Joe Vetrano, 49ers' first kicker, dies
EXAMINER senior writer, Dwight Chapin; Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 12, 1995 (http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Joe-Vetrano-49ers-first-kicker-dies-3147098.php)
Original 49er, Joe Vetrano, a member of the San Francisco team that joined the All-America Football Conference in 1946, died Wednesday night of heart failure at UC Medical Center. He was 76.
The 49ers' first place-kicker, Vetrano was nicknamed "The Little Toe" early in his professional career, but that was later shortened to simply "The Toe." During his four-year career with the Niners, he kicked 108 consecutive points after touchdown, an AAFC record.
At one point during the streak, holder Frankie Albert fumbled a snap from center. But the quick-thinking Vetrano scooped up the loose ball and kept the string alive by scoring the extra point on a drop kick.
Vetrano's playing career ended in 1950, when the financially beleaguered AAFC reduced the roster size and the 49ers could no longer afford the luxury of carrying someone who was only a kicker. Coach Buck Shaw broke the news gently to Vetrano.
"This means we'll have to make every man count," Shaw said. "Everybody will have to carry his share of the load. We can't afford any extras. So that's how it is, Joe. How would you handle it?
"Joe gulped hard, then answered, "I'd ask Vetrano to quit,'
"Thanks, Joe," Shaw said. "I'd hoped you'd see it our way."
Vetrano later served Shaw and Albert in the 1950s as a 49ers assistant coach and chief scout, and was a football assistant for one season at his alma mater, Southern Mississippi, where he was a star single-wing tailback before World War II, even though he weighed only a little more than 160 pounds. He also coached one season at Neptune High School, Neptune, New Jersey.
In later years, Vetrano had his own auto sales business, and ran the Cypress Hills golf course for two years in the late 1970s. For a time, he was also part owner of Delvecchio's Restaurant in San Francisco. For the last 15 years he was employed at Burlingame Ford, the final four in a public relations capacity.
The personable Vetrano was extremely well-known and well-regarded in the San Francisco athletic community, numbering Joe DiMaggio, with whom he spent a lot of time, Lefty O'Doul, Ernie Nevers and Ken Venturi among his close friends.
Survivors include his wife, Violet, a son, Joe Jr., and a daughter, Barbara, who was City Women's Golf champion in 1977. Services are pending at Duggan's Serra Mortuary in Daly City.
Thank you to Kathleen C.. Find a Grave Contributor #47377662 for this information.
Military Information: CPL, US ARMY AIR CORPS
EXAMINER senior writer, Dwight Chapin; Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 12, 1995 (http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Joe-Vetrano-49ers-first-kicker-dies-3147098.php)
Original 49er, Joe Vetrano, a member of the San Francisco team that joined the All-America Football Conference in 1946, died Wednesday night of heart failure at UC Medical Center. He was 76.
The 49ers' first place-kicker, Vetrano was nicknamed "The Little Toe" early in his professional career, but that was later shortened to simply "The Toe." During his four-year career with the Niners, he kicked 108 consecutive points after touchdown, an AAFC record.
At one point during the streak, holder Frankie Albert fumbled a snap from center. But the quick-thinking Vetrano scooped up the loose ball and kept the string alive by scoring the extra point on a drop kick.
Vetrano's playing career ended in 1950, when the financially beleaguered AAFC reduced the roster size and the 49ers could no longer afford the luxury of carrying someone who was only a kicker. Coach Buck Shaw broke the news gently to Vetrano.
"This means we'll have to make every man count," Shaw said. "Everybody will have to carry his share of the load. We can't afford any extras. So that's how it is, Joe. How would you handle it?
"Joe gulped hard, then answered, "I'd ask Vetrano to quit,'
"Thanks, Joe," Shaw said. "I'd hoped you'd see it our way."
Vetrano later served Shaw and Albert in the 1950s as a 49ers assistant coach and chief scout, and was a football assistant for one season at his alma mater, Southern Mississippi, where he was a star single-wing tailback before World War II, even though he weighed only a little more than 160 pounds. He also coached one season at Neptune High School, Neptune, New Jersey.
In later years, Vetrano had his own auto sales business, and ran the Cypress Hills golf course for two years in the late 1970s. For a time, he was also part owner of Delvecchio's Restaurant in San Francisco. For the last 15 years he was employed at Burlingame Ford, the final four in a public relations capacity.
The personable Vetrano was extremely well-known and well-regarded in the San Francisco athletic community, numbering Joe DiMaggio, with whom he spent a lot of time, Lefty O'Doul, Ernie Nevers and Ken Venturi among his close friends.
Survivors include his wife, Violet, a son, Joe Jr., and a daughter, Barbara, who was City Women's Golf champion in 1977. Services are pending at Duggan's Serra Mortuary in Daly City.
Thank you to Kathleen C.. Find a Grave Contributor #47377662 for this information.
Military Information: CPL, US ARMY AIR CORPS
Joe Vetrano, 49ers' first kicker, dies
EXAMINER senior writer, Dwight Chapin; Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 12, 1995 (http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Joe-Vetrano-49ers-first-kicker-dies-3147098.php)
Original 49er, Joe Vetrano, a member of the San Francisco team that joined the All-America Football Conference in 1946, died Wednesday night of heart failure at UC Medical Center. He was 76.
The 49ers' first place-kicker, Vetrano was nicknamed "The Little Toe" early in his professional career, but that was later shortened to simply "The Toe." During his four-year career with the Niners, he kicked 108 consecutive points after touchdown, an AAFC record.
At one point during the streak, holder Frankie Albert fumbled a snap from center. But the quick-thinking Vetrano scooped up the loose ball and kept the string alive by scoring the extra point on a drop kick.
Vetrano's playing career ended in 1950, when the financially beleaguered AAFC reduced the roster size and the 49ers could no longer afford the luxury of carrying someone who was only a kicker. Coach Buck Shaw broke the news gently to Vetrano.
"This means we'll have to make every man count," Shaw said. "Everybody will have to carry his share of the load. We can't afford any extras. So that's how it is, Joe. How would you handle it?
"Joe gulped hard, then answered, "I'd ask Vetrano to quit,'
"Thanks, Joe," Shaw said. "I'd hoped you'd see it our way."
Vetrano later served Shaw and Albert in the 1950s as a 49ers assistant coach and chief scout, and was a football assistant for one season at his alma mater, Southern Mississippi, where he was a star single-wing tailback before World War II, even though he weighed only a little more than 160 pounds. He also coached one season at Neptune High School, Neptune, New Jersey.
In later years, Vetrano had his own auto sales business, and ran the Cypress Hills golf course for two years in the late 1970s. For a time, he was also part owner of Delvecchio's Restaurant in San Francisco. For the last 15 years he was employed at Burlingame Ford, the final four in a public relations capacity.
The personable Vetrano was extremely well-known and well-regarded in the San Francisco athletic community, numbering Joe DiMaggio, with whom he spent a lot of time, Lefty O'Doul, Ernie Nevers and Ken Venturi among his close friends.
Survivors include his wife, Violet, a son, Joe Jr., and a daughter, Barbara, who was City Women's Golf champion in 1977. Services are pending at Duggan's Serra Mortuary in Daly City.
Thank you to Kathleen C.. Find a Grave Contributor #47377662 for this information.
Military Information: CPL, US ARMY AIR CORPS
EXAMINER senior writer, Dwight Chapin; Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 12, 1995 (http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Joe-Vetrano-49ers-first-kicker-dies-3147098.php)
Original 49er, Joe Vetrano, a member of the San Francisco team that joined the All-America Football Conference in 1946, died Wednesday night of heart failure at UC Medical Center. He was 76.
The 49ers' first place-kicker, Vetrano was nicknamed "The Little Toe" early in his professional career, but that was later shortened to simply "The Toe." During his four-year career with the Niners, he kicked 108 consecutive points after touchdown, an AAFC record.
At one point during the streak, holder Frankie Albert fumbled a snap from center. But the quick-thinking Vetrano scooped up the loose ball and kept the string alive by scoring the extra point on a drop kick.
Vetrano's playing career ended in 1950, when the financially beleaguered AAFC reduced the roster size and the 49ers could no longer afford the luxury of carrying someone who was only a kicker. Coach Buck Shaw broke the news gently to Vetrano.
"This means we'll have to make every man count," Shaw said. "Everybody will have to carry his share of the load. We can't afford any extras. So that's how it is, Joe. How would you handle it?
"Joe gulped hard, then answered, "I'd ask Vetrano to quit,'
"Thanks, Joe," Shaw said. "I'd hoped you'd see it our way."
Vetrano later served Shaw and Albert in the 1950s as a 49ers assistant coach and chief scout, and was a football assistant for one season at his alma mater, Southern Mississippi, where he was a star single-wing tailback before World War II, even though he weighed only a little more than 160 pounds. He also coached one season at Neptune High School, Neptune, New Jersey.
In later years, Vetrano had his own auto sales business, and ran the Cypress Hills golf course for two years in the late 1970s. For a time, he was also part owner of Delvecchio's Restaurant in San Francisco. For the last 15 years he was employed at Burlingame Ford, the final four in a public relations capacity.
The personable Vetrano was extremely well-known and well-regarded in the San Francisco athletic community, numbering Joe DiMaggio, with whom he spent a lot of time, Lefty O'Doul, Ernie Nevers and Ken Venturi among his close friends.
Survivors include his wife, Violet, a son, Joe Jr., and a daughter, Barbara, who was City Women's Golf champion in 1977. Services are pending at Duggan's Serra Mortuary in Daly City.
Thank you to Kathleen C.. Find a Grave Contributor #47377662 for this information.
Military Information: CPL, US ARMY AIR CORPS
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