CANTON, OHIO – A gold jacket and a bronze bust – the two items most synonymous with the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Eddie DeBartolo Jr. has seen his share of both. The extraordinary list of players (and coach) who have been enshrined in Canton from his 23-year tutelage as the owner of the San Francisco 49ers is no coincidence.
“Are we ready to put some jackets on some shoulders tonight?” asked Rich Eisen, an NFL Network host and the emcee of Thursday night’s Gold Jacket Dinner.
The rhetorical inquiry to open the ceremony needed no response.