You know how the Beatles’ music was remastered on CDs and launched to such virtual applause last week?

The 49ers are doing the same thing with former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. this weekend.
Well, except with no CDs. And more actual applause.
The occasion is DeBartolo’s induction as the first member of the new 49ers Hall of Fame — which is named after Eddie’s father, Edward DeBartolo Sr. The ceremony will be Saturday night in a downtown San Francisco hotel ballroom. Speeches and toasts are scheduled.
The next afternoon, Eddie DeBartolo Jr. will be recognized at halftime of the 49ers-Seahawks game at Candlestick Park. Cheers are scheduled.
“We’re doing this because Eddie is always there for the former players — Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott — when we have honored them,” 49ers president Jed York said. “But we have never done anything specifically for my uncle, so that the fans can salute him. This is the chance to do that. He deserves it.”
Understood. But here is what York and the 49ers organization aren’t saying: This is just step one of a multi-pronged mission.
The next prongs:
1. The 49ers want to see Eddie DeBartolo join the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton one day. They figure that this weekend will provide significant visibility and a jumping-off point for that campaign. DeBartolo has kept a mostly low profile for the past nine years after ceding ownership of the team in the wake of legal problems.
2. The 49ers’ franchise, which allowed the connection to their past great teams go fallow the past several years, is making a concerted effort to reconnect with its history. This weekend officially sends a signal to all of the Eddie-era players that the team’s leadership appreciate his contributions — and theirs.
3. With a stadium election looming in Santa Clara next year, it’s hardly the worst idea in the world to have the most popular owner in team history on board to support the plan.
For the record, Jed York won’t take credit for the Eddie remastering party or the 49ers Hall of Fame. He says both ideas came from a family consensus that included his mother and father, Denise DeBartolo York and John York. But the timing of the whole thing — which was announced shortly after Jed was named team president last December — can be no accident.
It’s also dreadfully smart. As a 28-year-old owner, Jed York earns instant credibility with fans when they know he has a good and trusted relationship with his uncle, who was 30 years old in 1977 when he assumed control of the team. Also, by staging Eddie DeBartolo’s induction as a separate celebration, the 49ers can hold another party and halftime ceremony later this season for the players in their Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.
“What we’re doing gives us a chance to formalize the franchise history,” Jed said. “But I don’t think there should be any question that my uncle should be the first person inducted in our 49er Hall.”
The touchier issue is whether Jed’s uncle has a realistic shot at a bust in Canton. The Pro Football Hall of Fame voting is done by a small panel of sportswriters. Through the years, just seven men have been inducted purely as owners — Charles Bidwill Sr., Art Rooney, Dan Rooney, George Preston Marshall, Tim Mara, Wellington Mara and Lamar Hunt. Three others — Paul Brown, Al Davis and George Halas — were owners but also coached or played. They were inducted for their multiple roles.
How would Eddie DeBartolo fit into that group? Strictly on a football basis, there’s no question he belongs. During the Super Bowl era, only the Rooney family of Pittsburgh has earned more championship trophies than DeBartolo did as a single owner. It is impossible to write the history of the NFL without mentioning the 49ers franchise accomplishments spawned by DeBartolo and coach Bill Walsh.
Of course, football isn’t the only consideration here. And there’s no dancing around what could be holding back DeBartolo from Canton candidacy: That nasty business in Baton Rouge.
DeBartolo has admitted that in 1997 when he was seeking a riverboat casino license in Louisiana, he secretly gave $400,000 in cash to Gov. Edwin Edwards to ensure the deal would fly. DeBartolo was never granted the license because a federal investigation into Edwards broke open the whole can of worms.
This was DeBartolo’s downfall. He cooperated with the government and testified against Edwards but received a $1 million fine (for failing to report a felony) and one year’s probation. The NFL subsequently suspended him and discreetly nudged him to sell his portion of the team to his sister and brother-in-law.
Should this automatically disqualify DeBartolo from the Pro Football Hall? Only if you believe every enshrined owner in Canton was a perfect citizen. Marshall, as proprietor of the Washington Redskins from 1932 to 1969, was the NFL’s longest holdout against signing African-American players. He was called “the leading racist in the league” by a New York University professor. Art Rooney of the Steelers was a notorious big-time gambler who, according to history books, purchased the franchise in 1933 with $2,500 that he won at the racetrack — although some say it was in an illegal poker game.
Where does DeBartolo’s sin fit into that broader perspective? You can guess where Jed York stands on the issue.
“I think all of Eddie’s accomplishments outweigh any of the other things that have happened,” he said. “This isn’t like a Pete Rose deal or anything. ... I think my uncle was as important as anyone to the entire league’s success over the last several decades.”
Sunday at halftime, when the remastered DeBartolo edition of 2009 greets the public, don’t expect any bad reviews.