I received an email from a long time poster who thought this history lesson might be inspiring, and I agreed. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.
By: Joe Hession
49ers Museum historian
Military veterans returning from World War II supplied the backbone of the 49ers original 1946 team.
The Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima, Remagen Bridge, Saipan and many other legendary World War II encounters included at least one future 49ers player. From team administrators like Lou Spadia, to quarterback Frankie Albert, to running back Len Eshmont, nearly all contributed to the war effort before entering the pro football world.
The first 49ers employee hired by team owner Tony Morabito was John Blackinger, a college buddy from Santa Clara who was returning from U.S. Naval duty. Blackinger was named general manager of the 49ers, then hired Spadia who served alongside him in the Navy.
“I think I got the job because I could type and take shorthand,” Spadia said in an interview shortly before he passed away in 2013. “When I realized I was an executive and could hire someone else, I brought in Helen Dill, who had been a Navy WAVE, to help with the typing.”
Spadia eventually became team president, general manager and part owner of the club, but before the 49ers first game, an exhibition against the Los Angeles Dons in San Diego, he assumed the role of equipment manager and turned to the U.S. Marines for essential help.
“We had all these uniforms and equipment and no way to transport them,” Spadia said. “At a surplus store out on Market Street, they were selling Marine Corps duffel bags for $1 each. I bought 40 of them and they became our equipment bags.”
Organizing a pro football team may have been chaotic behind the scenes, but on the field Coach Buck Shaw assembled a stellar lineup. Virtually every player on the original 33-man roster had military experience. According to Spadia, the discipline and maturity brought on by their military service were essential ingredients in the club’s early success.
Among the returning WWII veterans who played for the 49ers were:
Alyn Beals
Receiver Alyn Beals, a graduate of San Francisco’s Poly High School, completed ROTC at Santa Clara University, became an Army Field Artillery Battery Commander, and saw action at the Battle of the Bulge and Remagen Bridge. After Germany surrendered, he was part of General George Patton’s security force at the Nuremberg trial of Nazi war criminals.
Three days after Captain Beals returned from his military obligation in Germany he was at the 49ers first-ever Menlo College training camp. He went on to become the greatest receiver in All-America Football Conference history. In his first season, he caught 40 passes to lead the AAFC, 10 of those were for touchdowns. During the four years the AAFC existed, Beals nabbed 177 passes, scored 46 touchdowns, and was the league’s all-time leading scorer with 278 points. Remarkably, 26 percent of his receptions resulted in touchdowns.
Sam Cathcart
Running back Sam Cathcart was drafted into the Army in 1943. He served as a squad leader in the 75th Infantry Division and saw action at the Battle of the Bulge and at the Colmar Pocket in France, where he was wounded and earned a Silver Star. Cathcart joined the 49ers as a free agent. As a 25-year-old rookie in 1949, he totaled 1,038 all-purpose yards, sixth best in the All-America Football Conference. He added another 145 all-purpose yards for the 49ers during their two 1949 playoff games.
During three seasons with the 49ers (1949, 1950, 1952) Cathcart was a vital two-way player. On offense, Cathcart compiled 509 rushing yards and 296 receiving yards. As a defensive back he intercepted seven passes, and contributed 983 yards on kick returns.
Cathcart was recalled to active Army duty during the Korean War, forcing him to miss the entire 1951 season. In 2014, Cathcart was honored by the French Consulate General, and in 2015 by the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation for his military service and action in World War II. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Army reserve before retiring his commission in 1975.
Sam and his brother Royal Cathcart played together with the 49ers in 1950.
Ken Casanega
Defensive back and running back Ken Casanega attended Oakland’s Castlemont High and Santa Clara University before serving as a U.S. Naval aviator during World War II. He signed with the original 1946 San Francisco 49ers after his stint in the Navy.
“After the war I had no intention of playing pro football, but then Tony (Morabito) called me and said he was starting a team,” Casanega said.
Morabito, a Santa Clara alum, and 49ers skipper Buck Shaw, a former Santa Clara coach, appealed to Casanega’s Santa Clara roots and persuaded him to join the 49ers. Casanega intercepted 8 passes in 1946, second most in the All-America Football Conference.
Joe Arenas
Joe Arenas was a fearless kick returner and running back for the 49ers. The way he saw it, sprinting through a pack of football players was much easier than his previous occupation as a U.S. Marine at Iwo Jima.
“I was fixing my fox hole (on Iwo Jima) and all these shells were coming right over us,” Arenas said. “Then something hit me in the back. It felt like a big axe hit me. And it burned. I just couldn’t move. My buddy in the fox hole with me said, ‘man I got to get you out of here.’”
The experience provided Arenas with a different perspective when he returned home and won a spot in the 49ers backfield. “I figured, I’ve been through a lot more (in battle) than what can happen on the football field.”
During his seven years with the 49ers from 1951-1957 Arenas was one of the NFL’s most dangerous return men, averaging over 27 yards on kickoff returns. Arenas is still ranked eighth on the NFL’s all-time return list. But kickoff duty was a walk in the park compared to the day he was hit by shrapnel and earned a Purple Heart.
Jesse Freitas
Quarterback and defensive back Jesse Freitas saw action as an Army Artillery Commander at the Battle of the Bulge. He earned a Bronze Star for ordering an artillery barrage against an enemy position. He then supervised the rescue of several comrades who were pinned down by machine gun fire.
Prior to the war, Freitas played collegiate ball at Santa Clara University under future 49ers head coach Buck Shaw. After returning from Army duty he reunited with Shaw and several former Santa Clara teammates as part of the 49ers original team.
Frankie Albert
Quarterback Frankie Albert guided Stanford University’s “Wow Boys” to a Rose Bowl victory in 1940 then joined the Navy in 1942. He served as a Naval deck officer, spending 15 months in the Pacific Theater. Albert returned stateside and played quarterback for the powerful St. Mary’s College Pre-Flight team, a U.S. Navy flight training school
With the 49ers, Albert earned the nickname “the T-Formation Wizard” because of his ball-handling, passing, running, and punting ability. He threw 88 touchdown passes during San Francisco’s four years in the AAFC, the league record. In 1948, he shared Player-of-the-Year honors with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham after throwing for 29 scores and running for eight in just 14 games.
Edward Forrest
Guard and center Eddie Forrest, a graduate of San Francisco’s St. Ignatius High School, entered the U.S. Army in 1943 after playing college football at Santa Clara. He earned a commission as a lieutenant with the Army paratroopers, then served 10 months in Europe.
Forrest was a starting lineman on the 49ers original 1946 team, and captain of the St. Ignatius 1939 football squad, yet he claimed his greatest thrill was his first jump from a C-47 while a paratrooper.
Rupert Thornton
Guard Rupert Thornton was called to active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942 immediately after graduating from Santa Clara University. He served two years in the Philippines and saw action throughout the South Pacific Theater. Thornton completed his military stint in 1946 and earned a spot on the original 49ers team roster.
Hank Norberg
Wide receiver and defensive end Hank Norberg graduated from nearby Palo Alto High School and Stanford University. Immediately after completing his studies at Stanford in 1943, Norberg enlisted in the Army despite being drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 1943 NFL draft. He was shipped to Hawaii, where the U.S. Armed Forces were rebuilding after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. Norberg saw duty in the Pacific Theater, particularly in Saipan.
Norberg sharpened his gridiron skills in the military while playing for the Fourth Air Force football squad. He returned home in time to earn a spot on the 1946 49ers team. In San Francisco’s very first exhibition game, Norberg hauled in a 35-yard pass from Parker Hall in a 17-7 win over the Los Angeles Dons at San Diego’s Balboa Park.
Leonard “Mickey” Masini
Fullback Leonard “Mickey” Masini was in the midst of a brilliant college football career at Fresno State in 1942 when he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. He spent the next two years in battle zones from Africa to Europe earning 10 battle stars and two Presidential unit citations for heroic service. While enroute to North Africa on a troop transport ship his unit was attacked by German planes.
Masini missed the 1946 season, but cracked the 49ers lineup in 1947 playing both linebacker and fullback. He scored his first pro football touchdown in 1947 on a nine-yard run in the 49ers 42-28 victory over the Chicago Rockets.
John Strzykalski
John Strzykalski was the first in a long line of superb 49ers running backs. After an outstanding freshman/sophomore season at Marquette University in 1942, Strzykalski was called to active duty with the Army Air Force. He served in the Caribbean Theater during WWII, where the U.S. had strategic bases defending the Panama Canal and various oil fields.
On his return to the states, “Johnny Strike” continued his impressive gridiron career with the famed Second Air Force Superbombers. He was named to the All-Army and All-Service all-star teams in 1945, then joined the 49ers for the 1946 season. At a time when rushing for 1,000 yards was considered super-human, Strzykalski gained over 900 yards in both 1947 and 1948, and averaged over six yards per carry.
Nice history lesson razor. Any players from the military you think are interesting in this year's draft?
ReplyDeleteMyles Fells, UDFA/RB, Navy
DeleteJon Rattigan, UDFA/LB, Army
D J Hammond III, UDFA/QB, Air Force
ReplyDeleteBreeze has retired.
https://www.profootballrumors.com/2021/03/drew-brees-retires-from-nfl
Great career. The Saints are going to struggle in 2021 I expect.
DeleteSo it appears to be down to wrapping up T Williams, Juice and Verrett, and letting the rest of the chips fall where they may.
ReplyDeleteYep. Verrett surprises me a little bit - as I outlined in my previous article I expect him to be retained, but I thought they would let him test FA. My belief is he will struggle to get the market he wants at which point the 49ers will bring him back. Same with Hyder.
DeleteWilliams and Juice on the other hand I fully expect the 49ers to be working very hard to get them locked up before FA begins.
Maybe Verrett told them he wants to come back so just get it over with. Who knows but it's possible. Williams on the other hand said he wants to come back as long as it's "fair." Translation: I want to be paid. Bring back the old days.
DeleteSeriously, WTF are the Saints doing? 4 year, $140M extension for Taysom Hill. Absolutely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI get that all years are voidable so he will never see the money, and that really this is just a way to push cap hit to future years, but it still will get factored in when setting a market (such as for franchise tags). No need for it when it is clear the player will never see that money.
Juice signed 5 year 27 million.
ReplyDeleteNice!
DeleteGood to keep Jusz in the fold.
DeleteThis allows the team to look at another position of need.
Trent Williams is the next big re-sign that could give the 49ers more flexibility in the draft and FA.
But what are the 49ers willing to pay him?
TBD
One of Grant's takes on the Juice signing: They couldn't have afforded it if they knew they were going to be able to sign T. Williams.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.si.com/nfl/49ers/news/san-francisco-49ers-give-kyle-juszczyk-five-year-27-million-contract
Eh, $10M guaranteed, which is likely mostly signing bonus, and they spread it out over 5 years. He's probably only counting about $3M-$3.5M under the cap this year. This deal should have no impact on their ability to re-sign Williams.
DeleteThanks, Scooter. I guess I should stop it with the Grant.
DeleteYea, I agree with, Scooter. Should have absolutely no bearing on whether or not they sign, Williams. I think he'll sign before Wednesday.
DeleteNw George.
DeleteGrant is good at what he does (though I understand why some don't like it), but take a lot of what he says with a grain of salt. Doesn't mean he is wrong (he may well be right that the 49ers are using this to distract fans from their inability to re-sign Williams), but the contract given to Juice shouldn't preclude such a re-signing.
In fact if you look back at my previous article you will see this is along the lines of what I said they would do with Juice (same approximate annual average though they used 5 years to get the 2021 cap hit down rather than doing it over 3 years like I thought they might), and I still had them with enough room for Williams.
Just saw a tweet that suggests his actual pay in 2021 is something like $5.47M. If that is the case then it is possible his 2021 cap hit could be less than $3.5M, depending on what they have done. Let's say around $4M is signing bonus, the rest salary/ roster bonus. His cap hit in 2021 would be around $2.5M. The remaining $4.5M in guarantees could be 2022 salary, or it could be some form of an option bonus and 2022 salary (which would then push his big cap hits out further.
DeleteWe won't know for sure until we see the details, but sounds to me like they have likely put a contract structure together that really keeps his 2021 cap hit down.
I agree with the structure being the most important part.
DeleteIf Juice's deal averages over 5M per year but it's backloaded and the guarenteed money is gone after year 3, then it's a good contract for SF.
As to Williams, I like him, but if he makes 20M + per season and its mostly guarenteed, I wouldn't be devastated if he left. Yes, SF would have to get a Tackle in the draft, but if they were able to get someone like Ngakoue or Barrett and Mack (stopgap/mentor for draftee) or Linsley to man the center.
I like Williams and want to keep him, but there is a point where one player can take up too much cap space. There is also his injury history, which while not terrible is real, he has missed several games over the years and he's not getting younger so I would expect this to worsen.
*Once more* I do want him back I'm just pointing out some positives/options should he move on.
I wouldn't be devastated if Williams left either. As you say, it would free up cap space for other positions.
DeleteBuuut, the downside is it probably pigeonholes them into drafting an OT round 1, unless they feel there is another FA LT that can do the job at a high level. Not the worst thing in the world, but ideally they can go into the draft not feeling they have to go a particular direction.