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Eddie’s Youngstown friends along for a memorable ride in Canton
By Tom Williams
CANTON
Over the years, Eddie DeBartolo’s classmates at Cardinal Mooney have enjoyed some memorable NFL experiences.
Some have enjoyed Super Bowls, others have been to team celebrations.
Hall of Fame weekend featuring DeBartolo’s added a new chapter to Mooney’s Class of 1964.
About 50 of them were seated center stage about 20 rows from the stage for Saturday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
“I don’t know how many actually are here,” said Mike DeNiro of Youngstown. “I think most of them came last night.”
Friday night, DeBartolo threw a bash at the Glenmoor Country Club in Canton that featured music sets by Huey Lewis and the News and Boyz II Men.
Youngstown’s Rich Hughes, whose wife, Patty, is DeBartolo’s classmate, said his preference was hearing Huey Lewis.
“He’s from my generation,” said the Mooney Class of 1962 graduate, adding that they Mooney contingent didn’t know about the musical guests “until we got there.
“It was outstanding, I wanted to dance,” Hughes said.
JoAnn Scott of Youngstown did dance ... with Jerry Rice, the 49ers Hall of Fame receiver who finished runner-up in the 2006 season of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I taught him what he knows,” Scott said with a laugh. “It was quite a bash — I didn’t want to leave.”
Round two came with Saturday’s Enshrinement Ceremony televised by ESPN. The Mooney contingent wore 49ers shirts celebrating DeBartolo’s five Super Bowl championships. They pumped their arms in unison when DeBartolo was introduced.
“He treats us like family,” Scott said. “This is like honoring a family member — generous to a fault.”
Among the 49ers’ Hall of Famers in attendance were Rice Joe Montana, Steve Young, Charles Haley and Ronnie Lott.
DeNiro said Friday’s guest list was stunning.
“i really didn’t expect it to be so intimate,” DeNiro said. “To see so many NFL [personalities] and they were all so nice.”
Hughes said this was his first enshrinement ceremony.
“Outstanding — so much happiness,” Hughes said. “Everyone is upbeat and we are happy for every [inductee].”
DeNiro said DeBartolo’s wife, Candy, deserves credit for the inclusion of her husband’s Youngstown connections.
“It was typical Eddie — fantastic,” DeNiro said.
DeNiro told Steve Mariucci, the NFL Network analyst who coached the 49ers from 1997-2002, how much he admired Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo, a childhood friend of Mariucci’s.
“He took out his phone and called him,” DeNiro said of Mariucci.
The call didn’t go through but DeNiro appreciated the effort.
Montana proved camera-shy at the party, but DeNiro said the other NFL stars were great posing for photos.
“Bernie Kosar let my friend [try on] his Super Bowl ring,” DeNiro said. “What struck me was how nice these guys are.”