Jesse Sapolu
Offensive Line · SF 49ers
Football · Enshrined Legend
Jesse Sapolu
A four-time Super Bowl champion across 15 seasons with the 49ers — an elite center and guard who played his whole career with a torn aortic valve and became the first NFL player to return after open-heart surgery.
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Super Bowl Championships
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NFL Seasons with the 49ers
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Pro Bowl Selections
The Backstory
From Samoa to the Trenches
Born in Samoa, raised in Hawai‘i
Played his entire career while managing a torn aortic valve caused by rheumatic fever contracted in childhood.
University of Hawai‘i standout
Earned three All-WAC selections and 1982 Team MVP honors; widely considered the greatest offensive lineman in school history.
Pioneer for Polynesian athletes
Co-founder of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame and the Polynesian Bowl, and founder of the MITT Academy and Sapolu Destined Academy.
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1983 → Today
Career Timeline
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1983
Drafted in the 11th round
Selected 289th overall by the San Francisco 49ers — the start of a 15-year career spent entirely with the organization.
0 Seasons
NFL seasons · all with the 49ers
1983 — present
Two Chapters
Fifteen seasons of versatility and toughness at the center of a dynasty offensive line.
Four Super Bowl championships — Super Bowls XIX, XXIII, XXIV, XXIX
Pro Bowl selections — 1993 and 1994
All-Pro honors at center and guard — 1994 and 1995
Switched positions three times at his coaches' request — For Bill Walsh and George Seifert
Protected Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young — 1980s and 1990s 49ers
Three All-WAC selections at Hawai‘i — 1982 Team MVP
Every award, on the record
Honors & Awards
Four-Time Super Bowl Champion
One of six players in 49ers history with four titles.
NFL Ed Block Courage Award
For returning to play following open-heart surgery.
University of Hawaii Circle of Honor
Honored by his alma mater.
State of Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame
Inducted in his home state.
Polynesian Football Hall of Fame
Co-founder and inductee.
Farrington High School Hall of Fame
Honored by his high school.
California Sports Hall of Fame
Recognized for his 49ers career.
More To Know
Deeper Cuts on Jesse Sapolu
He was born in Apia, Samoa on March 10, 1961, and attended Farrington High School in Honolulu before playing at the University of Hawai'i.
Across his 15 NFL seasons he appeared in 182 games, starting 154 of them, and wore jersey No. 61.
He was also picked in the 1983 USFL draft by the Oakland Invaders before ultimately signing with the 49ers.
He wrote about his career in a 2012 memoir titled 'I Gave My Heart to San Francisco.'
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