 Nomellini in 1961 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 42, 73 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1924-06-19)June 19, 1924 Lucca, Tuscany, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died: | October 17, 2000(2000-10-17) (aged 76) Stanford, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 259 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school: | Crane Tech (Chicago, Illinois) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College: | Minnesota (1946–1949) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1950: 1st round, 11th pick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Leo Joseph Nomellini (June 19, 1924 – October 17, 2000) was an Italian-American professionalfootball player andprofessional wrestler. He playedcollege football for theMinnesota Gophers and was selected by theSan Francisco 49ers in the first round of the1950 NFL draft. He played 14 seasons as adefensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL), all of them with the 49ers, playing his first three years as anoffensive tackle as well.
Nomellini was a seven-timetag team champion in wrestling for two different versions.
He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1969 and to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
Nomellini was born atLucca,Tuscany,Italy, and immigrated to theUnited States as an infant to Minnesota, before later moving toChicago, Illinois, where he attendedCrane High School. After high school, he joined theMarine Corps. It was there that in 1942, he first started playing football.
Afterthe war, he received a football scholarship to theUniversity of Minnesota, where he became a two-timeAll-American and the 49ers' first NFL draft choice in 1950.[1] Nomellini was also an All-American for theMinnesota Golden Gophers track and field team, finishing 7th in thehammer throw at the1948 NCAA track and field championships.[2] While at Minnesota, Nomellini was a member ofDelta Chi fraternity.[3]
Nomellini was selected in the 1st round (11th overall) of the1950 NFL draft by theSan Francisco 49ers, the NFL draft in which that formerAll-America Football Conference team was a part.[4] As a professional, he appeared in 174 regular-season games and started 166 for his 14-year career.
While with the 49ers, he played bothoffensive anddefensive tackle, winning All-Pro honors at both positions. He was selected to the All-NFL team six times: two years on offense and four years on defense. "He was as strong as three bulls," said 49ers teammateJoe Perry. "He'd slap you on the back and knock you twenty feet."[5] He was selected as the defensive tackle on the NFL 50th Anniversary All Time Team.[6]
During the off-season Nomellini often wrestled professionally as Leo "The Lion" Nomellini debuting in Minnesota in 1950. For his career, he was a 10-time tag team champion. He won his first tag team championship inNWA San Francisco on March 14, 1952, when he teamed with Hombre Montana. The duo defeatedBen and Mike Sharpe for theNWA World Tag Team Championship(San Francisco version). Four months later, Nomellini and Gino Garibaldi won the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship. In April 1953, Nomellini regained the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship while teaming withEnrique Torres when they defeatedFred and Ray Atkins. Nomellini and Torres defeated the Mike and Ben Sharpe on May 6, 1953, for the NWA World Tag Team Championship(San Francisco version). On May 11, 1954, Nomellini teamed with Rocky Brown to defeat the Sharpes and win the NWA World Tag Team Championship(San Francisco version). In 1957, Nomellini, again teaming with Torres, defeatedLord James Blears and Ben Sharpe for the NWA World Tag Team Championship(San Francisco version).
While working for theNational Wrestling Alliance, Nomellini once defeatedLou Thesz in a two-out-of-three falls match, but was not awarded theNWA World Heavyweight Championship because the first fall was a disqualification.
Also Nomellini wrestled in Hawaii where he feuded withGene Kiniski.
Nomellini would leave NWA San Francisco to head to Minnesota to work forVerne Gagne and theNWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club.
On May 15, 1958, Nomellini, teaming withVerne Gagne defeated Mike and Doc Gallagher for theNWA World Tag Team Championship(Minneapolis version). He would win the title again on July 14, 1959, while teaming withButch Levy and defeated Karol and Ivan Kalmikoff. He would win it for the last time on July 19, 1960, once again teaming with Gagne and defeating Stan Kowalski andTiny Mills.
Nomellini won his final professional wrestling championship on May 23, 1961, when he andWilbur Snyder defeatedGene Kiniski andHard Boiled Haggerty for theAWA World Tag Team Championship.
He retired from wrestling in 1965 in Hawaii.
Nomellini died on October 17, 2000, after suffering astroke.[7]
Nomellini was named to the NFL's all-time team as a defensive tackle. In 1969, he was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame and in 1977, theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
