Chris Willis - A Nearly Perfect Season: The Inside Story of the 1984 San Francisco 49ers

A Nearly Perfect Season

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Willis, Chris, 1970

A nearly perfect season : the inside story of the 1984 San Francisco 49ers / Chris Willis.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4422-3641-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-3642-4 (ebook)

1. San Francisco 49ers (Football team)History. I. Title.

GV956.S3W55 2014

796.33274097946109048dc23

2014007268

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to the four players and three coaches from the 1984 San Francisco 49ers team no longer with us:

John Ayers, Gary Big Hands Johnson, Carl Monroe, and Freddie Solomon; Norb Hecker, Bobb McKittrick, and head coach Bill Walsh

Cast of Characters

• #68, John Ayers, guard

• #76, Dwaine Board, defensive end

• #57, Dan Bunz, linebacker

• #95, Michael Carter, defensive tackle

• # 6, Matt Cavanaugh, quarterback

• #87, Dwight Clark, wide receiver

• #29, Mario Clark, cornerback

• #89, Earl Cooper, tight end

• #33, Roger Craig, running back

• #51, Randy Cross, guard

• #74, Fred Dean, defensive end

• #50, Riki Ellison, linebacker

• #55, Jim Fahnhorst, linebacker

• #71, Keith Fahnhorst, offensive tackle

• #54, Ron Ferrari, linebacker

• #81, Russ Francis, tight end

• #86, John Frank, tight end

• #49, Jeff Fuller, safety

• #24, Derrick Harmon, running back

• #22, Dwight Hicks, safety

• #28, Tom Holmoe, safety

• #97, Gary Johnson, defensive tackle

• #94, Louie Kelcher, defensive tackle

• #66, Allan Kennedy, offensive tackle

• #42, Ronnie Lott, cornerback

• #53, Milt McColl, linebacker

• #62, Guy McIntyre, guard

• #43, Dana McLemore, cornerback/kick returner

• #32, Carl Monroe, running back

• #16, Joe Montana, quarterback

• #52, Blanchard Montgomery, linebacker

• #83, Renaldo Nehemiah, wide receiver

• #77, Bubba Paris, offensive tackle

• #65, Lawrence Pillers, defensive end

• #56, Fred Quillan, center

• #64, Jack Reynolds, linebacker

• #30, Bill Ring, running back

• # 4, Max Runager, punter

• #61, Jesse Sapolu, guard

• #90, Todd Shell, linebacker

• #67, Billy Shields, offensive tackle

• #88, Freddie Solomon, wide receiver

• #72, Jeff Stover, defensive end

• #79, Jim Stuckey, defensive end

• #78, Manu Tuiasosopo, defensive tackle

• #58, Keena Turner, linebacker

• #26, Wendell Tyler, running back

• #99, Michael Walter, linebacker

• #14, Ray Wersching, kicker

• #27, Carlton Williamson, safety

• #85, Mike Wilson, wide receiver

• #21, Eric Wright, cornerback

• Bill Walsh, president/head coach

• George Seifert, defensive coordinator

• Jerry Attaway, physical development coordinator

• Paul Hackett, quarterbacks/wide receivers

• Tommy Hart, assistant defensive line

• Norb Hecker, linebackers

• Sherman Lewis, running backs

• Bobb McKittrick, offensive line

• Bill McPherson, defensive line

• Ray Rhodes, defensive backs

• Fred vonAppen, special teams

• Eddie DeBartolo Jr., owner

• John McVay, vice president and general manager

• Ken Flower, vice president marketing and community affairs

• Keith Simon, business manager

• Tony Razzano, director of college scouting

• Allan Webb, director of pro personnel

• Jerry Walker, director of public relations

• Neal Dahlen, director of research and development

• Ken Dargel, tickets

• R. C. Owens, executive assistant

• Bronco Hinek, equipment manager

• Chico Norton, equipment manager emeritus

• Roy Gilbert, films director

• Robert Yanagi, staff assistant

• Michael Olmstead, entertainment director

• Teri Hatcher, cheerleader

• Nicole Gisele, secretary

• Donnan Sinn, researcher

• Michael Zagaris, team photographer

• Lindsy McLean, trainer

• John Miller, assistant trainer

• Don Klein, 49ers radio (play-by-play)

• Don Heinrich, 49ers radio (color)

• Ted Robinson, 49ers radio (pregame/postgame)

In the fall of 1984 I turned fourteen years old. I was a skinny eighth grader living in Columbus, Ohio, thinking about playing high school football in a year. Playing in the NFL was just a pipe dream, but I enjoyed watching the games every Sunday of that 1984 season, especially the games played by a team that was more than 2,000 miles away from the Buckeye State. The San Francisco 49ers were led by my favorite player, Joe Montana, and I read anything I could find on the 1984 team. Whether it was Pro Football Weekly, Football Digest, or Sports Illustrated, I wanted to learn more about the 49ers. I also watched every game I could. Since the Browns or Bengals usually played at 1:00 p.m. on most Sundays, I was able to watch many of the 49ers games at 4:00 p.m., mainly on CBS, or on ABCs Monday Night Football. It was a joy to watch Montanas passing wizardry and the hard-hitting 49ers defense churn out victory after victory.

That fall I enjoyed watching the NFL and the 49ers so much that, right before the conference championship games to decide who went on to play in Super Bowl XIX, I created a six-page magazine called Touchdown! On the last page I pasted four photos of the remaining teams, including one of Joe Montana running the ball against the New York Giants in the divisional round. While researching this book, I came across my initial foray into publishing. Looking at this juvenile attempt at sports writing thirty years later, its hard to believe that Ive written a book about the 1984 49ers.

Looking back at it now, it must have been in my blood all along to tell the story of the 1984 49ers and what a journey it was. Researching and writing about a great group of men who came within one play of a perfect season has been the most enjoyable time of my writing career. When I started this project I didnt know what kind of response I would get from the coaches and players of the 1984 49ers. I was surprised. Over an eight-month period (between December 2012 and August 2013), I interviewed either in person or by phone nearly fifty players, coaches, and front-office personnel from the team.