John Blackinger

John Regan Blackinger (July 6, 1905 – October 31, 1986) was an American football executive and politician. He served as the first general manager of the San Francisco 49ers from 1946 to 1947 and later was the mayor of Atherton, California.

Biography Blackinger was born on July 6, 1905, in Boise, Idaho. He attended Boise High School, graduating in 1923, and spent one year working at the Boise City National Bank before enrolling at the University of Santa Clara. He "showed the instincts of an executive" at a young age; in high school, he managed the newspaper The Courier, was a member of ROTC, and participated in dramatic plays. By 1937, he was the manager of Hotel Whitcomb in San Francisco. He served on the San Francisco Grand Jury in 1937. He moved to Atherton, California, in 1938, and stopped work as a hotel manager by the following year, then becoming an employee at the Spreckels-Russell Dairy Company, where he eventually rose to vice president of marketing. He served in World War II in the United States Navy as part of the Western Sea Frontier, serving from 1942 to 1946 and retiring as a lieutenant commander. He was able to receive the job due to being a college friend of team founder Tony Morabito; Blackinger hired typist and friend Louis Spadia (who ultimately was his successor) and publicist Buzz McGee to make up a three-man 49ers team office. He helped run the team in the startup AAFC, a competitor to the National Football League (NFL), and was in his position for two years before resigning and being succeeded by Spadia: the team had a record of 9–5 in 1946 and 8–4–2 in 1947. He left the 49ers to continue working in the dairy business, and retired from that job in 1970. He also that year became the vice mayor of the city, and in December 1969, after the resignation of John Licata, became the mayor. He served in each of these positions before retiring in 1976. He died at Stanford University Hospital on October 31, 1986, at the age of 81.