49ers to retire Steve Young's jersey on October 5

by Fooch on Sep 25, 2008 1:16 PM PDT in News Comment 16 comments

The 49ers just announced that they will be retiring Steve Young's #8 jersey. The ceremony will take place at halftime of their October 5th game against the New England Patriots. John York said the following about the event:

"Steve Young is an important part of the 49ers history and tradition. He combined talent, character and a tremendous work ethic to become an incomparable performer and champion on the field. He was a model professional, and he influenced many of the younger players with his dedication. Our players today and for years to come will look up to Steve. We are excited to pay tribute to his achievements with this special halftime ceremony in front of our fans."

Obviously this is a deserving honor. In spite of his time sitting behind Joe Montana, Steve Young left quite the imprint on 49ers history AND NFL history.

Jerseys retired so far:

John Brodie - #12 - 1973

Joe Montana - #16 - 2000

Joe Perry - #34 - 1971

Jimmy Johnson - #37 - 1994

Hugh McElhenny - #39 - 1971

Ronnie Lott - #42 - 2003

Charlie Krueger - #70 - 1974

Leo Nomellini - #73 - 1971

Bob St. Clair - #79 - 2001

Dwight Clark - #87 - 1988

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good!

now what about #80?

Still defending Rich Aurilia, and the Niners' classic unis

by wjackalope on Sep 25, 2008 2:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It's about time

Rice hasn’t been retired very long, so it makes sense that they haven’t retired 80 yet. But this one seems overdue. Young remains my favorite 49ers to this day.

Never forget: I am a complete idiot

by Exhibit G on Sep 25, 2008 3:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

yeah

it says on MM’s blog that they’ll retire #80 after he’s in the hall

Still defending Rich Aurilia, and the Niners' classic unis

by wjackalope on Sep 25, 2008 3:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Long overdue

I’d say young is the best QB of all time in terms of being a pure athlete at the position… no one else has come close to mixing his efficiency as a passer with his scrambling and improvising ability. Always bugs me when people lavish praise on Favre when Young was basically the same QB minus all of those interceptions…

-- Jay T.

by jaytierney on Sep 25, 2008 4:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Favre vs. Young

I think the situations they were in were what made people fall in love with Favre more. With Young, a lot of people probably saw him as a product of Bill Walsh’s system. He always had targets. He almost always had a RB behind him that he could hand off to 15 to 20 times a game. With Favre, he didn’t always have those things. My memory may be failing me, but it seems to me that Favre HAD to be “Superman” a whole lot more than Young ever had to, and I think that’s what many fans of Favre have fallen in love with.

by sfgfan on Sep 25, 2008 4:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Needless to say...

… Young is my favorite QB of all time. I’m not going to say he was the best or anything, as it’s difficult to run through those kinds of comparisons, but he’s definitely my favorite.

by sfgfan on Sep 25, 2008 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

yup

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Sep 26, 2008 8:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

difference in media's eyes:

Favre is a gunslinger! A gamer! He plays hurt!

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Sep 26, 2008 8:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Walsh system...

Let’s not forget that Favre had his best seasons in a Bill Walsh system… you didn’t think Mike Holmgrem just made all of those plays up, right?

-- Jay T.

by jaytierney on Sep 26, 2008 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

System or not...

… the targets were no always there.

by sfgfan on Sep 26, 2008 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

eh...

but it seems to me that Favre HAD to be "Superman" a whole lot more than Young ever had to

eh…I disagree with that completely.

I think a lot of the pressure that Favre faced much of his career was self-imposed. It’s wasn’t that he had to be the guy so much as he felt like he had to be the guy. That’s always been his one real flaw as a QB – he puts too much on his own shoulders.

He’s always forced throws and extended plays past the point of absurdity. For every touchdown he squeezes in between three defenders, there’s a stupid interception. For every highlight of him escaping 3 potential sacks and delivering a 40 yard completion, there’s a 15 yard loss on 2nd and short. But he’s humble, has a scruffy beard and talks with an accent that fans from Wisconsin can’t help but fall in love with. So people allow themselves to forget the bad and focus on the good.

Young was so successful because he didn’t overburden himself. He’d deliver the big plays, and he’d throw the ball away when he had to. He trusted his teammates more than any QB I’ve ever seen. Of course, it helps when those teammates include players like Jerry and a lot of the other superstars that Young had, but it was never limited to those guys.

Also, California cheese > Wisconsin swiss. Truth.

by shlecko on Sep 26, 2008 8:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Young #1

In my heart, he is bar none my favorite QB. And a 1b to my 1a Jerry Rice, as all time favorite player.

I went with a friend to the Bill Walsh memorial @ Bill Walsh Field, and after the great ceremony, the 49er greats walked by to say hi to the fans who came out. My friend had his throwback Young jersey on, and when Young walked by, he stopped him in the crowd. Young walked over, took someone else’s Sharpie, and signed my friend’s jersey.

In any case, this news post was enough to finally end my lurking, and register :)

by RobbieS on Sep 25, 2008 7:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

welcome

Glad to have you aboard.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Sep 25, 2008 8:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

About time.

Yep.

by Ninjames on Sep 25, 2008 7:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Young

Still my favorite NFL player. I know his career was winding down anyways, but I always hated that the concussions hastened it. At least he was smart enough to hang it up before things got bad for him. (I’m looking at you Trent Green!)

Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."

by chirop1 on Sep 26, 2008 7:57 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

also

Very much aboard the Steve Young fanclub train. I love the quarterback position more than any other in professional sports, and Young was the best I’ve ever seen. On top of that, he’s a stand-up guy, a true professional, and an awesome story.

P.S.
Fuck Lawrence Phillips.

by shlecko on Sep 26, 2008 8:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs