Burl Toler Sr.
Burt Toler was the rock-solid center and linebacker on the now justly celebrated University of San Francisco team of 1951, which finished undefeated, untied, and uninvited to a post-season bowl game, mainly because two of its great stars, Toler and Ollie Matson, were African-American. On a roster boasting three future NFL Hall of Famers—Matson, Gino […]
Ray Guy
Ray Guy was one of the greatest punters in NFL history. Coming from the University of Southern Mississippi, in 1973, he was the first pure punter ever selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders. Only once in his 14 years as a Raider did he average less than 40 […]
Rick DeMont
During his swimming career in the 1970s, San Rafael-born Rick DeMont established world records in the 1500-meter freestyle, the 400-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. He won the 400-meter freestyle in the 1972 Olympics, but his gold medal was taken away by what was originally thought to be traces of a banned substance but […]
Edward (Eddie) DeBartolo, Jr.
Edward DeBartolo, Jr. came to the Bay Area when he purchased the San Francisco 49ers from the Morabito family in 1977. Everything took off in 1979, when Eddie hired Bill Walsh as his coach and brought in great players such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, and Roger Craig. With Walsh establishing the “West […]
Roger Craig
Renowned for his high-knee-action running style, Roger Craig became the first player ever to score three touchdowns in the Super Bowl during the 49ers’ 38-16 win over the Miami Dolphins in XIX. The next season (1985), he became the first player in NFL history to both run and receive passes for 1000 yards or more—1050 […]