CANTON, Ohio -- They might as well have flown in sourdough bread and Dungeness
crab and had Da Mayor himself, Willie Brown, emcee the thing.
The setting was the steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but
the atmosphere was undeniably San Francisco. To have the fog roll in
would've been perfect.
Perhaps the enshrinement of the Hall of Fame's 2000 class should have been
held at Fisherman's Wharf. That way, the hundreds of 49er Faithful wouldn't
have had to make the pilgrimage to honor the first Hall of Fame players of
San Francisco's dynasty of the 1980s -- Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott.
|  | | Ronnie Lott and Joe Montana made it a 49er day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. |
"They're the first two from that decade," said Shari Eknoian, who dragged
her best friend all the way from Fresno, Calif., to see Montana and Lott's
day in the Ohio sun. "It's an exciting day for a 49er fan."
Even Mother Nature cooperated with the festivities. The cloudy skies that
threatened thunderstorms cleared in time for Lott, Montana and former
49ers linebacker Dave Wilcox to make their induction speeches on a humid but
rain-drop free afternoon with fellow classmates Howie Long and Dan Rooney.
The moments at the podium before one of the largest induction ceremony
crowds ever quickly became emotional for Montana and Lott. The two defined
the greatness of the Niners but did so in their own way -- Montana the calm,
collected leader of the offense and Lott the intense, vocal leader of the
defense. Their friendship has continued after football. In fact, Lott is the
godfather to Montana's youngest son.
Lott, whose intentional omission of Montana from his list of players to
thank drew laughs, saved his most heartfelt thoughts for his best friend on
the Niners. "He's got a great soul," Lott said. "He's a great human being."
Montana also spoke of Ronnie Lott the man more than Ronnie Lott the
hard-hitting defensive back, citing Lott's dedicated charity work. "His wife
will agree with me that he's rarely home because he's filling all these
(obligations) to all these people who are in need," Montana said. "He's
always got his hand out -- not to take but to give."
Lott and Montana each paid homage to the man who wrote the paychecks for San
Francisco's five Super Bowl champions, ex-Niners owner Ed DeBartolo, Jr.,
who was chosen by Montana to be his presenter.
"There are a lot of great owners in this league and there have been a lot,"
Montana said. "But I can't find one any better than that man."
DeBartolo attended the festivities under "mixed" emotions. Ousted from the
team's ownership in a bitter battle with his sister, Denise DeBartolo York,
DeBartolo spoke of his ex-players like a proud father.
"I'm as proud of you as if my own son was coming into the Hall of Fame,"
said DeBartolo, talking to Lott.
Before these outbursts of affection, the least known Niner on stage injected some unexpected humor with the
most memorable lines.
Wilcox played in seven Pro Bowls as a hard-hitting outside linebacker for
the 49ers from 1964 to 1974. He was, according to Mike Giddings (Wilcox's
presenter and old linebacker coach), "the heart and soul of the first
49ers NFC West champion." However, people still ask the same question once
they find out he used to play for San Francisco.
"They ask me if I played with Joe Montana," Wilcox said. "I tell them I
played before Joe and money."
Other Wilcox one-liners included:
The Baltimore Colts' tradition of having a horse run around the stadium
after every touchdown: "When the 49ers came to play, they brought a
trailer-load of horses."
Jim Marshall's wrong-way touchdown run: "To show how good we were, two
of our guys were chasing him to try to tackle him."
His trip to the Pro Bowl the year Gale Sayers scored a record six
touchdowns against the Niners: "I was so excited Gale was going to be on the
same team ... because I was going to see him up close for the first time."
With 111 Hall of Famers returning to Canton to usher in the a new millennium
of the NFL, the day was lauded as the greatest in pro football history. The
day easily holds the same distinction in 49er lore.
In all, eight Niner Hall of Famers were in attendance, including Bob St.
Clair, Joe "The Jet" Perry, Bill Walsh, Hugh McElhenny and Leo Nomellini.
DeBartolo summed it up best for all of those wearing 49ers jerseys with the
number "16" and "I came here to honor Ronnie Lott" stickers.
"What a day," he said.
Joe Lago is the NFL editor for ESPN.com.
| |
ALSO SEE
Big Al booed by fans, cheered by ex-players
Joe Montana's career highlights
Ronnie Lott's career highlights
Dave Wilcox's career highlights
VIDEO
  NFL Hall of Fame inductee Joe Montana goes Up Close with Gary Miller. RealVideo: 28.8  Joe Montana puts his Hall of Fame induction in the proper perspective. wav: 392 kRealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Ronnie Lott says the inductees are more than football players. wav: 106 kRealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Joe Montana calls Saturday a begining point. wav: 118 kRealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Ronnie Lott wants the fans to recognize greatness. wav: 461 kRealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 |
