NAME THAT NINER!

Wow! We did TWO Questions in under an hour. Under 45 minutes!
Appreciate the time and efforts of krizay and SmokeyJoe. Plus whomever else out there that maybe just watched.

Thinking now about maybe a Selection Sunday, double-dose type deal..But just thinking.

(more closing words to say, later)

QUESTION 15

will take a huge turn from the often difficult and misleading fairways of prior questions.
Instead, it will be straightforward and very simple.
However, it will require some knowledge of some things. In this case, academic things.

So, please tune in tomorrow,
Thursday, March 6.
5 PM, Pacific

If anything, check it out just for the curiosity of it all.
[It goes deep inside the annals of 49er lore.]

Regards,
Isosceles

This historical 49er player/name is a relative unknown. [I found only minimal statistical information on him.] His professional football career also includes the Detroit Lions. He was 90 when he died, which was 18 years ago.

The focus on him as a 49er Trivia Question is his last name.

It is the same name as a school that at one time was "the premier all-Black college or university in the United States." [Source: Wikipedia].

(There is no connection or affiliation between him and the school.)

Originally posted by Isosceles:

QUESTION 15

This historical 49er player/name is a relative unknown. [I found only minimal statistical information on him.] His professional football career also includes the Detroit Lions. He was 90 when he died, which was 18 years ago.

The focus on him as a 49er Trivia Question is his last name.

It is the same name as a school that at one time was "the premier all-Black college or university in the United States." [Source: Wikipedia].

(There is no connection or affiliation between him and the school.)

NAME THAT NINER!

if he died when he was 90, then it couldn't be Spellman of the Ohio State (DE)

Originally posted by 9moon:
if he died when he was 90, then it couldn't be Spellman of the Ohio State (DE)

Hey 9moon!
No not him. And I missed seeing that (Spellman, that is).
The player's last name and the school name are exact. (The Atlanta school is Spelman.)

Edit: And did you mean C.J. Spillman?
I actually don't see a Spellman on the roster list.

Also 9moon, I see your posts all around the various board topics.
It's just good to see a "familiar" name here on this topic!
Hope you'll keep coming in!

Bill Fisk?

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
Bill Fisk?

YES!


I was just about to post the correct name.

Bill Fisk – OD/DE – 1946-1947 – Southern California

William G. Fisk (November 5, 1916 – March 28, 2007) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as an end and defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) and All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1940 to 1948.

Early years

Born in Los Angeles, Fisk prepped at Alhambra High School and played college football at the University of Southern California (USC). He was a member of the Trojans 1938 Rose Bowl-winning team, and was voted Most Inspirational Player on the 1939 USC Trojans football team, which own a national championship. He was one of six Trojans selected for the 1940 College All-Star Game in Chicago.

Professional football career

Fisk played for the NFL's Detroit Lions and the AAFC's San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Dons between 1940 and 1948. He was drafted in the third round of the 1940 NFL draft by Detroit.

Coaching career

Fisk was an assistant coach of the USC Trojans between 1949 and 1956 under head coaches Jeff Cravath and Jess Hill.

Later years and family

After coaching, Fisk worked in aerospace. His son, Bill Jr., was an offensive guard on USC's 1962 national championship team, and was named All-American in 1964. The younger Fisk served as head football coach of Mt. San Antonio College for a period of time.

Fisk died on March 28, 2007.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Originally posted by Isosceles:
YES!


I was just about to post the correct name.

I saw the question late. Don't think I would have guessed the correct name without the 90 year old clue.

For any who may have never, ever heard of the school, it's Fisk University, in Nashville, TN.

And, for any who may sometimes just take a quick look at this thread, perhaps just look at the Questions, I can appreciate even that.
We may all possess a common football passion, yet still we're all different.
I look at all the main, continuing topics every day, on NinerTalk. I read all the posts. For the most part, I greatly enjoy them.
I don't post (hardly any at all), because I honestly cannot talk football in the trenches and all up and down the field and all through the Front Offices and all inside and outside the Draft like so many of you can. I will probably mention that again sometime way on down the line. So this, NAME THAT NINER!, for now, is my football talk offering.

This may seem weird, but even one attempt at answering the question is a joy for me. Thanks again to 9moon.
In a strange kind of way, it's like being able to talk or discuss a novel or book I'm reading or have read, with someone else who's read the book too.

Seems like I can always count on SmokeyJoe to finally come in, when a correct answer is not offered after a while.

Next week, probably Thursday again, Question 16. I think it will be another Last Name specific question. And you will need to dig through many names.
But I think it will be fun, and challenging.

Thank you again. And until then,
GO NINERS!

Wonderful piece of history. Thank you.

Originally posted by KeepRabbitsOut:
Wonderful piece of history. Thank you.

With the April 24 Draft soon to be fast approaching, preliminary plans are for this feature to go on a hiatus for the month of April, May, plus possibly June and July, and then commence again during August's Hall of Fame game week. But this plan is subject to change.

For the remainder of March, the questions will serve more as matters of interesting, perhaps fascinating, 49er-player potpourri, and less as a buckle-up-and-go-research-the-player's-name type contest.

In other words, there will be no great expectation for anybody to rev up their internet search engines or other intellectual sources to find the answer. You may simply read the question, ponder it a little bit, at your discretion, and then after 15, maybe 20 minutes, I'll post the answer along with the usual Wikipedia summary about the player. Of course, you may take guesses at it if you wish, but it won't be necessary.

QUESTION 16 tomorrow, Thursday (March 13), 5PM, Pacific

In 49er roster history, there are thirteen (13) 4-player groups in which each of the 4 has the same last name. For example, there are 4 Bryant(s). 4 Harrison(s). 4 Allen(s), etc.

Again, there are 13 such groups.

In one of the groups, all four men played on Defense.
In two of the groups, all four men played on Offense.

The 10 remaining groups are combinations. Some played Offense. Some played Defense.

Out of all the 13 groups — remember that each group contains 4 players — one, only one, has the combination of 3 players on Offense, and 2 players on Defense.