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Bill Walsh's last season
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01:30That year we were 13 wins, two losses. We had everything going. Every day we're the best team in the
01:35national football.
01:36The San Francisco 49ers, owners of the best record in the NFL at 13-2. Tops in both offense and
01:42defense. The Niners, 11-point favorites today and the pick of most of the experts to win it all.
01:50Success was only measured by winning Super Bowls.
01:53It was not, we got to the playoffs, we won eight games, I was all pro, I went to the
01:59Pro Bowl. It was, hey, did you win the Super Bowl? And if you didn't win the Super Bowl, you
02:03know what, it was a terrible season.
02:06And so we came out against Minnesota. And then Anthony Carter just goes berserk. I mean, I don't even remember
02:12who the quarterback was, but every time I looked up at the big screen to see what the replay was,
02:16Anthony Carter was making some type of circus catch.
02:18Badded up and caught by Carter. A magnificent catch by Carter. Unbelievable.
02:25227 yards and 10 catches for A.C. Anthony Carter.
02:29The playoff loss to the Vikings in 87 was part of the most traumatic experience I've had in sports.
02:34Coming off the field, I just was so embarrassed, so humiliated. Our owner was beside himself, very, very angry and
02:44hurt.
02:44In private conversations, Eddie was so frustrated that he probably stated to other people he'd like to fire me.
02:51Well, those of us in football understand these kind of things occur.
02:56It's a tough thing to live down or live through. We just experienced. There isn't an easy way out. There
03:06isn't a way that you can avoid it. It's there and it'll live with us.
03:11But we just, in this particular game, for some reason, it struck every man in the room. We did not
03:18move. We did not hit.
03:22Don't expect kind words from the newspapers. They'll be on this one for months. But who the hell are they?
03:29It was traumatic. It had repercussions throughout our organization for months to come.
03:35What the 49ers were at that point in time was really a team in transition.
03:38They were transitioning out of the teams that had won the Super Bowl in 1981 and 1984, and they were
03:44bringing in younger players.
03:45So, you know, Jerry Rice was replacing a Dwight Clark. I was replacing a Keith Farnhorst.
03:51They had brought Steve Young in. You know, Steve Young came in in 1987 as well, and they wanted to
03:56work him in, too, as part of this transition.
03:59In the playoff loss to the Vikings, Walsh pulled Joe Montana in the third quarter and replaced him with Steve
04:05Young.
04:07Young led the 49ers on two scoring drives, setting the stage for an epic quarterback controversy in 88.
04:14You think Steve Young is the quarterback of the future?
04:17Yes, he is. He's great. Oh, man, he's something else.
04:19And we had to dig down deep in order to keep him contained because he was running us to death.
04:23Is Joe no longer fast enough?
04:26Montana, once football's magic man, now appeared to be an ordinary Joe.
04:31Joe Montana looking slower and slower as the age of the Viking pass rush began to catch up with him.
04:36Many speculated that the 1988 season would be his last in San Francisco.
04:41They said the same of his coach.
04:43I wasn't sure, following 87, whether 1988 would be my last season.
04:49To be honest, I wanted to finish my career with a Super Bowl victory.
04:53There was a lot of stress there.
04:55That's what he did.
04:58Influenced more by his days as an amateur boxer.
05:01I boxed briefly in college, but then in the service I was assigned on the Army team.
05:07So I boxed with a lot of the great professionals that would come through.
05:11Boba Olsen, world's middleweight champion.
05:15Joey Maxim, world's light heavyweight champion.
05:18Many others.
05:19I didn't box when I was a sparring partner and get knocked all over the ring.
05:26The point is, I knew just enough about it to relate it to athletes.
05:30When we take that field, that line field, it's just like Marvin Hagler.
05:34That's what it's going to be like.
05:35We're going to be unloaded on somebody.
05:37They would buy into it.
05:39They could understand it when you say beat them to the punch.
05:42The most important factor on our ball club is the quickness.
05:47The explosion.
05:48Just beating people to the punch.
05:50We beat them to the punch.
05:51Just like when I talk about those boxing matches, it doesn't show up when you play the Raiders early.
05:59In the 40, the speed bag, none of us could really do it real well.
06:03And obviously you couldn't do it during meetings because it was loud.
06:08Bill liked to have it there because he could always walk into the weight room and amaze guys.
06:13Because he could do the speed bag better than anybody else.
06:15He used to hit it every day.
06:17We used to go out and spar.
06:20We would just shadow box each other.
06:22He always used to catch me with those left hands.
06:24He was left.
06:25He said, oh, I got one in.
06:26I got one in on you.
06:29Training camp in 1988 would feature a battle of heavyweights.
06:33Two-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana versus challenger Steve Young.
06:39Just as there will always be fleas on dogs, there will be a quarterback controversy somewhere in the NFL.
06:46And now there is one building here in San Francisco.
06:48Our problem is we have two and there's a quarterback controversy developing.
06:52We're going to have to select between Steve Young and Joe Montana.
06:55That's a critical area for us.
06:56In just his second season with the team, Young refused to live in the legend's shadow.
07:03There was a lot of tension with Steve coming to the 49ers.
07:08Steve would get really mad.
07:09Really wanted to show that he's worthy and he can play.
07:12Everyone wants to play.
07:13I want to play desperately and I'm going to try to drive everyone nuts until they give me a shot.
07:17I don't think anyone wants to sit the bench and that's very much the case for myself.
07:20This is the first time Joe would have to basically compete to have somebody over his shoulder.
07:25So there was a lot of tension.
07:27At age 32, Joe Montana knows this is a crucial year.
07:31We've got a young guy pushing you in town now, Steve Young.
07:33How do you handle this?
07:34We have to be as competitive as possible without letting it come between us.
07:39It never got where these guys wouldn't speak or talk to each other.
07:43They had to talk to each other.
07:44It kept it professional.
07:45If Joe was upset at anybody, it would have been me, not Steve Young.
07:49Joe was having problems physically.
07:52Because of that, Steve saw some action.
07:54In the season opener in New Orleans, Montana threw three touchdown passes as the 49ers built a commanding lead.
08:01Great throw.
08:03Montana back to throw.
08:04Steps up for the end zone.
08:06Touchdown 49ers to Mike Wilson.
08:08But in the third quarter, he left the game with a bruised elbow.
08:11Young came in, but was unable to jump.
08:17Don't hate any offense.
08:19Instead, he gave points to Steve.
08:22Gone for a narrow victory.
08:24But in the locker room, not everyone was happy.
08:27Steve, are you satisfied with this kind of role?
08:28Do you expect this all year, like a relief pitcher?
08:31You kind of get into the bullpen.
08:32I'm satisfied to play for the 49ers, and we'll take it from there.
08:37You know, obviously, you know, we've talked about wanting to play.
08:39I mean, if you want to talk to someone who wants to play, come talk to me.
08:43Just handle it. You just handle it.
08:46The following week in New York, Walsh gave Young his first start as a 49er.
08:51Well, Joe wasn't able to play.
08:52I didn't plan to play him at all.
08:56And so this was, I just had to go with Steve.
08:59I don't think Joe was hurt at the time.
09:00I think, you know, Bill was trying to work Steve in.
09:04It was early in the season.
09:05You know, his probably excuse was he wanted to keep Joe fresh,
09:07but he was wanting to see what Steve could do on the national stage.
09:10And so a lot of us were questioning, you know, why is Steve in here?
09:13In trouble. Running out to his left. Going to be caught.
09:16He has bubbled the ball again.
09:18The 49ers are really self-destructive in this first quarter.
09:23Young fumbled on San Francisco's first three possessions.
09:27Steve struggled.
09:28And so reluctantly, I went with Joe in the second half.
09:32The 49ers trail it 17 to 13.
09:3558 seconds on the clock.
09:37They have to go 77 yards.
09:40With the game on the line, Walsh called for a 76 all-go,
09:45a play he installed in practice earlier that week specifically for the Giants.
09:49So the all-go, you just concentrate on this part of it or this part of it.
09:55They will rotate past and leave this open or stay inside and leave this open.
09:59So we've got a hell of a chance with it.
10:0176 all-go.
10:02As an all-go, basically what the play is is, hey, you just tell all your receivers,
10:06it's the Hail Mary.
10:06You know, hey, I'm going to drop back.
10:07I'm going to throw it as far as I can.
10:08Man, that was the right tackle at the time.
10:12Montana to throw.
10:13I'm blocking and he spins inside.
10:15Basically, he's got a clean shot at the quarterback.
10:18And sure enough, Joe at the time just blew up just a prayer to Jerry Rice.
10:22Throws long for Rice down the sideline.
10:25He's gone to 30.
10:27Touchdown, 49ers.
10:29A 77-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice.
10:33The silence was one of the things I'll never forget.
10:35Boy, and it is stunned silence here.
10:37The crowd was just going berserk before that play.
10:41That was one of the greatest plays that I'd ever seen.
10:44And I was part of it.
10:46In week three, Montana was decidedly unheroic.
10:50First down, throws.
10:51It's going to be intercepted.
10:53He threw three interceptions.
10:56As the 49ers were upset by the lowly Falcons.
11:00Montana's been intercepted three times today.
11:03In week six against the Broncos, the 4-and-1 49ers were blown totally off course.
11:09A fierce wind came up in the second half.
11:13And I mean fierce.
11:14Had to be 40-mile-an-hour gales.
11:17Impossible.
11:18We couldn't even throw a pass.
11:20I can remember just trash and dust flying everywhere.
11:24There were times we'd walk the line of scrimmage and you could barely stand up.
11:28Goes into overtime.
11:30Joe gets hurt.
11:31We're tied at 13 in overtime.
11:33The winds continue to swirl.
11:34Steve comes in and he throws an interception.
11:38It's intercepted.
11:39It bounced off of Rice's hands to Steve Wilson.
11:42The ball held up, I believe, by the wind.
11:45The wind probably hurt Steve throwing that ball.
11:47But nobody ever remembers that.
11:49Here is the kick.
11:50It is up.
11:51The kick is good.
11:52The Broncos win it 16-13.
11:55For Bill, to see a team that had all this talent and had all this history that he had built,
12:01winning one week on a miracle and losing the next week on a fluke,
12:06it just wasn't the 49ers that he was used to.
12:09The Niners record drops to 4-and-2.
12:11His teams, they were precise.
12:13They executed, and we were doing anything but that at that point in time in the season.
12:20I really enjoy the humor.
12:23That Danny White, he knows he's not going to play, so he's the guy mouthing off.
12:28We're going to kick your ass, you know.
12:34If you can get everyone to laugh together, you can get everyone to get serious together.
12:39We've set a high standard for this ball club.
12:42The highest in football, maybe the highest football is seen,
12:45and we're not going to deteriorate regardless of who's in the game.
12:49Because the guy next to you suffers if you don't give it everything you've got.
12:52The thing is you never want to do as a player with the 49ers is you never want to let
12:56the other guys down.
12:57You cannot let down because you're obligated to the men sitting next to you tonight.
13:02You can't let down.
13:03One of the first speeches Bill gave every year was,
13:06anybody who carries a football for the San Francisco 49ers
13:10was an extension of everybody else in this room.
13:14So, Roger Craig, you carry the football.
13:15You're an extension of Harris Barton, who's blocking for you.
13:18You're an extension of Joe Montana, who hands the ball off to you.
13:21You're an extension of Michael Carter, who's playing defense.
13:23You're an extension of the fans of San Francisco.
13:26You're an extension of the guy who's cleaning your uniform.
13:28We give you that type of respect when we hand you the football.
13:31We were an extension to each other, and we believed in that.
13:34My responsibility for play action, faking, and things like that
13:38was just as big as Jerry Rice or John Taylor catching touchdown balls.
13:42It was such a team thing.
13:44It's not our athletic ability that's going to go out and knock the jocks off these guys.
13:48It's how we play as a team.
13:49I know they all want to win badly.
13:51They want to beat us.
13:52But damn it, they can't do it because we play better as a unit than they do.
13:56We know we're the best team.
13:58Let's just go out and prove it.
14:01To build team unity, Bill Walsh created the annual 49er Fishing Derby.
14:07Our facility in the training camp had a pond.
14:11It was pretty large.
14:12Going by it one day on my bike, I thought, wait a minute.
14:15If there were fish in there, we could have a fishing derby.
14:18So one thing to do is stock this thing with fish tomorrow.
14:23And Friday we're going to have a barbecue.
14:26Everybody will have a pole.
14:30I don't want any pole fights.
14:34We filled that thing with catfish, and everybody got a rod.
14:38We had teams, the defensive backs versus the offensive line.
14:42We had individual prizes.
14:44We had a catfish feed that night.
14:47So it turned out to be quite a tradition.
14:49They start me with a trout, right?
14:51You're going to feed a catfish.
14:52Catfish.
14:55Walsh's stocking of the pond with catfish was a source of unintentional humor to the team.
15:01For catfish was the nickname of starting running back Roger Craig.
15:05If you hook Roger, you don't get the hundred bucks.
15:09Freddie Solomon named me catfish.
15:11When I run through the holes, my eyes expand.
15:15It's not that I'm afraid to get hit or anything.
15:17I just, I like to see where I'm going.
15:19Instead, I just swim through the holes.
15:26He'd hit them.
15:28Hero-like strength changed the perception of the 49ers as a finesse team.
15:34So did his high-knee running style.
15:37I was a high hurdler in high school and in college.
15:40And my coach in high school used to tell me, get your knees up.
15:44We used to run through those tires, you know.
15:46You had to get your knees up or else you'd fall on your face.
15:48In one game in high school, I knocked out like three guys in the same game.
15:53You know, lifting your knees up is kind of like a weapon for me.
15:56Because people that shied away from tackling me, I used it to my advantage.
16:06In 1988, Craig had his greatest season as a pro.
16:10A discouraging run for the defense by Roger Craig.
16:16He rushed for a career-high 1,502 yards and led the team with 76 catches.
16:22His versatility was a perfect fit for Walsh's complex schemes.
16:26Coach Walsh, he utilized me better than any coach ever utilized me.
16:29We want to get Roger the ball.
16:31We're going to flood one side and get Roger out.
16:33And the whole idea here now...
16:35Whenever he wanted me to do something, I was going to make sure I was going to be there for
16:38him.
16:38We know that this guy will have to cover Roger, which is scary for them.
16:42He would always give some type of positive reinforcement.
16:45Because Roger's had some great days catching the ball.
16:49At the Rams in week 7, Craig played the game of his life.
16:53He goes to the end zone! Touchdown 49ers!
16:56He is the best back in the league right now.
16:59He rushed for 190 yards, scored three touchdowns...
17:03...scored into the end zone! Touchdown!
17:05...and ripped off one of the greatest runs in NFL history.
17:09That's a draw up the middle to Craig and he breaks loose and runs loose.
17:12He gets used to the 30, to the 25, he's down to the 20, breaks loose again!
17:16He's to the 10! 5! Touchdown 49ers!
17:20Oh, what a bonanza! Spectacular run by Roger!
17:23I remember watching it that night on the newscast.
17:28I think to myself, you know, was I in the same game as this guy?
17:31You know, this is something like, this is a Hall of Fame clip here.
17:36It did pull the team together.
17:37It did exemplify, you know, that 88 season, looking back on it.
17:40That run against the Rams is exemplified what I was all about as a player.
17:46Endurance, the strength, the power, the speed, you know, to do all that in one run.
17:52He was busting people.
17:53He knocked a couple people down, knocked a couple of his own players out of the way.
17:57Might be the best run of his career.
17:59When I see that run, I still get goosebumps.
18:02That's highlight reel material forever.
18:06ESPN and a restaurant in North Carolina, University of North Carolina, and the commissioner of the league gets on and
18:11announces my name.
18:1349ers, first choice.
18:16Harris Burton, offensive tackle, North Carolina.
18:20Harris Burton.
18:22And I'm like, well, that's a good way to start.
18:24I got drafted, and the next afternoon I was flying on a plane right out to San Francisco.
18:29Never been to San Francisco before.
18:30Got off the plane, and an hour later I'm standing in the huddle with some of the best football players
18:35in the world.
18:36To my right is Joe Montana, and to my left is Jerry Rice and Roger Craig and Tom Rathman.
18:42And that happened in a 24-hour period.
18:44You know, I realized, hey, I'm not in North Carolina.
18:46I'm with the World Championship 49ers.
18:48I was born and raised in a Jewish family in Atlanta, Georgia.
18:52You know, I went way beyond my physical abilities.
18:56I had to use a lot of mental strength, and I was never a player that, you know, I'm a
19:01nice guy.
19:02And I had to spend the entire week really psyching myself up to go out there and do battle.
19:08He was a nervous body, though.
19:10He was a worrier, you know.
19:12During the game, he would always say, is my technique okay?
19:15You know, he's prancing around in the locker room, working on his technique, his blocking techniques.
19:19We had to sort of protect Harris because he would worry.
19:23He'd worry about things.
19:25And the other players knew it, so they'd find reason to get him to worry.
19:29I'd say, Harris, you better be ready this week.
19:30You know, you're going against Lawrence Taylor.
19:32You know, so it just make him that much more nervous.
19:35Barton had reason to worry in Week 8.
19:37When the 49ers traveled to Chicago to face the NFL's number one defense.
19:44Well, Monday night game, it was in Chicago.
19:47That game, Joe just got abused.
19:50West Coast offense come into Chicago.
19:52We score them usually seven points.
19:54The Bears had to be thinking that, hey, we own these guys.
19:58We were losing.
19:59The end of the game, Bill pulls Joe and put Steve in.
20:03And Steve missed on a fourth and inches play.
20:05Young back to throw.
20:06Throws on here to Craig, and he's not going to get the first down.
20:10When Bill pulled Joe, that was a red flag that went up the flagpole.
20:13We were still struggling with Joe's health at that time.
20:17He's got a great heart and tremendous courage.
20:21And so if you were asked, Joe will say he's 100% fit and ready.
20:26He's been taking a lot of hits.
20:28He needs a rest, to be honest with you.
20:29He needs a week off.
20:31In week nine, Steve Young started in place of Joe Montana.
20:36Early on, he disappointed those looking to avenge the playoff loss to the Vikings in 87.
20:41He was on some plays and he was off some plays.
20:44This is not the same Steve Young that just went into the Hall of Fame.
20:47This is a Steve Young that is kind of raw out there.
20:50He's almost like a rookie.
20:51He's never been in this system.
20:52He's left-handed.
20:54He's got new receivers.
20:55He frankly didn't play very well that year.
20:58He'll tell you that too.
20:59He did struggle at times.
21:00He had this great athletic ability that saved him.
21:04Late in the fourth quarter, the 49ers trail the Vikings.
21:14In trouble.
21:17Gets away again.
21:19Gets high.
21:20In the 30, 20, the fight.
21:22He downed down, 49ers.
21:24Any better runs in your life than that?
21:27The run that Steve has at the end of the game that wins the game, this one really showed
21:32the greatness that Steve Young was going to be.
21:34One of the greatest runs I've ever seen a quarterback have.
21:37I mean, very similar to Roger Clay's run.
21:38I mean, a run that you thought he was tackled several times, but he just kept going and kept
21:42going and kept going.
21:43Kind of like the old Energizer bunny.
21:47Steve was always known for his dramatics.
21:50You know, he could run in.
21:51He didn't have to stumble across the line.
21:53He just kind of tripped on like the five-yard line.
21:55On just the white line, that's what he tripped on.
21:57It was a strange experience for Steve because they were running him out of town in 1988.
22:01He was literally getting booed during that game.
22:05People were going from booing Steve to just thinking he was just the second coming.
22:11In a game that was the slowest pond water in the first half, quarterback Steve Young
22:16finally found the play that would do it.
22:19The one when he had to keep it himself and struggle in to win it.
22:23I don't know.
22:23I think watching Roger running against the Rams, I decided maybe I'll start trying to
22:26break back on it and stuff, you know.
22:28But I don't think that's going to be in our offense very much in the future.
22:31That was one heck of a run.
22:33Don't mind him taking away some of your thunder today.
22:35I'll say it helps out.
22:37Steve is a frustrating guy because we can't seem to get in sync.
22:42But on the other hand, he makes a big play like this that wins the game.
22:46A tremendous athletic effort.
22:49I think this last week might have been a good breakthrough for Steve.
22:52It's very likely that Steve will start again.
22:56I just don't believe that Joe will be 100% ready this next week.
23:00Young would start again the next week at the Cardinals and guided the 49ers to a 23-0 lead.
23:06Chase now throws for the end zone.
23:08Touchdown to Brent Jones.
23:10I remember leaving the field at halftime thinking this is as good as we've ever looked.
23:15This was beautiful.
23:16I was so proud.
23:18But in the fourth quarter, the former boxer would be floored by a haymaker.
23:25I was facing one way and two players running full speed going for a ball hit me from behind.
23:31One of the coaches got knocked down on the sideline, it appears.
23:34They just hit me flat on my back.
23:37And they cracked two ribs, I found out later.
23:40I mean, people didn't think I was going to get up.
23:43And maybe I shouldn't have.
23:44I could hardly stand up.
23:46Hey, Bill, way to get a little contact down there.
23:49For the next few games, I was strapped up and kept on going.
23:53I don't think many people knew of it.
23:55I didn't give it a second thought.
23:57Other than it hurt like hell.
24:00What happened next would hurt even worse.
24:25It was a shocker.
24:28We lost in the last four or five seconds.
24:31You know, all this boxing rhetoric.
24:34You know, Bill was literally knocked out and had to be assisted onto the team plane because he was lightheaded.
24:41We'll look back on this and just pull our hair out because there's absolutely no reason for this to happen.
24:48It was probably the worst loss that Steve Young had.
24:51You know, he always would say afterwards, you know, in private that if we win that game, you know, he's
24:57a starting quarterback.
24:58And he's probably right.
25:01In week 11, Joe Montana was called on to salvage the season.
25:06He'd been sick all week with his stomach virus.
25:08He is in a weakened state because he lost eight pounds during the week.
25:11He really shouldn't have been out there.
25:13But after losing to Arizona, he was willed by the fans and the community and the media and by me
25:19to get out there and give it a shot.
25:22And it was not a great game for Joe.
25:24We just couldn't generate anything.
25:26And the 49er passing game, which has sputtered all season, is just out of sync so far here today.
25:34Down by them, not score a touchdown was just unbelievable deflating for Bill and the entire offense.
25:46Organization being just torn apart.
25:50Oh, my gosh.
25:51By an organization that is exactly the opposite of his.
25:5549ers, high-powered offense held to only three points.
25:58Well, Bill would teach discipline and execution.
26:02The Raiders were always looking at us, hey, they sit on their helmets and they smoke cigarettes in the locker
26:06room.
26:07And they're going to have late hits.
26:08They're going to have stupid penalties.
26:10Well, that team just dismantled, you know, the team that Bill had built.
26:13For the first time since 85, the 49ers will lose back-to-back games.
26:17We had those two losses staring at us, and there was a lot of stress.
26:22It's their playoff hopes goodbye.
26:25It was a brutal loss.
26:26If you had told me then, in that locker room, that we were going to win the Super Bowl,
26:29I would have bet everything I had and said that there's no way that's going to happen.
26:36Passion speeches, really, that I've ever heard.
26:38It was really the screw the coaches meeting.
26:41Hey, we know more than they do.
26:43We're better than this.
26:46Let's see what we can do.
26:48It was really kind of an unforgettable moment.
26:50It really changed my sports career because you always hear about these player-only meetings,
26:54and does it ever work?
26:56You know, I'll tell you, it usually never works, but this one did.
27:00Guys came out of that meeting united and cheering for each other and pulling for each other.
27:05You got my back, I got yours type of attitude and stick together and be brothers.
27:10And we could have easily went to a tank.
27:13You know, guys could have easily started pointing fingers.
27:18We said, we don't want any fingers pointing.
27:20You know, we're in this thing together.
27:26Back to the five-yard line, taken by Taylor, comes to the near side, now tries to go back to
27:31the other side, is pulled down, gets away, goes to the 10, stumbled to the 15, jumped to the 20.
27:38Against the defending world champion Redskins, John Taylor's 95-yard punt return broke the game open and changed the course
27:46of the 49ers' season.
27:50Joe Montana also came to life in a 37-21 victory.
27:56Everything was in sync following the Redskins' victory.
28:00Offensively, Joe Montana had now recovered completely.
28:04So we had Joe back.
28:06The 49ers.
28:15They scorched the Vikings for 34 points.
28:23The last seven coming on a classic catfish fry.
28:32Relieved by exercising the demons of 87, the players hoisted Bill Walsh on their shoulders.
28:39Even more surprising was the first speaker in the post-game locker room.
28:43Joe Montana very seldom gave motivational talks after the game.
28:47And he gave a talk.
28:48That room was so quiet, you can hear a pin drop.
28:51That's how quiet it was.
28:52When he talks, it's like EF Hutton.
28:54You listen.
28:55The teams that have beaten another team by a big margin have come back the next week and played terrible.
29:02And that is not going to happen to this ball club.
29:06We've opened the door.
29:08We're going to go through it next week.
29:09And we're going to kick ass and take no prisoners the week after.
29:17In the NFC Championship, the 49ers.
29:28The 49ers would face the Bears, who the previous week defeated the Eagles in the legendary Fog Bowl.
29:35We couldn't get much out of the tapes preparing for the Bears because you couldn't see the Bears.
29:40Probably the most effective thing that will happen today is the team next week can't look at film on it.
29:47The Bears had proclaimed themselves that year the team of destiny.
29:51They probably felt, well, if we can get through this, we can get through anything.
29:55Yes, we are ready.
29:56It's not cold enough out here.
29:58The weather is going to be a factor here today with a minus 25 chill factor.
30:02It was 26 below with wind chill and it was the coldest, coldest any of us have ever, ever experienced.
30:09It was the coldest game I ever played in my life.
30:11I went out there in a short-sleeved shirt.
30:14I went out on the field.
30:15I couldn't even feel the ball.
30:17It's so cold that the mist in the air off of a player's breath was so thick that you couldn't
30:23see.
30:24It's freezing.
30:25Nobody wants to admit how cold it is.
30:28I'm like, wow, how am I going to play this game today?
30:31How am I going to get through this game today?
30:33You know, it's all worried.
30:35We got to jump on them fast.
30:37Got to beat them to the punch.
30:38As Bill Walsh would say, beat them to the punch.
30:41And we jumped on them early.
30:4411 minutes into the game, the 49ers landed the first goal.
30:51He gets away at the 40.
30:53It's a foot race.
30:54They won't touch him.
30:55It's touchdown 49ers.
30:57The 61-yard jab staggered the Bears.
30:59The minute Jerry Rice caught the touchdown pass, we were in business.
31:03And silenced the hecklers in the crowd.
31:05There was a man behind me with a megaphone chanting and talking to me about my body parts
31:12and my preferences in life and everything else.
31:16And whenever it was quiet, the whole stadium could hear it.
31:19And they'd laugh and they'd roar and everything was fine.
31:21But by the time we got to third quarter, he couldn't talk.
31:25So I knew we had him.
31:27They just didn't have the complete offensive package that you had to have to be a team
31:31of destiny.
31:33Montana back to throw.
31:37Looking, throwing, touchdown 49ers.
31:40Because of the elements, because of the apparent strength of the opposition, that may have been
31:46the best 49er victory.
31:53And it's almost a frenzy of excitement and you're just euphoric.
31:59It was incredible.
32:00That was truly a great victory.
32:02And as I recall my career, that one stands out as much as any.
32:07Whoever would have thought it, on the coldest day of January, the finesse-ass 49ers will
32:15come in the backyard of the Bears and kick ass.
32:18I remember looking at Kevin Fagan and he looks at me and goes, we're going to the Super Bowl
32:22in two weeks.
32:23We're going to play in the Super Bowl.
32:24And that's a moment in sports that you really never forget.
32:28You know, I'd never been in a Super Bowl.
32:30The tunnel vision kind of goes away and for a minute, man, you just celebrate how great
32:35it is amongst all these guys that had been in the trenches with you all year long.
32:39You were six and five.
32:41You were yelling and screaming at each other in huddles.
32:43And here you are, two weeks away from going to the Super Bowl.
32:49That's a great feeling.
32:52You're totally at ease and totally relaxed and ready to go.
32:57We collectively are the best team in football as we sit here.
33:01We are the best right now.
33:03Our opposition knows it.
33:04We know it.
33:06So we take the field.
33:07We take it with great pride in ourselves.
33:10And we've come this far.
33:11Now we take advantage of it.
33:12I walked out on the field prior to the game by myself and walked around the stadium and
33:17became a little emotional all by myself.
33:20Thinking this could be it.
33:21This could be my last game.
33:23I do take some pride in the fact that I didn't talk to the team about retiring.
33:28I didn't try to tug on their sentiments, wanting one for the gipper or something.
33:33The players win the game for each other, not for a coach or an owner.
33:37Walsh's adversary in Super Bowl XXIII would be his longtime friend, Sam Weiss.
33:42I'm so nervous, I just wet myself and I'm going to do the other.
33:47Weiss had been an assistant on Walsh's original 49ers staff and helped groom a young quarterback
33:53in Montana.
33:55He knew number 16 was on.
33:58Joe is hot, so let's cover him.
34:01He's throwing good warm-ups.
34:02I guess that means something.
34:03In a wild Super Bowl, Montana tied the game at 13 early in the fourth quarter.
34:09And tried it to touchdown 49ers.
34:12It was another great throw by Montana.
34:143.38 is the time remaining, so it will be about a 40-yard attempt.
34:17The Bengals regained the lead on a Jim Bleach field goal.
34:20And we're on and up, and it is...
34:23Goal!
34:24Reacher!
34:25And with 3.20 left to go, the Bengals take a 16-13 lead.
34:29Walsh would have to go the distance for the win.
34:31The 49ers' last drive started on their own eight-yard line.
34:35We grew up running out on the field, and sure enough, they call a television timeout.
34:39And so we're all standing out in the huddle, and I am just...
34:42I was always an intense guy.
34:44I'm like, man, we have fought through it.
34:45We were 6-5, and we should be beating this team.
34:49We're behind by three.
34:50We need to score a touchdown.
34:52This is crap.
34:53What are we doing?
34:54It was the tensest time that you could ever have as a football player.
34:57This is the Super Bowl, and you're down.
35:00And Joe looks at me, and he goes, hey, H.
35:04And I go, what?
35:05And he goes, hey, check it out.
35:07And I go, what?
35:08And he goes, look down there in the other end zone.
35:12And I go, okay.
35:14He goes, you see them?
35:15And I go, no.
35:16He goes, there's John Candy down there in the end zone.
35:20And sure enough, the whole huddle turns around and looks down there, and there's John Candy
35:24eating popcorn at the other end of the stadium.
35:27And I'm like, yeah, that is John Candy.
35:28Look at that.
35:29And then the official blows a whistle, and the play starts.
35:32The 49ers have a long way to go.
35:36Montana back to throw on first down.
35:38Throws over the middle.
35:39Completes it to Craig.
35:40Craig is in the 16.
35:41That was Joe Montana at his best.
35:44Montana again is back to throw.
35:46A little dunk over the middle.
35:47Caught by John Frank, and that'll be a first down.
35:50Montana with a first down.
35:52Two receivers near side.
35:54Joe back to throw.
35:55Steps up.
35:56Throws.
35:56Out here for right.
35:57He has it.
35:58And midfield goes out of bounds.
36:00Two wide receivers near side.
36:02Montana to throw.
36:03Completes it up the middle to Craig.
36:04At one point, Joe looked at me and gave me a timeout signal, and I waved him off.
36:10I didn't want to take a timeout there.
36:12And he did it again.
36:13I waved him off.
36:14I had no idea.
36:15He was hyperventilating.
36:17Montana trying to drive him the length of the field here with the game and the balance.
36:2116 to 13.
36:22The Bengals lead.
36:23Montana back to throw.
36:25Throws over the middle.
36:26A five.
36:26Good for right.
36:27Right into the 20.
36:28He's down to the 19 for a first down.
36:31We're all extensions of each other.
36:32Everyone had different roles.
36:34They had to play.
36:3552 seconds remaining.
36:36That whole drive was an extension to each other.
36:39He completed the Craig.
36:41He's down to the 10.
36:42The 49ers will have to take a timeout here.
36:44With 39 seconds remaining, Walsh called 20 halfback curl X up.
36:49It was the last play he would call as coach of the 49ers.
36:53At the 10-yard line.
36:5439 seconds remaining.
36:56Back to throw, Montana.
36:58Steps up.
36:58Throws.
37:00Throws.
37:0149ers.
37:02Taylor wins it for the touchdown.
37:05The 10-yard pass.
37:07The 49ers have scored with 34 seconds remaining.
37:12Montana to Taylor for 10 yards.
37:15But they went 92 yards in 11 plays.
37:19And the ball game is over.
37:22At the time the touchdown was scored, in the midst of all that, I knew that would have been
37:27my last game.
37:28It was very emotional.
37:30And it was a wear and tear it began to show.
37:33Sam Walsh comes across the field to look for Bill Walsh.
37:35Also, I had a great affection for Sam Walsh.
37:38Because he and I had been like brothers.
37:40I love you.
37:41I love you.
37:42Congratulations.
37:42I am happy for you like I've never been.
37:45Believe me.
37:46Congratulations.
37:47This is yours.
37:48You deserve it.
37:49I trusted him and had my arm around him.
37:51And he, in a sense, protected me.
37:53Because I was starting to wind down from that point on.
37:57And he helped me off the field, really.
37:59Oh, man.
38:00That was a good game, huh?
38:01Right game.
38:08It didn't feel great.
38:10It felt like heaven, you know, after, you know, what we went through that whole year.
38:18It's like I'm in heaven right now.
38:19It's my second Super Bowl title.
38:22I tell you, we worked so hard.
38:23We deserve it.
38:24We overcame all the adversities throughout the year.
38:26And we just pulled together.
38:28Christy Brinkley in the locker room came in and took a picture with me.
38:32And I don't have anything on but these shorts, man.
38:35Like my underwear.
38:36So it was kind of strange.
38:40Eric Wright dumped Gatorade on Eddie DeVarlo.
38:45It takes a lot of guts to do that.
38:56It was interesting.
38:58After that game, I saw the men celebrating with Eddie DeVarlo and everyone.
39:04And I almost felt like an outsider, almost in a matter of seconds.
39:08An outsider who just won the Super Bowl.
39:14I think it was time for me to leave.
39:17This is a tough moment in a way because was this the final game on the sideline for a great
39:24coach, Bill Walsh?
39:29That was when I stepped away.
39:32An emotional moment right now with the coach down here inside the locker room.
39:35Thank God my son was there with me.
39:37And we sort of embraced and got through it.
39:44Meanwhile, everybody else was celebrating a few feet away.
39:52Bill, he shocked me, man.
39:54When he retired, that killed me inside.
39:57I mean, a part of me died.
39:58I was hurt by it.
39:59I was going to miss a great coach but a friend as well.
40:02We got to be really good friends.
40:04Almost like father-son figure.
40:06You're my number one in the world, Bill.
40:07I miss Roger.
40:09I miss all the guys.
40:10We care for each other.
40:12And that's one of the reasons we had the success we had.
40:16We were totally bonded as a group of men.
40:21This was my first ring.
40:22This is the ring that we won for winning that Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals.
40:26Players like Ronnie Lott and Joe Montana who have four of these
40:30always say that the first one is the most important.
40:33The one that needs the most to them.
40:35And that's true.
40:36This ring sits in my safe deposit box.
40:38I'm scared to death to take it out.
40:39The money goes.
40:41The fame goes.
40:42But they can never take this away from you.
40:44And it's something that still gives me goosebumps.
40:52Bill retired that day.
40:54But the one thing that he left a message with us, even in life today, you know, you're only
40:59an extension to each other.
41:01When you have that kind of attitude and that belief, you're going to do wonderful things.
41:07When you're selfish, nothing like that happens.
41:111988 established the 49ers as a dynasty.
41:15It came the hard way.
41:17We salvaged a struggling season to make it a championship season.
41:22Super Bowl XXIII means an awful lot to me.
41:26Super Bowl XXX means an awful lot to me.
41:26Super Bowl XXX means an awful lot to me.
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