Dick Berg (1944 - March 22, 2018) was a

sports promoter A promoter works with event production and entertainment industries to promote their productions, including in music and sports. Promoters are individuals or organizations engaged in the business of marketing and promoting live, or pay-per-view ...

and athlete. He promoted the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

and the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and was also quarterback at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Life and career

Berg was born and raised in Puyallup, Washington. He was a quarterback at Stanford University where he helped win their first victory over

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campus ...

in 1963. Berg started promoting sports while attending law school at the University of Washington and working for the

Seattle Chamber of Commerce The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is a private, membership-based organization that represents economic development and the economic interests of its corporate members in the metro region of Seattle, Washington. Its members include most ...

. He helped the city of Seattle with its NBA expansion and getting

SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

to move there. He became the team’s director of marketing. He was the first general manager for the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

, and is said to have come up with the name Earthquakes. He also worked for and promoted

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. ...

of the NASL and the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League. General Manager of the San Francisco FOG (MISL) 1980-81. He coined the term "49er Faithful" for the 49er's fans.

Personal life

Berg was married and divorced three times. One of his sons drowned at age of 2 in their California home pool. He had another son named Brady and daughter named Alexa.

Bibliography

* 197?, ''Eavesdropping America,'' Dick Berg, Glenn Dickey

References

1944 births 2018 deaths {{US-sport-bio-stub Stanford Cardinal football players 20th-century American sportsmen Sports promoters Players of American football from Puyallup, Washington