Super Bowl champion Manu Tuiasosopo returned to his alma mater, St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, to present a Super Bowl 50 Golden Football on behalf of the NFL during a private reception with the school’s football coaches and players on Jan. 29.
Awarded as part of the NFL’s High School Honor Roll program, the Golden Football acknowledges both Tuiasosopo and St. Anthony’s for “directly influencing Super Bowl history and positively impacting the game of football.” Tuiasosopo played for the San Francisco 49ers during their Super Bowl XIX Championship win over the Miami Dolphins in 1984.
At the event, Tuiasosopo said he was grateful to the school for a strong education and for the opportunity to meet wonderful people. He has been married to his high school sweetheart Tina for almost 40 years. He and Tina are the parents of five children and the grandparents of 11.
Mario Morales, the school’s head football coach, said it was exciting to meet Tuiasosopo. “Sometimes we forget who came before us,” he said. “Manu reminds us that St. Anthony High School is a special place.”
After graduating from St. Anthony’s in 1975, Tuiasosopo played as a starter for UCLA, and was part of the 1976 Rose Bowl Championship team. He went on to play for the Seattle Seahawks for five seasons, and for the San Francisco 49er’s for three seasons, earning numerous honors during his career.
