D you’re still looking at old-style ’70’s football.

With that aside Eddie’s management style was not the greatest. He was a blue-collar kid who wanted like crazy to impress his old man and prove that he was worthy. Edward Sr. was a incredibly impressive businessman and that is a tough rep to live up to and even after winning the Super Bowl it was still never enough to impress the Old Man. That is why Eddie ran the Niners the way he did.

First you have to remember that when Eddie got to run the team he first hired Joe Thomas who may have been the worst GM in history. Eddie may have hired Bill, but before that Eddie was desperate too because the team actually got worse after he arrived. Walsh was desperate to get into the NFL and Eddie was desperate for someone who knew football so they were a match made in heaven.

Eddie fired Bill Walsh like nine times and he was worse after they won the super bowl in ‘81. Eddie was also impulsive as hell, like when he had Montana and Clark visit him in Youngstown one time and off the cuff he gave each like 50% raises. Ronnie Lott was enraged when he found out about it and that kind of thing made Walsh’s job more difficult and not less….not exactly contributing to team harmony there.

A great book on him and the team back then is “Building a Champion” by Bill Walsh and Glenn Dickey. Good stuff!

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Champion-Football-Making-49Ers/dp/0312925794/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328386121&sr=1-13

by jviet on Feb 4, 2012 12:09 PM PST reply actions