Monday, May 16, 2011

My San Francisco 49ers Memorabilia Collection


My near 1000 sq. ft. 49ers den...bar...Museum
My nearly 1000 sq. ft. 49ers Den . . . Bar . . . Museum, here in LA.
I've decided to Blog about my 49er's collection for all to see. I've amassed quite a collection of 49ers jersey's, helmets, pennants, statues and the like over the years either by myself or others giving gifts, etc.
I've been a 49er Faithful since the late 60's growing up in a little town called Woodburn, Oregon... when my hero John Brodie took the Niners to the playoffs, only to loose to the dreaded Cowboys. During that time I started a scrapbook of newspaper clippings of John, Gene Washington, Dave Wilcox and the rest of the team. This started my collecting obsession.
I watched for years as my team struggled through various coaching changes, quarterbacks and former greats (OJ Simpson) to help them move past their struggling management. Then in 1977, EDDIE, showed up. The man who made one of the biggest contributions to any sports team. Mr "D" as the players called him. The Niners new owner, Eddie DeBartolo added people who would combine intelligence with football and hired a future hall of fame coach, Coach Bill Walsh. Coach changed the way the Niners were thought of. No longer were the 49ers going to be thought of as a team that "...almost made it", they were going to be known as a team that were expected to be at the Championship game...every year...true contenders.

As a fan I saw an immediate change. A positive "We Can Win!!!" attitude. There was a confidence that you could see as the players took the field. The Only problem was our quarterback, we needed someone that Bill could mold to run his offense. And in 1979, he drafted a guy that he could mold. Joe Cool...Joe Montana.
Joe Montana, Dwight Clark and the rest of a very impressive group of guys put Bill Walsh's offensive and defensive schemes into action and did it with the Walsh precision. And in a year I told my twin brother to "Watch our team, they're going to the Super Bowl this year", they did. They first had to slay the dragon called the Cowboys, and they did. The Niners did it in dramatic fashion, in what will forever be called in 49er territory, as "The Catch".

I remember yelling out loud "We did it!, we're going to the SUPER BOWL ! ! !" and dancing around, when my twin brother called to congratulated me on a solid prediction early in the year. He knew since I was a kid, that the Niners were "MY" team and he was just as excited for them as he was for me...a true fan.
Today, I'm a TV producer, living in Los Angeles...the largest Metropolitan city without an NFL team, quite ironic. Anyway, I've been blessed to travel to San Francisco for some games, and been able to place most of my collection out to where Niner Fans & opposing fans can gawk at the collection in my 1000 sq. ft. den/bar. I have display cases full of coins, cards, stuffed animals, toys, records, etc... and shelves filled with statues, helmets, rare and not so rare items.

So, I want to share this collection with other fans because not everyone can make it to LA to see my 49ers collection. I've been lucky to have a room that I can display most of my collection, though I have a storage shed with over 20 plastic bins holding a lot more things, that I just didn't have room to display.

Granted, I don't have everything, just some things, I'm sure others may have a bigger collection or better stuff. But for me, this is a collection showing my pride for a football team that had it's tough times and it's glory times and now rebuilding times. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think. At times I will ask for opinions or comments so feel free to do so. As I will always say... GO NINERS ! ! !

1 comment:

pterri pterodactyl said...

Your blog is wonderful! Your enthusiasm comes through in your commentary, and the photos are fantastic! I know sharing all the images is/has been a lot of work, but I for one really appreciate it! Go Niners!!