NAME THAT NINER!

Tino Sabuco?

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
Tino Sabuco?

YES!

Valentino [Tino] Sabuco – C – 1949 – San Francisco

[Note: I found no Wikipedia summary on Sabuco like the others have so far. Below is what I did find through my web search, with the source citation. However, none of this has been verified through any other sources there might be.]

Tino Sabuco was born on December 20, 1926 in Detroit and attended his local MacKenzie High School. He attended Wayne State College in Michigan for one year and transferred to USF in 1946. At 6' 1" and 206 lbs., he played center for the Dons.

Under head coach Joe Kuharich, the Dons went undefeated at 9-0 in the 1951 season. With two African-American players on the team in Toler and Matson, they were not invited to any postseason bowl games. The owner of the Gator Bowl Sam Wolfson had made an agreement with the Orange and Sugar Bowls to omit teams with black players. When the Orange Bowl extended an invitation to them on the condition that the two African-American players be excluded, the team unanimously declined and from then on they were called the "undefeated, untied, and uninvited." Although the Dons had been denied a bowl berth, the entire team was recognized at the 2008 Fiesta Bowl at long last making an appearance in a bowl game.

Unfortunately without post-season funding, USF was forced to shut down its football program the following year. Attendance at the Kezar Stadium games had declined 80% since the arrival of the 49ers in 1946. The squad featured nine future NFL players, including Pro Football Hall of Fame members Matson, Marchetti, and St. Clair, and five earned Pro Bowl selections at some point in their career. The team's Sports Information Director, Pete Rozelle, served as NFL Commissioner for 29 years.

Sabuco was drafted in the ninth round (52nd pick overall) of the 1949 NFL draft by the Chicago Hornets, but played one season for the San Francisco 49ers. He served in the United States Marine Corps.

[Source: https://usfdons.com/honors/hall-of-fame/valentino-sabuco/126]

Smokey, what was sort of crazy to me is the University of San Francisco lost its football program with the 49ers moving in.

(or, am I understanding it right?)

Originally posted by Isosceles:
Smokey, what was sort of crazy to me is the University of San Francisco lost its football program with the 49ers moving in.

(or, am I understanding it right?)

I'm not sure to be honest. I was familiar with USF's football team's bowl story generally but wasn't aware the lack of funding resulted in the loss of the program (thought they voluntarily shut it down). I knew they were uninvited and had a team stacked with* good future pros. No idea of any connection to the Niners.

"Attendance at the Kezar Stadium games had declined 80% since the arrival of the 49ers in 1946."

That, to me, means people pretty much abandoned the Dons because a new and better game (pro football) was in town.

Originally posted by Isosceles:

"Attendance at the Kezar Stadium games had declined 80% since the arrival of the 49ers in 1946."

That, to me, means people pretty much abandoned the Dons because a new and better game (pro football) was in town.

Definitely makes some sense.

This is well before my time but it's always seemed like the Bay Area is much more into pro sports than college generally, at least since I've been around. There also really haven't been any dominant college teams in that period that I can recall off the top of my head.

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
Definitely makes some sense.

This is well before my time but it's always seemed like the Bay Area is much more into pro sports than college generally, at least since I've been around. There also really haven't been any dominant college teams in that period that I can recall off the top of my head.

The city I am from loves football, infinitely. But the dominant college football team of the state is so powerful, a pro team (NFL) is and has always been out of the question. Even a start-up team for an existing, well-established university in the city was almost quashed.

But, getting back to Tino Sabuco, I was surprised to see the Pete Rozelle connection there.

Originally posted by Isosceles:
But, getting back to Tino Sabuco, I was surprised to see the Pete Rozelle connection there.

Same here. I can't recall ever hearing about his connection to the program, and I studied there. Lol. Bob St Clair was always the biggest name…

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:

Originally posted by Isosceles:
But, getting back to Tino Sabuco, I was surprised to see the Pete Rozelle connection there.

Same here. I can't recall ever hearing about his connection to the program, and I studied there. Lol. Bob St Clair was always the biggest name…

Really? You went to Univ. of San Francisco? Quite interesting.
Hey, was "52nd 49er year draftee" pretty straightforward for you?

Originally posted by Isosceles:
Really? You went to Univ. of San Francisco? Quite interesting.
Hey, was "52nd 49er year draftee" pretty straightforward for you?

Yea I did.

I was a little confused by the line but when I found his name and searched him, the page I found listed him as the 52nd pick that year, so I had a good feeling he was the guy.

Also, I feel very proud for the team staying loyal and supportive of Toler and Matson.
So I am glad I stumbled upon the story.

QUESTION 18, probably next Wednesday, the 26th. Same time.
As of now, the question I have in mind to use will be a tricky one.
(unless I change my mind and go with something else)