Timeline Of Events
- December 2, 1997 -- Scandal hits the fan. Eddie DeBartolo
resigns as CEO after receiving "target letter" from
U.S. government warning of possible federal crime indictment.
Eddie turns over management control over to sister, Denise DeBartolo
York. S.F. Mayor Willie Brown voices concern over future of controversial
stadium/mall. San Francisco Chronicle reports the 49ers
and NFL have been secretly preparing for the last five weeks
and that an unsigned agreement approved by NFL Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue has been drafted, in which Carmen Policy would take
over Eddie's job and part ownership of the 49ers, as well as
surrender his interest in the DeBartolo Corp. to his sister,
who has become fed up with his gambling ventures.
- December 4, 1997 -- As details of the scandal trickle out,
Edwin Edwards calls payment a "legitimate transaction"
and says he and Eddie are "nothing but close friends who
have done some business together"
- December 5, 1997 -- San Francisco Chronicle headline
calls Eddie and Carmen a "formidable duo"
- December 15, 1997 -- Reitrement of Joe Montana's number removes
Eddie's troubles from papers
- January 15, 1998 -- Despite rumors of previous agreement,
first sign of feud with Carmen, who tells press that he was almost
fired by Eddie and the two have survived a rift in their friendship.
Eddie claims near-firing incident is being overblown
- January 26, 1998 -- First signs of family fued. Carmen admits
that there is not "unanimity with the DeBartolo family"
and that Denise has considered selling the team. Tagliabue claims
he will intervene if 49ers cannot settle stadium issue
- January 27, 1998 -- Denise denies selling rumors, declares
stadium/mall on hold because of rising cost estimates to the
public surprise of Carmen
- late January, 1998 -- Eddie and Carmen stop talking to each
other. Later reports indicate cause is the possibility of Carmen
creating a partnership to buy 49ers, an act which Eddie considers
betrayal
- January 28, 1998 -- 49ers official press release states Carmen
has taken trip to "Tierra del Fuego and the South Pole"
and will not be available to the media for comment
- January 28, 1998 -- Mayor Brown insists stadium on track
from city's perspective
- January 29, 1998 -- SF Chronicle reports Eddie-Denise
feud is based on money and Eddie's lavish spending/gambling lifestyle;
report the next day adds Eddie is millions of dollars in debt
to the corporation and that Denise has sold Eddie's corporate
jet
- February, 1998 -- Eddie-Carmen feud begins heating up publicly,
fan fears fueled by foreboding media stories predicting an end
to the team's free-spending ways and renewed sale rumors
- February 19, 1998 -- Judge rules more evidence is needed
in lawsuit filed by Voter Integrity Project relating to stadium/mall
election transgressions
- March 1, 1998 -- San Jose Mercury News runs article
entitled, "49ers' Image Shifting From Class To Crass"
- March 25, 1998 -- Reports of impending sale of team back
to Eddie include innuendo that he would scrap the stadium/mall
deal
- March 31, 1998 -- Sports Illustrated reports Eddie
has reached tentative agreement with Denise to regain team, fire
Carmen, replace him with Bill Walsh, and also hire Joe Montana.
Carmen confirms if Eddie regains team, he would be fired
- April 1, 1998 -- Mayor Brown fuels stadium concern by voicing
option to move 2003 Super Bowl to Oakland if S.F. stadium fails
- April 1, 1998 -- Tagliabue says he is prepared to "freeze"
any hirings/firings until all issues, including Eddie's looming
indictment, are resolved
- April, 1998 -- SI report disputed by SJ Mercury.
Carmen (back from South Pole), embarks on public relations
tour to diffuse situation, culminating with appearance on Race
and Sports Town Meeting panel
- April 16, 1998 -- Tagliabue declares Carmen will run the
49ers in 1998 regardless of ownership issues
- May 20, 1998 -- NFL owners avoid officially broaching 49ers'
issue at Winter meetings
- June, 1998 -- George magazine details Eddie's relationship
with former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, concluding he may
have gambled away the 49ers
- July 1, 1998 -- NFL officially meets with lawyers representing
Eddie and Carmen to argue ownership issues
- July 1, 1998 -- Walsh clocked in Lake Tahoe casino
- July 22, 1998 -- Carmen resigns from 49ers to join Cleveland
Browns
- late July, 1998 -- Dwight Clark celebrated as "fan-favorite",
according to the SJ Mercury, to run team
- late July, 1998 -- New 49ers executive Larry Thrailkill says
team is still committed to stadium/mall
- September, 1998 -- Thrailkill says team is considering trashing
stadium/mall plans because of rising cost estimates
- September 3, 1998 -- U.S. Attorneys indicate they believe
Eddie will be indicted sometime in October
- September 13, 1998 -- First reports of an "abruptly
changed strategy" by prosecutors indicating Eddie will avoid
bribery/fraud charges
- September 18, 1998 -- Mayor Brown, Thrailkill and Tagliabue
meet to discuss stadium/mall
- September 19, 1999 -- Stadium/mall summit declared a huge
success, everybody declares everything is a go, Thrailkill dismisses
his earlier stance as "confusion"
- September 25, 1998 -- Eddie cuts a deal with prosecution
where he will plead to a lesser crime, pay a fine, and testify
against his "friend", Edwards.
- October 6, 1998 -- Eddie cements his deal with prosecution
by pleading guilty to misprision of felony, officially becomes
a convicted felon; Eddie and government take position that Eddie
was victim of Edwards' extortion
- October 6, 1998 -- On the steps of the courthouse, apparently
oblivious that he was just convicted of a felony stemming from
gambling activities, Eddie declares he wants to begin the process
of getting the 49ers back "right now"
- October 12, 1998 -- Dwight Clark, while discussing a meeting
with Carmen last week, admits that he never renewed his contract
with the 49ers
- October 16, 1998 -- Thrailkill angrily declares Clark will
remain through the season
- November 6, 1998 -- Edwards rips Eddie's motives for cutting
a deal; more evidence of Eddie's love of gambling and that he
did indeed knowingly place a bribe
- November 6, 1998 -- Edwards indicted on racketeering and
conspiracy charges
- November 18, 1998 -- San Francisco Chronicle poll
says 45% of S.F. voters feel Eddie should be allowed to regain
control of team, prompting the headline, "S.F. loves team,
DeBartolo, poll says"
- November 28, 1998 -- Clark departs 49ers for Browns
- December 6, 1998 -- SJ Mercury runs headline calling
Eddie "classy" after the P.R. stunt where Eddie (who
is supposedly banned from being involved with the team) rides
in the ambulance with the injured Bryant Young
- December, 1998 -- Delays in an extension for coach Steve
Mariucci's contract become a big issue for media even though
Mariucci is already under a long-term deal thru 2001
- December 24, 1998 -- Voter integrity group challenge of the
stadium/mall election rejected by California state appeals court
- January 8, 1999 -- SJ Mercury declares "there
is something the NFL must do: Free Eddie DeBartolo Jr."
- January 8, 1999 -- Thrailkill resigns, voices support for
new Mariucci contract upon departing
- January 11, 1999 -- 49ers indicate they may abandon stadium/mall
plans
- January 12, 1999 -- To the relief of the media, Mariucci
gets a contract extension
- January 20, 1999 -- Walsh returns to 49ers (again), happily
praises Eddie's involvement in his hiring (notwithstanding his
supposed ban from the team); all signs point to Eddie regaining
the team sooner than later
- January 29, 1999 -- Tagliabue, angered by Eddie's flaunting
of his failure to adhere to his agreement to stay separated from
the 49ers, addresses the current situation by saying, "I
am not naive or dumb", decrees Eddie will be banned from
the 49ers for at least the rest of 1999; also indicates NFL is
considering dropping pledge of S.F. Super Bowl
- February 3, 1999 -- Eddie makes first appearance as government
stooge in Louisianna court
- February 3, 1999 -- SF Chronicle columnist Glenn Dickey,
notorious bandwagon jumper, opines, "49ers don't need DeBartolo"
and that Eddie should sell team
- February 4, 1999 -- Tagliabue remarks that he is working
on guidelines to ensure that Eddie will stay divorced from the
49ers
- February 24, 1999 -- After weeks of rumor, brother-sister
rift becomes official with public release of 49ers interoffice
memo from Denise ripping Eddie in a purposefully embarrassing
fashion; Denise's husband, John York given corporate control
of team
- February 26, 1999 -- SJ Mercury columnist Mark Purdy
sobs over poor Eddie's situation in sickening fashion, using
Eddie's offer to buy his family a fruit basket and the beers
Eddie bought for the media as evidence of Eddie's good nature
(not unethical stunts to buy-off the media)
- February 26, 1999 -- First hints that Eddie is considering
a lawsuit against his sister or even forcing the sale of the
team to a third party if he cannot regain it
- March 5, 1999 -- Eddie tries to force Denise's hand before
NFL owners meetings by demanding to seat extra directors on the
Board of the family-owned DeBartolo Corp.
- March 5, 1999 -- Despite that the promise of an S.F. Super
Bowl was pivotal in the stadium/mall election, talk grows that
it will be canceled; Mayor Brown reverses on his earlier stance
of wanting it to at least be played in Oakland
- March 14, 1999 -- York, in deflecting criticism of his wife's
perceived disinterest with the 49ers, says all that Denise wants
is "separation from her brother"
- March 16, 1999 -- At NFL owners meetings, Tagliabue announces
$1 million fine and year suspension for Eddie for "conduct
detrimental to the interests of the NFL and professional football"
- March 17, 1999 -- NFL officially withdraws 2003 Super Bowl
offer because of stadium doubts; York, new 49ers administrative
chief, says stadium/mall plans are better than 50-50 chance
- March 19, 1999 -- SF Chronicle reports stadium/mall
issue "shunted to back of back burner"
- April 8, 1999 -- Denise sues to remove Eddie from stadium/mall
project and to force repayment of debt to corporation. The suit
claims Eddie owes the corporation $94 million and improperly
negotiated a side deal in the stadium/mall project which would
pay Eddie $10 million plus 22% interest in the mall
- April 9, 1999 -- Stadium/mall opponent and now mayoral candidate
Clint Reilly calls for the S.F. City Attorney to investigate
Eddie's alleged stadium/mall side deal
- April 13, 1999 -- To Denise's chagrin, Eddie places daughter
Tiffanie and gambling cronie Ed Muransky as new directors on
the Board of DeBartolo Corp.
- April 14, 1999 -- U.S. Post Office announces stamp will commemorate
49ers as one of 15 stamps representing the 1980's
- April 15, 1999 -- Eddie holds a press conference to fling
barbs and announce he is counter-suing his sister; at the conference,
three stooges -- Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Roger Craig -- are
wheeled in and out as stage props to show their allegiance to
their meal ticket
- May 6, 1999 -- Eddie places his Bay Area home for sale
- May 17, 1999 -- Denise calls Eddie's comments "inaccurate
mudslinging" and claims, "He is trying to shake my
faith in doing what is right and he's trying to take away my
dignity."
- May 18, 1999 -- U.S. District Judge Dan Polster orders Eddie
and Denise to stop publicly discussing the pending lawsuits.
Supervised meetings with the Judge begin behind closed doors
- June 16, 1999 -- SF Chronicle reports Eddie is interested
in giving up the 49ers for the right price
- June 30, 1999 -- Reports confirm Eddie is ready to give up
his fight for the team; big factor is speculation that the NFL
might not let Eddie return after such a gambling scandal
- July 21, 1999 -- Eddie's home sells for about $5 million.
Going away party planned for his impending move to Florida
- July 22, 1999 -- CNN/SI reports that the 49ers are
under investigation for salary cap fraud after John York turns
over information allegedly showing impropriety under Eddie's
ownership involving Carmen Policy, Brent Jones and his agent,
Leigh Steinberg. A spokesman for York denies it was done to further
his wife's (Denise's) negotiations against Eddie
- July 31, 1999 -- Unofficial agreement announced where Eddie
will hand over all ownership to Denise. Twenty months after first
stepping down after the gambling scandal in December, 1997, Eddie's
22-year reign of sleaze as an NFL owner apparently is finally
over.

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