Leo Joseph Nomellini (June 19, 1924 – October 17, 2000) was an Italian-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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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 ...

offensive and

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

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 Nationa ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

and was a three-time

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

champion in wrestling.

Early life

Nomellini was born at

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and immigrated to the

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as an infant to Minnesota, before later moving to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

where he attended Crane High School. After high school, he joined the Marine Corps. It was there that in 1942, he first started playing football. After the war, he received a football scholarship to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, where he became a two-time All-American and the 49ers' first-ever NFL draft choice in 1950. While at Minnesota, Nomellini was a member of

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international Greek letter collegiate social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890, at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 30, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership soc ...

fraternity.

Professional career

Nomellini was selected in the 1st round (11th overall) of the 1950 NFL draft, the first draft pick in the history of the

. As a professional, he appeared in 174 regular-season games and started 166 for his 14-year career. While with the 49ers, he played both offensive and

, winning All-Pro honors at both positions. He was selected to the All-NFL team six times: two years on offense and four years on defense. "He was as strong as three bulls," said 49ers teammate Joe Perry. "He'd slap you on the back and knock you twenty feet." Nomellini was named to the NFL's all-time team as a defensive tackle. In 1969, he was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

and in 1977, the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

Professional wrestling

NWA San Francisco

During the off-season Nomellini often wrestled professionally as Leo "The Lion" Nomellini debuting in Minnesota in 1950. For his career, he was a 10-time tag team champion. He won his first tag team championship in NWA San Francisco on March 14, 1952 when he teamed with Hombre Montana. The duo defeated Mike Sharpe and Ben Sharpe for the NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)''. Four months later, Nomellini and Gino Garibaldi won the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship. In April 1953, Nomellini regained the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship while teaming with Enrique Torres when they defeated

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rod ...

and Ray Atkins. Nomellini and Torres defeated the Mike and Ben Sharpe on May 6, 1953 for the NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)''. On May 11, 1954 Nomellini teamed with Rocky Brown to defeat the Sharpes and win the NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)''. In 1957, Nomellini, again teaming with Torres, defeated Lord James Blears and Ben Sharpe for the NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)''. While working for the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

, Nomellini once defeated Lou Thesz in a two-out-of-three falls match, but was not awarded the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus (wrestler), ...

because the first fall was a disqualification.

NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club/American Wrestling Association

Nomellini would leave NWA San Francisco to head to Minnesota to work for

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestl ...

and the NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club. On May 15, 1958, Nomellini, teaming with

defeated Mike and Doc Gallagher for the NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Minneapolis version)''. He would win the title again on July 14, 1959 while teaming with

Butch Levy Leonard Bernard "Butch / Len" Levy (February 19, 1921 – February 9, 1999) was an American professional athlete. The 1941 NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion and 1942 AAU champion, he was selected by the Cleveland Rams of the National Footbal ...

and defeated Karol and Ivan Kalmikoff. He would win it for the last time on July 19, 1960, once again teaming with Gagne and defeating Stan Kowalski and

Tiny Mills Henry Mittlestadt (1911–1987), best known by his ring name, Tiny Mills, was a Canadian professional wrestler born in Camrose, Alberta. He often teamed with his brother Al Mills as the tag team Murder Incorporated (Murder Inc.). Later on Stan "K ...

. Nomellini won his final professional wrestling championship on May 23, 1961, when he and Wilbur Snyder defeated Gene Kiniski and Hard Boiled Haggerty for the AWA World Tag Team Championship.

Death

Nomellini died on October 17, 2000 after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

Championships and accomplishments

* George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2008 * NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club - American Wrestling Association :* AWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Wilbur Snyder :* NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Minneapolis version)'' ( 3 times) - with

(2) and

(1) * NWA San Francisco :* NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' ( 4 times) - with Hombre Montana (1), Enrique Torres (2), and Rocky Brown (1)

Notes

External links

Pro Football Hall of Fame Member profile

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nomellini, Leo 1924 births 2000 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers All-American college football players American football defensive tackles American football offensive tackles American male professional wrestlers College Football Hall of Fame inductees Italian male professional wrestlers Minnesota Golden Gophers football players National Football League players with retired numbers Italian emigrants to the United States Players of American football from Illinois Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees San Francisco 49ers players Western Conference Pro Bowl players United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II AWA World Tag Team Champions