Hall of Fame
Position: Guard/Tackle
Years: 1946-1949
Place of Birth: Lucca, Italy
Date of Birth: Jun 14, 1924
Place of Death: Stanford, CA
Date of Death: Oct 17, 2000
Jersey Number: 73
Height: 6-2
Weight: 245
High School: Chicago, IL (Crane Technical HS)
Leo Nomellini was born June 14, 1924, in Lucca Italy. He came to the United States with his parents at age four. His family settled in Chicago. Nomellini did not play high school sports. He enlisted in the Marines and was at Cherry Point, NC. He played for the football team there for one season. During World War II he saw active duty with the marines in the invasion of Saipan and Okinawa. Nomellini enrolled at the University of Minnesota as a 22-year old freshman in 1946. He was 6 foot 2 in height, weighed 245, and was a 4-year starter on the football team. He played both offense and defense at tackle and was consensus All-American in 1948 and 1949. He also wrestled at Minnesota and won the Big 10 heavyweight championship. He was on the Minnesota track team as a shot putter and anchor man on the 440-yard relay team. He was big, quick, fast, aggressive, and was given a nickname; "the Lion". Nomellini played tackle for the San Francisco 49ers 1950-63. He set a record by playing in 174 consecutive regular season games. He was never injured. He made All-Pro seven times and in 1970, was named to the National Football League's all-time team. In the off season, he starred as a pro-wrestler. Nomellini joined the Northwestern Title Company in Oakland, CA and was vice president. He died October 17, 2000 at age 76.
