George Pernicano, Original Chargers Minority Owner, Dies Peacefully at Home in East County

SAN DIEGO, CA — George Pernicano, a San Diego Chargers minority owner, passed away peacefully Thursday, surrounded by family at his home in the East San Diego County city of El Cajon. He was 98.

“George was more than a Chargers icon; he was a San Diego institution,” said Chargers Owner-Chairman Dean Spanos.

According to a Chargers statement issued Thursday, Pernicano was born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, into an Italian family of 11 boys and one girl. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II before he and his wife, Belle, moved to San Diego in 1946 and opened their first of what would soon become a San Diego institution: Pernicano’s Restaurants and his famous pizza.

In 1963, he was one of the five original San Diego Chargers minority owners who purchased interest in the team. He helped Jack Murphy and other prominent San Diegans convince Barron Hilton, the owner of the Los Angeles Chargers, to bring the team to San Diego in 1961.

Pernicano was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame on Sept. 8, 1996. While his health permitted, he attended every game except for two road games, according to the Chargers statement.

"Everyone in NFL circles loved George and he loved being around the team and the players," Spanos said. "He was always upbeat and fiercely proud of this team and his handle-bar mustache was famous as his calling card around the NFL."

Memorial arrangements were pending Thursday afternoon. Pernicano was preceded in death by his wife, who died in 2012 after 72 years of marriage that produced two sons, six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

"Our hearts go out to his family and everyone that had the good fortune to know George," Spanos said. "He will be missed."

— City News Service contributed to this report.