Joe Staley, a stalwart on the offensive line for the past 13 seasons, had his retirement presser Tuesday. The argument is there for his HoF creds, and I think he’s gonna make it. Made the all-rookie team, 6 time pro-bowl player, 3 time 2nd team all-pro, and a member of the all-decade 2010s team. A great player on some not-so-great teams. But a stalwart behind Frank Gore for tons of Frank’s yards with the 49ers.
Everyone in the league has nothing but good things to say about him. And Staley himself credits Frank Gore with instilling the drive to become the best.
“Frank was a guy that I watched. I was a huge sports fan growing up, and he was a guy that I watched and not idolized, but he was a superstar. So I came in the NFL, and he had just got done rushing for 1,600 yards, and he was a guy that was the leader of the team and he was a San Francisco 49er. To watch him work and the way that he approached every single day was special for me as a rookie just being like ‘This is what it takes to be a stud in the NFL.’ ”
Very bummed he didn’t get a Super Bowl victory to cap his excellent career, but so many greats didn’t even reach a Super Bowl. Here’s a nice article on him.
http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/SanFranciscoChronicle/Default.aspx
2007 seems like a looooong time ago.
Shula? Hey, we all know the accomplishments, and shit, the dude lived to 90 with most of his faculties intact. That’s a pretty damn cool thing. Happy trails, coach.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
When it comes right down to it the 49ers are one big family. When a player such as Staley shows up year after year, plays the game like it should be played, is respected by his peers, and toughs it out through high and low times he becomes a center piece of that family. The 10 year wall is full of players like that. But even if the player only had a 5 or 6 year career he can still get that respect if he played the game the 49er way which in my mind has always been about hard-nosed-football.
Eddie created it Winder.
Winning with class.
Winning as a family.
The York’s damn near buried it.
Kudos to Jed for recognizing the importance of finding it again.
NJ- Eddie was the icing on the cake. It started when the 49ers first came to the City and really blossomed in the 50’s. I was young but I caught the fever the first time my dad took me to Kezar. I had been hearing about them my whole life, even had one of em marry my cousin in 55. We may not have been household names any place but here but once you went to a game at Kezar you understood. The people of San Francisco loved the 49ers and the team knew it.
Yeah the players *loved* the Morabitos. The story goes that when Tony Morabito died in 1957 the team staged a roaring comeback against a very confused Bears team who could not understand the fury the 49ers were playing with, or why Joe Perry was crying as he tried to stomp people into the ground. It was run as a family enterprise which was both good and bad. They really needed a GM who understood football and how to win in the NFL. They had mediocre results with an assortment of great players. Where Eddie improved on things was, he was not only the same kind of Italian mercurial “We’re all family” kind of guy – he also understood business and how to get the right people to delegate to, and then support them.
Yeah nobody and I mean nobody was more generous then Eddie D.From ordering a private jet to pickup injured 49er( paralyzed)Jeff Fuller after a road game and pay for all his medical expenses for the rest of his life.Too flying the whole team and spouses,to Hawaii staying at the Westin Kauai all paíd for,other stories under the radar for people he has helped ( charities)including getting many ex 49ers to meet for a final tribute to a dying teammate Dwight Clark! Eddie is all Class!
They are showing all of Super Bowl 3 if y’all are interested.
NFL network
Frank Gore signs 1 year deal with Jets!
This will be his 16th season.Wow who’s says a RB only have a 5-7 year life shelf?
Needs 1,380 yards( not likely) to move into second alltime among running backs..
Then again if he plays till he’s 40 maybe?lol
The man is a rock. He will probably get the record if he can hold out for 3 more years.
Awesome about Gore. A true ambassador for the game. Should be a shoe-in for the HOF.
Niners play the Jets in NJ this year. You going to the game NJ? (Presuming its allowed)
I’ve been on six different teams since I’ve left the 9ers but even on the day that Staley retires and Don Shula passes away my buddy Chuckles makes it all about me. It’s no wonder smart conservatives can’t take this liberal barnyard seriously.
Oh, Skeebs. Keep pretending to be poor struggling writer instead of the entitled trust-funder that you are.
Hear the term Trustafarian? It’s an entitled little rich boy who pretends to be poor. You wear it well, skeebs.
New thread is up.