LODI, Calif. — Dennis Georgatos, a longtime sports writer for The Associated Press and the San Jose Mercury News and author of multiple books on the San Francisco 49ers, has died at age 70.
Georgatos died on June 25 following a battle with brain cancer, his family said. He spent his final weeks at his vineyard near Lodi, California, as he visited with family and friends.
Known both for his congeniality and his wit, Georgatos spent more than four decades as a reporter, working up until his cancer diagnosis in November. He covered sports in California for nearly three decades and spent another 17 years covering Colorado’s professional and college teams.
Georgatos graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with an English degree — political science was a passion, too — before pursuing his Master’s in journalism at Cal State Northridge.
He began his journalism career at United Press International in Los Angeles before joining The Associated Press. After a decade in San Diego, he moved to San Francisco for an expanded sports role. Around 2000, he joined the San Jose Mercury News as their 49ers beat writer, a job that lasted until layoffs at the newspaper in 2008.
Georgatos wrote several books on the 49ers, including “Stadium Stories: San Francisco 49ers,” and “Game of My Life San Francisco 49ers: Memorable Stories of 49ers Football.”
While recovering from brain surgery, he regaled visitors with his reflections on interviews he had with sports greats such as Steve Young, Al Davis, Tony Gwynn and Barry Bonds. Georgatos grew close to Brandon Crawford’s family through his son, Daniel, who played sports with the former San Francisco star shortstop growing up. Georgatos was an invited guest when the Giants held “Brandon Crawford Day” on April 26.
Georgatos spent the last 17 years of his career as a sports freelancer for the AP in Colorado, where he covered the Broncos, Rockies, Avalanche, Nuggets, the University of Colorado, Colorado State and Air Force athletics, among other assignments.
“The only thing Dennis loved as much as his family and friends was his time covering sports — any sports,” said Tina Susman, who forged a lifelong friendship with Georgatos after working with him at the AP bureau in San Diego. “He never lost his love of the game or his loyalty toward AP for giving him the chance to cover events.”
While living in Denver, Georgatos bought and operated Melita’s, a popular downtown Greek restaurant, for several years. His Greek heritage was important to Georgatos, who was born on the island of Kefalonia. He, his brother, Dean, and parents, Jerry and Helen, immigrated to the United States after the devastation caused by the Great Ionian Earthquake of 1953. Georgatos attended Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California, where he was a two-way football standout.
Georgatos is survived by three sons — Gregory Georgatos of Rocklin, California; Daniel Georgatos of San Jose; and Cole Schafer of Littleton, Colorado.
A celebration of life for Georgatos will be held on July 27 at Pastas Trattoria in Pleasanton.
