Gordie Soltau obit

49ers great Gordy Soltau dies at age 89

 

He was not on the list.

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA— Gordy Soltau, a 49ers scoring machine in the 1950s and one of the franchise’s kindest ambassadors, passed away from natural causes Sunday night with his family by his side. He was 89.

Inducted two years ago into the 49ers Hall of Fame, Soltau joined the team in 1950 upon its arrival in the NFL. The pass-catching end and kicker led the 49ers in scoring in eight of his nine years, topping the NFL in both 1952 and 1953.

“There was not a lot of thought about money. You played because you liked to play,” Soltau said in 2012 about his playing era. “You wanted to be sure you made the team, that was the main thing. You didn’t want to get cut.”

He finished his 49ers career with a franchise-record 644 points, which now ranks fifth all-time. He caught 25 touchdown passes, made 70 of 139 field goals, and missed only two games, according to his son Mark, a long-time Bay Area sportswriter.

“One of my favorite stories — probably the least known — was that Dad made more than 200 unassisted tackles after he kicked off,” Mark Soltau said. “He was so good at it, several teams put bounties on him to knock him out of the game. Nobody kept a stat then; he meticulously kept his own and was very proud of it.”

“For more than six decades Gordy Soltau has served as a gracious ambassador for the San Francisco 49ers,” 49ers owner John York said in a statement. “I consider myself very lucky to have developed a close relationship with Gordy, having come to know him as a true gentleman and consummate family man.

Prior to his induction into the 49ers Hall of Fame, Soltau regaled reporters with stories of his playing days, highlighted by a 44-17 win on Oct. 28, 1951 over the Los Angeles Rams.

“When we played the Rams, it was always a big rivalry. I got pretty lucky against the Rams,” Soltau said then. “I beat them a couple with kicks, and a couple with touchdown catches. Then one game in Kezar, I scored (26) points against them. They never forgave me for that.”

Those 26 points (thee touchdowns, a field goal, five point-after kicks) stood as the team’s single-game record for 39 years until it was broken by Jerry Rice. The 49ers’ opponent at home this Sunday: the Rams.

“It’s ironic that the 49ers are playing the Rams this week on Alumni Day,” Mark Soltau said. “They were his biggest rival — he hated the horns on the Ram helmets and had many of his best games against them.”

Drafted out of Minnesota by the Green Bay Packers with the 30th pick in 1950, Soltau got dealt to the Cleveland Browns, where coach Paul Brown told him he could be a backup or get moved to the 49ers.

“We had great fan support,” Gordy Soltau recalled in 2012. “Kezar Stadium was maybe not the most comfortable stadium from a spectator point of view, but it was a good place to play. The playing field was usually a wreck by the time we played on it, because all the high schools had played there. The field got all torn up between the hashmarks, and you were playing in the dirt, but you didn’t mind it.”

Soltau became an advocate for players’ rights in his 49ers tenure, helping secure pensions and exhibition-season pay. He went on to work in broadcasting for CBS television and 49ers radio broadcasts. He also worked more than 40 years in the printing industry.

A native of Duluth, Minn., he was an original Navy Forgman, served in the Office of Strategist Services during World War II, and later became an honorary member of the Green Berets.

“As a link to the early years of our proud franchise, he possessed a selfless nature that was evident both on the field and through his military service to our country,” York added in his statement.

“I started playing football when I was a little kid, and that was long before Pop Warner, and we played what we called sandlot football,” Soltau said. “Sometimes you had a football, sometimes you didn’t, but you still played. Somebody had to kick, so I said I’d do it, and I kept doing it.”

Soltau was a long-time supporter of youth sports and the Boy Scouts, and he was a member of The Guardsman, The Family Club, The Olympic Club, Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club, and Menlo Country Club.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy; sons Mark and John; daughter Jill; daughter-in-laws Sarah and Valerie; and granddaughters Susie and Shelby. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the San Francisco 49ers Foundation or the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.