University of Minnesota Athletics
Leo Nomellini - M Club Hall of Fame
Leo Nomellini
Football, 1946-49
Wrestling, 1946-49
Men’s Track & Field, 1949-50
HOF Class of 1993
Leo Nomellini took an unusual route to Gopher football: Born in Italy, he grew up in a tough neighborhood outside Chicago, never playing high school football. Enlisted in the Marines, he learned the game while stationed in North Carolina.
After active duty that included the invasions of Saipan and Okinawa, Nomellini enrolled as a 22-year-old freshman at the University of Minnesota.
Playing tackle in 1949, he anchored a defense that allowed just 80 points all season, and was named an All-American for the second straight year.
“The Lion” took up wrestling, and in his second year won the Big Ten heavyweight championship.
Nomellini was also a shot-putter on the track team, and anchor man on the 440-yard relay team.
Graduating in 1950, the three-time All-Big Ten tackle was the first-ever draft pick of the new San Francisco 49ers. A two-way lineman, he played 174 consecutive regular season games in a 14-year career.
Ten times a Pro-Bowl pick, he was one of few to be named All-Pro on both offense and defense. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1977, and named to the NFL’s all-time team in 1970. The 49ers retired Nomellini’s No. 73.