University of San Francisco Athletics

Elmo E. Ferrari was born in 1912 in San Jose, CA.  He was a hurdler and a track star at his local San Jose High School. He set a record in the Peninsula Athletic League in the low hurdle with a 25 second time, which earned him an athletic scholarship to USF during the Depression. He ran track and field for the Dons from 1932 to 1936, and also ran track for the Olympic Club Team. He was never defeated in the 220 yard dash, including by those in his own squad. Although he preferred the longer dashes, he practiced his starting, and eventually ran the 110 yard dash ahead of his teammates; his best time was at 10.5 seconds. He was known for his willingness to work hard to improve his performance and was a competitive runner.  

After graduation in 1936, he continued running even when he got his first job as an office boy for the Swayne & Hoyt Steamship Company on the San Francisco waterfront. From Swayne & Hoyt, he moved to a better position at the Calmar Steamship Company. During World II, Ferrari was an official with the United States Maritime Commission, the agency responsible for the construction of merchant marine ships used in national defense. Following the war, he returned to work for the Port of Stockton and in the late 1940s, was named Manager. Ferrari became friends with a young lawyer named Joseph Alioto who was president of the Rice Growers Association. It was a relationship that would benefit both men later. When Ferrari left in 1962, he had made Stockton the largest port in the Bay Area for shipments of iron ore and grain.

Ferrari went into the shipping and warehouse industries and bought a rice cargo ship, the Sellorojo. By 1968, Ferrari owned the shipping line, Bulk Food Carriers Inc., and newly elected Mayor Joe Alioto appointed his friend to the San Francisco Police Commission. He also served as the Director of the San Francisco Aerial Transport Corporation, a firm that wanted to build a monorail system to the San Francisco Airport. Ferrari was appointed President of the Police Commission in 1969, and that same year he went into business with the Alioto family shipping firm, Freighters Inc. The business relationship lasted three years, until Ferrari resigned from the Police Commission in 1972.