Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor, CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco reported Saturday.
The committee voted Saturday, and the full list of 2016 Hall of Fame inductees will be announced later Saturday evening.
DeBartolo took over ownership of the 49ers in 1977, and under his ownership the 49ers won five Super Bowls, 13 NFC West championships, advanced to the NFC Championship game 10 times and made 16 playoff appearances. The 49ers had the NFL’s highest winning percentage in the 1980s and 1990s.
He owned the team until 2000, when he reached an agreement with his sister, Denise DeBartolo York, to split their financial interests. In 1999, then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced a one-year suspension for DeBartolo for his role in a gambling scandal that resulted in DeBartolo pleading guilty to a felony for failure to report an extortion attempt from former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.
DeBartolo was the only person in the contributor category among this year’s Hall of Fame finalists. He’s from Youngstown, Ohio, which is about 60 miles from the Hall of Fame in Canton.
