Carmen Policy
When Carmen Policy said, “Winning with class,” it was not a slogan. It was a moral imperative. Under his guidance, along with Edward DeBartolo Jr. and Bill Walsh, the San Francisco 49ers became the model of an enlightened, winning sports franchise. Carmen was a sports phenomenon, a lawyer, a brilliant negotiator, a skilled reader of […]
Kerri Walsh Jennings
The most decorated and famous beach volleyball player in the sport’s history may conjure up images of Southern California beaches, but Kerri Walsh Jennings’ roots are firmly planted in the Bay Area. When she was in high school, her family moved from Scott’s Valley to San Jose, and she attended Archbishop Mitty High, where she […]
Matt Williams
The career was spectacular. Matt Williams was a five-time All-Star, a Gold Glove infielder, a home run champion. But, oh, what might have been. “If Matt Williams played out injury-free,” said the late Al Rosen, who as Giants general manager picked Williams third overall in the 1986 draft, “he’d be the greatest third baseman of […]
Russell Baze
There has never been a Bay Area athlete who has dominated his sport as completely and consistently as jockey Russell Baze. He retired as the world’s winningest rider with 12,842 victories from 53,578 mounts, recording 3,311more victories than Laffit Pincay Jr., the second-winningest jockey in American Thoroughbred racing history. On the local level, he won […]
Bill Cartwright
A three-time All-American and five-time NBA champion, Bill Cartwright’s roots can be traced back to a farming community outside of Sacramento, where he and his six sisters spent summer days chopping sugar beets and hoeing weeds under the sweltering sun. A native of Lodi, Ca. Cartwright was a two-time state player of the year at […]
Brandi Chastain
Soccer star Brandi Chastain’s love of sports was honed in childhood. Growing up in San Jose, she was an avid supporter of the San Jose Earthquakes. She was on a youth team called the Quakettes and was so enamored of her uniform that she slept in it. She became a student of the game, long […]
Harris Barton
Harris Barton, from his right tackle position with the 49ers, protected two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Barton likened Joe Montana’s style to that of a symphony conductor, and said Steve Young was more like the leader of a “jam session.” Both quarterbacks produced beautiful music, but they couldn’t have done it without the bedrock-solid […]
Matt Cain
Durability and dominance separated Matt Cain from even the most accomplished San Francisco Giants. He amassed 12 years and 38 days of continuous major league service time, more than any Giant who played exclusively for the ballclub since its 1958 move west. Cain also distinguished himself on June 13, 2012, by pitching the major leagues’ […]
Tim Hardaway
He played his college ball at the University of Texas, El Paso, known as UTEP, so the move by Tim Hardaway, the crossover dribble, was nicknamed “The UTEP Two-Step.” But Hardaway, originally from Chicago, could do so much more than put the basketball on the floor. The 14th overall pick in the 1989 draft by […]
John McVay
One of John McVay’s first assignments upon joining the San Francisco 49ers in 1979 was finding Bill Walsh, a quarterback. The search ended in the draft’s third round with a skinny Notre Dame passer named Joe Montana. “We couldn’t understand why he was still there in the third round,” McVay said. “At the time, he […]