49er Fans send angry letters to editor in 1980

[7DnBrnc53]

Check this out:

http://blog.sfgate.com/thebigevent/2015 ... r-in-1980/

One fan said that they should draft Marc Wilson #2 overall and trade Joe Montana.

[SixtiesFan]

I recall a Glenn Dickey column in Pro Football Weekly late in 1980. In it, Bill Walsh says his QB, Joe Montana, had the potential to be on the level of Joe Ferguson and Danny White. This means Walsh thought Montana was good enough to win with. Walsh didn't say Montana had the potential to be the best of all time.

In later years, Walsh claimed he saw Montana as a great QB when he drafted him in the third round, something only he (Walsh) had the genius to see.

[Jay Z]

If Montana was such a cinch, why did the Niners draft James Owens in Round 2? Why take the risk? Even an average NFL starting QB would be well worth taking at the beginning of Round 2. Yet the Niners waited until the end of Round 3 to draft the HOF lock Montana.

They got lucky.

[BD Sullivan]

I noted in another thread that one of the reasons the Niners flopped in '82 was that Walsh's ego was sky-high after being declared a genius after winning SB 16. I have to imagine that he figured he'd be able to convert Renaldo Nehemiah into an All-Pro, which never came close to happening.

[7DnBrnc53]

If Montana was such a cinch, why did the Niners draft James Owens in Round 2? Why take the risk? Even an average NFL starting QB would be well worth taking at the beginning of Round 2. Yet the Niners waited until the end of Round 3 to draft the HOF lock Montana.

They got lucky.

Other teams had people that liked Montana, but the final decision makers of those teams didn't choose him, allowing Joe to fall down to the 49ers. Kansas City was one example.

According to this article, Marv Levy would have been content to take Joe in the second round for Kansas City, but Jack Steadman insisted on the best QB available, and they traded up with the Oilers to get Steve Fuller:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/6717 ... na-in-1979

And, in a book about the 80's 49ers (I think it was The Catch), the author wrote how Sam Wyche allegedly said that he heard from friends that there were fights in war rooms about Montana.

One of those was in Green Bay. Scout Red Cochrane apparently had a tantrum over Joe, and pleaded with Bart Starr to take him. The story goes like this: Red walked into the draft room after Green Bay's third round pick, and asked Bart if they took Montana. He told Red that they didn't, and Red threw a clipboard against the wall.

[BD Sullivan]

If Montana was such a cinch, why did the Niners draft James Owens in Round 2? Why take the risk? Even an average NFL starting QB would be well worth taking at the beginning of Round 2. Yet the Niners waited until the end of Round 3 to draft the HOF lock Montana.

They got lucky.

One of those was in Green Bay. Scout Red Cochrane apparently had a tantrum over Joe, and pleaded with Bart Starr to take him. The story goes like this: Red walked into the draft room after Green Bay's third round pick, and asked Bart if they took Montana. He told Red that they didn't, and Red threw a clipboard against the wall.

The Pack took the immortal NT Charles Johnson with that third rounder. He played 45 games, actually picking off a pass as a rookie. In 1981, he was cut late in training camp and signed by the Eagles, but he didn't see any real action, The next year, he was on IR, and in '83 the Eagles cut him in camp, only to see the Packers pick him up again. He actually started seven games and had 3.5 sacks. He was cut for good in the '84 training camp.

[SixtiesFan]

Does anybody still have Joel Buchsbaum's 1979 Draft Book? I used to have it, but it's long lost. As I recall, Buchsbaum had Montana as about a third rounder, which is how he went. He wrote of Montana something like: "Cocky, good athletic ability for position, would make a good backup." I think he also said Montana was erratic or inconsistent.

I'm certain Montana wasn't seen as a franchise QB going into the 1979 Draft. But Montana had shown a kind of greatness at times, and was seen as worth a third round pick, maybe late second.

As mentioned, late in 1980 Walsh felt Joe Montana was on the level of Joe Ferguson and Danny White. I now remember Glenn Dickey wrote that the rap on Montana at Notre Dame was he was inconsistent and it's possible to make a player like that more consistent.

[JuggernautJ]

That was a fun article.

And an excellent example of how to make football history entertaining and interesting to the general public.

"Hey that was funny."
(Wait... I think I learned something...)

[7DnBrnc53]

If Montana was such a cinch, why did the Niners draft James Owens in Round 2? Why take the risk? Even an average NFL starting QB would be well worth taking at the beginning of Round 2. Yet the Niners waited until the end of Round 3 to draft the HOF lock Montana.

They got lucky.

I heard that Bill took Owens because he was a track man who he thought he could convert from RB to WR. He was a precursor to the Renaldo Nehemiah experiment.

As for the QB thing, Tony Razzano, 49er scout at the time, claims that Bill wanted Dils in the third round, and had to be talked into Montana. Razzano has said things about how Walsh isn't the genius he seems to be, and that he made big mistakes that cost the 49ers more championships.

Speaking of Montana, though, I found another interesting story about his draft day, but this time, it's from the Bears:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2424 ... aft-misses

Apparently, Bill Tobin told his wife that the Bears would take Montana in the third round, but Jim Finks, the main decision maker, had a change of heart at the last minute.

[MIKEBENNIDICT]

With in 2 years the 49er's would go to the Superbowl.


Maybe these letter on managements attention.