Manase Jesse Sapolu (born March 10, 1961) is a Samoan former professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played both center and offensive guard, and played his entire career for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. Sapolu attended

Farrington High School Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High School is a public secondary school (grades 9-12) located in the Kalihi district of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The school is part of the Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area of the Honolulu ...

and the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. Standing 6 feet 4 inches, 278 lbs., he was selected by the

Oakland Invaders The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The team can t ...

in the 17th round (199th pick overall) of the 1983 USFL draft, and selected by 49ers in the 11th round (289th pick overall) of the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

. He signed with the 49ers on July 10, 1983. Sapolu is one of six 49ers to own four

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

championship rings (

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

), and the only one of those to earn a ring with the '94 team rather than their first title in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. He earned

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

honors in 1993 and 1994. Since retiring in 1997, Sapolu and his wife Lisa have lived in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, and remains active in the community as well with the 49ers alumni. Sapolu has been an integral part in establishing the Polynesian Pro Football Hall of Fame, of which he is a co-founder. He now runs Men In The Trenches (MITT) in California.

References

External links

Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapolu, Jesse 1961 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players San Francisco 49ers players High school football coaches in California National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Honolulu Sportspeople from Apia Samoan players of American football Samoan emigrants to the United States American sportspeople of Samoan descent Pacific Islander American players of American football

References

Further reading

External links