Looking Back at HOF Contributors: Edward DeBartolo, Jr

Two contributor finalists will be selected this week on Thursday, August 23. The Contributor category is for individuals who made outstanding contributions to professional football in capacities other than playing or coaching. The HOF Bylaws to the selection process were instituted in August 2014 in which a contributor will be included among the annual list of finalists for election.
 
The Committee is comprised of nine members of the overall selection committee. Through mail vote, the 2019 Contributor nominees are being reduced to a list of 10 semifinalists. Then, on a rotating basis, five of the nine members of the committee meet at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton to discuss each of the Contributors.
 
Here's a look back at the five contributors who have been elected:
 
Edward DeBartolo, Jr’s road to the Hall of Fame began on Sept. 2, 2015 when he was named a contributor finalist.
 
“I’m truly humbled. My football life is going through my mind right now,” DeBartolo, Jr. commented moments after learning the news he had been selected.
 
He was officially elected on Feb. 6, 2016. The selection meeting was held inside the Super Bowl 50 Media Center in downtown San Francisco and capped a year-round selection process.
 
Under DeBartolo’s leadership, the 49ers were transformed from a downtrodden franchise into one of the greatest teams in NFL history. During his time as the club’s owner from 1977 to 2000, the 49ers posted 10 or more wins in a season 17 times in 18 years with the only non-winning campaign coming during the strike-shortened 1982 season. Also during that span San Francisco appeared in 10 NFC championship games and won Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV, and XXIX.