Visco Grgich (January 19, 1923 – December 26, 2005) was a professional

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

lineman who played in the All-America Football Conference and the

National Football League 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 ...

. He played seven seasons for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the

1946 NFL Draft The 1946 National Football League Draft was held on January 14, 1946, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. The selections were initially withheld from the public out of fear that the newly formed All-America Football Conference wou ...

. Grgich was known as a tough and sometimes vicious two-way lineman who loved to intimidate

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los An ...

. Grgich was also known for his rousing pep talks prior to games and was even brought back by Coach Frank Albert to give pep talks after his playing days were through. At the end of his pep talk, Grgich would say "This is the way you've gotta do it!" and would promptly deliver a forearm shiver to the nearest door, wall or even one of the wooden support posts in

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders (first AFL s ...

which was rumoured to be felt throughout Kezar Stadium. He is distinguished as being the first Yugoslav to play in the

. Grgich's playing career was ended by a knee injury in 1952, at which time he became a car salesman until former coach

Buck Shaw Lawrence Timothy "Buck" Shaw (March 28, 1899 – March 19, 1977) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach for Santa Clara Broncos football, Santa Clara University, the California Golden Bears football, University of Califor ...

demanded he turn to coaching. Grgich became the head football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at Oakdale High School, in

Oakdale, California Oakdale is a city in the San Joaquin Valley and Stanislaus County, California. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. Oakdale goes by the slogan "Cowboy Capital of the World." The population was 23,181 at the 2020 census, up f ...

in 1957 and 1958. He later became the

offensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

for several years at Oakdale High School. In 1985, Visco and other Grgich family members competed on an episode of

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...

against the Hatfield family. Grgich taught drivers education at Oakdale High School until he retired in 1986. As a teacher he was greatly loved by his many students who quickly learned you could derail a day's instruction at the mere mention of the San Francisco 49ers, at which time Grgich would bring out old reel movies of San Francisco 49ers games from his playing days. In 1982 his students raised money to pay his way to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

to watch his beloved San Francisco 49ers play the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. Visco continued to live in the Oakdale, California area until he was moved to Dale Commons assisted-living facility in Modesto, California shortly prior to his wife Grace, the country and western singer known as "Sioux City Sue," died in 2001. Visco and Sue had 4 children, Steve, Vikki, Toni and Mike. Visco died Monday December 26, 2005 at a Modesto, California hospital.

External links

Visco Grgich, One Of Original 49ers, Dies At 82
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grgich, Visco 1923 births 2005 deaths People from Šibenik-Knin County Croatian players of American football People from Oakdale, California Santa Clara Broncos football players San Francisco 49ers (AAFC) players San Francisco 49ers players Western Conference Pro Bowl players Yugoslav emigrants to the United States People from Modesto, California