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Sports of The Times: Eddie DeBartolo Jr., a Gifted but Flawed Human Being, Seeks a Spot Among the Immortals

SAN FRANCISCO — Eddie DeBartolo Jr. is nervous. So nervous that he often can’t sleep past 2:45 a.m. His mind is racing as he wonders how this Super Bowl weekend will turn out.

He is not thinking about the game. No, DeBartolo, known to fans around here as Eddie D, the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, is worried about something bigger than that: the Pro Football Hall of Fame vote, which takes place on Saturday.

Eddie D is one of the candidates who could enter the Hall this year. Three times before, the voters have passed on him.