George Pernicano (December 12, 1917 – October 6, 2016) was an American businessman. Along with

Barron Hilton William Barron Hilton (October 23, 1927 – September 19, 2019) was an American business magnate, philanthropist and sportsman. The second son and successor of hotelier Conrad Hilton, he was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of ...

and other prominent San Diegans, Pernicano brought the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

in 1961. He originally owned 7% of the team, but later held 3%. On Sept 8, 1996, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame. Pernicano attended every home game in the team's history until his death and only missed 2 away games: one for his grandson's wedding and one towards the end of his life due to health issues. In 1960, he opened Casa di Baffi in San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood. It closed in the early 1980s and was demolished in January 2022. City officials and neighboring business have expressed frustration over Pernicano's refusal to sell or redevelop the property. He died at the age of 98 on October 6, 2016.

References

Businesspeople from San Diego 1917 births 2016 deaths San Diego Chargers owners {{amfootbio-stub 20th-century American businesspeople