Family of slain father, brothers to be recognized by 49ers
By: Will Reisman
Examiner Staff Writer
September 5, 2008
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| The San Francisco 49ers will recognize the surviving members of the Bologna family before the team's season opener Sunday. Tony Bologna and two of his sons were gunned down in San Francisco's Excelsior district in June by an alleged gang member. (Getty Images) |
The surviving family members of the father and two brothers who were fatally shot earlier this year will be honored by the San Francisco 49ers before the team’s game Sunday.
The team wouldn’t divulge specifics about the engagement, but acknowledged that relatives of Tony Bologna, 49, Michael, 20, and Matthew ,16, would be participating in a pregame ceremony that pays tribute to the hardships they’ve endured following the slayings, 49ers spokesman Pete Hillan said.
The surviving son in the family, a recent graduate of Lincoln High School, will throw out the ceremonial “first pass” before the 49ers take the field against the Arizona Cardinals at 1:15 p.m. Sunday.
Mike Gragnani coached the Bologna son in basketball at Lincoln for two years.
“He was a great kid who was loved by everyone in the school,” Gragnani said. “He just had that kind of effect on people.”
The three Bologna men were shot June 22 in The City’s Excelsior neighborhood. Edwin Ramos, 21, an alleged MS-13 gang member, is accused by prosecutors of killing the men after mistaking them for rival gang members.
