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He
was born on 8th July 1897 in Forni di Sopra,
Udine
,
Italy
the son of Siro Joseph and Luigia Dorigo Mannelli.
His family moved to the
United States
when he was one year old, initially living in
New York
but moved to
San Francisco
in 1906.
His
father was a Florentine sculptor who contributed to the
Palace
of
Fine Arts
for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 as well as the Golden
Gate International Exposition of 1939, both in
San Francisco
. The Golden
Gate International Exposition was a World's Fair that celebrated, among
other things, the city's two newly-built bridges. The
San Francisco
–
Oakland
Bay
Bridge
, which was dedicated in 1936 and the
Golden Gate
Bridge
which was dedicated in 1937. During
his career Siro won numerous awards for his sculpture and woodcarving.
Above
the
Palace
of
Fine Arts
, Panama-Pacific International Exposition 1915,
San Francisco
.
Caesar
was educated at
Santa Clara
University
. Apart from rugby he was an excellent basketball player, but baseball was his
best sport. He had a tryout with the minor league Oakland Oaks, but it was
several years after his competitive prime and many people thought he could have
played major league ball, had he started earlier. Mannelli later worked for the
city of
San Francisco
as an engineer.
Above
Caesar Mannelli, front centre, in the
Santa Clara
rugby XV. photograph taken in
San Francisco
on Nov 25th 1920. Coutesy of Stephen de Zordo
He
played twice for the
USA
in the 1924 Olympics against
Romania
(won 37-0) and in the final against
France
when he scored a try. This try was the last one scored in an Olympic Games.
Above
the American team run to congratulate Mannelli (on ground), after scoring the
last try of the match
Above
the
USA
squad training in
England
before Olympic Games in
Paris
. Photo taken at Plymouth Rugby Club. Back Row (L-R): Sam Goodman (Manager),
Valentine, Cashel, Williams, B, Slater (Cpt), Farish, Clark, Patrick, N. Slater,
DeGroot, Charles Austin (Coach) Middle Row: Graff, Turkington, Deveraux,
Mannelli, Doe, Cunningham,
Dixon
. Front Row: Rogers, Hyland, Hunter, O'Neill, Cleveland, Muldoon, Scholz.
His
father died on 21st May 1955 in
San Francisco
.
He
died on 3rd May
1936 in Mayberry Slough,
Antioch
,
California
,
United States
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The
Rugby History Society