Eddie DeBartolo, Jr.: Greatest Owner in NFL History

Right now I have goose bumps remembering Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. running onto the field after the Niners had just beaten America's team, as Dwight Clark told one Dallas Cowboy who, despite losing, was still an arrogant simpleton.

Not only did the Niners' performance on the field outclass the crass Cowboys and their despicable fans, but DeBartolo and Coach Bill Walsh gave San Francisco a tandem that eventually led to five Super Bowl victories out of five tries.

We give Coach George Seifert credit for the two Super Bowls he won, but it was on Walsh's brilliance that Seifert prospered.

It was DeBartolo's commitment to winning and excellence, his vision, that led to the greatest franchise Super Bowl run in NFL history—something this great man does not get credit for. Yet, no one else has done it but Eddie D.

And let's not forget Carmen Policy, as well as many others too numerous to name here, both players and management. This was a time when the Niners were the class of the league.

How far they have fallen.

No other NFL franchise has won five Super Bowls in five tries, although the Cowboys and Steelers now have five each. However, they also have losses and did not win five in a row.

Plus, no other team did it with one owner. I realize Pittsburgh has the Rooney family, but control of the team during the first four Super Bowls and the most recent Super Bowl were different. To me, that's a different ownership, even though it's the same family.

So that leaves Eddie D. as the only NFL owner in NFL history to have successfully mastered five Super Bowl victories in five attempts. Amazing. Just amazing.

Thank you, Eddie D.!

Since he left, the Niners have been outclassed by Dallas, which is building a huge stadium, in addition to a multitude of other teams that have built grand stadiums while the Niners dodge the dung from all the seagulls that roost at Candlestick.

DeBartolo's players loved him. Ask Ronnie Lott, Joe Montana, Roger Craig, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, John Frank, Keena Turner, Dwight Hicks, Randy Cross, Jesse Sapolu, Michael Carter, Bill Ring, Steve Wallace, and many others.

He treated his players with first class attention. He is the first owner to really treat these men like men, not like some cattle to be prodded, trained, and displayed for the masses.

No, Eddie D. respected these players for their God-given athleticism that really is amazing, their intelligence (yes, athletes at that level have to be very smart), their dedication to excellence, and their love of one another and even the team's owner.

The fans also loved Eddie D., and we miss him desperately.

Hey, Eddie, where in the hell are you? Come back and save our franchise, please!