Former 49ers owner was inducted into San Francisco’s Hall of Fame

Eddie DeBartolo Jr., the San Francisco 49ers’ owner from 1977-98, was worthy of being honored as the inaugural inductee into San Francisco’s Hall of Fame on Sunday. Being affectionately known as “Mr. D” to his players and coaches, DeBartolo was the owner of five-time Super Bowl winner 49ers.

Wide receiver Jerry Rice spoke on the ceremony as a plaque was unveiled honoring DeBartolo as the first inductee into the Eddie DeBartolo Sr. Hall of Fame.

“Eddie has set a standard in the NFL that has never been matched,” said Rice, one of a half-dozen former players taking part in the ceremony. “When you think of San Francisco, you think of the 49ers and of Eddie DeBartolo Jr.’s legacy. He demanded perfection and we delivered for him.”

The 62-year-old DeBartolo expressed his gratitude to those who support the 49ers in a brief speech and told reporters later that he had a plan to help his nephew and current 49ers president Jed York in the team’s efforts to land a new stadium deal.

49ers QB Hill returned to field and was ready for Saturday exhibition

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill returned to practice on Thursday and said that his back injury was not serious enough to prevent him from playing in Saturday’s preseason game at Dallas.

Hill injured his lower back on Tuesday and left Wednesday’s training camp workout after throwing only one pass. Coach Mike Singletary said that day he was unsure about whether Hill could play on Saturday night.

Now, Singletary was glad to see the regular-season starting quarterback back on field. And Hill said Thursday that he felt pretty good with his back.

“Everything felt good,” Hill said Thursday. “It was nice to get out there and be able to practice. If anything, in my mind, it wasn’t as bad as everybody else thought, that’s for sure. I knew there wasn’t a whole lot to it.”

Hill also said the back was getting better but still not sure how long he could play in the 49ers’ third preseason game.

49ers are not willing to comment on Crabtree’s holdout

After the ESPN.com reported that Michael Crabtree is prepared to sit and re-enter the NFL draft next year, the San Francisco 49ers just do not want to make comment on the top draft choice’s holdout.

The 49ers said in a statement released on Thursday that the team has not talked with the media about their negotiation. They believed that there had been open and positive conversations on both sides since they took the wide receiver with the 10th overall pick this year.

49ers quarterback Alex Smith said that he was not sure about Crabtree’s decision, but he was not worried because he supposed the team would focus on the guys they have right now. He also suggested that rookie players should work hard to know their position well enough.