Young Says Goodbye
Flashback: Young says 'Goodbye'SANTA CLARA, Calif. (June 12, 2000)
Steve Young was put in the unenviable position of succeeding the legendary Joe Montana and stamped his own Hall of Fame credentials.
Today, Young passed the baton to a quarterback who will be forced to sustain his excellence with the San Francisco 49ers.
Plagued by a series of concussions in recent years, the 38-year-old Young announced his retirement in a news conference which took place in the locker room of the team's training facility.
"It was a tough decision but I know that I've made the right one and I really felt it was right in my heart," Young said. "I go forward and feel thrilled for what lies ahead of me. But at the same time it is sad to end an era that meant so much to me. I loved playing for the San Francisco 49ers."
A two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and seven-time Pro Bowler, the left-handed Young is the highest-rated passer in NFL history with a rating of 96.8 and the most accurate with a completion percentage of 64.2.
Today's event was in stark contrast to Montana's elaborate retirement ceremony at Candlestick Park in 1995, but it suited Young just fine.
"What better place than the locker room," Young said. "It's the most intimate place for a player. This is where the relationships are forged, this is where football happens away from the crowd."
Niners star receiver Jerry Rice, coach Steve Mariucci, owner Denise DeBartolo-York and former Niners tight end Brent Jones spoke at today's news conference and coaches Mike Shanahan of the Denver Broncos and Mike Holmgren of the Seattle Seahawks, both former 49er offensive coordinators, and Lavell Edwards of Brigham Young, Young's college coach, were among those in attendance.
"Mike Shanahan said Steve was one of the top five quarterbacks of all time and I definitely agree, but none of those other four followed a Hall of Famer and that to me is the single greatest accomplishment I have seen in sports," said Jones, Young's former roommate.
Niners general manager Bill Walsh spoke at a memorial service for former football executive Don Klosterman, who died last week, and was unable to attend.
Called by Walsh "the greatest athlete to play the quarterback position," Young directed the high-powered 49ers offense with precision and played with reckless abandon, often taking tacklers head on when running for first downs.
However, as the offensive line of the Niners deteriorated, Young paid the price and suffered four concussions over the last three years. His latest one occurred when he was hit by blitzing cornerback Aeneas Williams in a Sept. 27 game against Arizona, ending his season.
Fearing for his health, Walsh said last Monday that Young should retire unless he received clearance from a series of medical specialists.
Young confirmed today that he was given clearance to return, and Shanahan courted him for the Broncos. In 1994, Young won his second MVP award and passed for a record six touchdowns in the Niners' 49-26 rout of San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX with Shanahan as his offensive coordinator.
However, Young opted to retire and informed the Niners of his decision on Friday, one day before he would receive a $1 million roster if he remained on the roster. As a retirement gift, Walsh paid Young the bonus.
Recently married with a baby on the way, Young has a law degree from Brigham Young and organizes and managed numerous youth-oriented foundations.
Young was rumored to be a candidate for the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, but that does not appear to be likely.
"I'm just going to stay at home for now," Young said. "We're expecting a child at the end of the year and I don't think my wife wants me to travel."
Young played 15 years in the NFL, the last 13 with the 49ers after starting in the United States Football League and playing two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jeff Garcia, a former star of the CFL, will go into minicamp as Young's successor. He took over after Young was injured last season and completed 225 of 375 passes for 2,544 yards and 11 touchdowns with 11 interceptions as the Niners faltered to a 4-12 record, their worst since 1979.
After sacrificing four years in his prime backing up Montana, Young became the Niners full-time starter in 1991 and carried on the winning tradition of the 49ers, compiling a 91-33 record. Young finally emerged from Montana's prodigious shadow when he led San Francisco to its fifth Super Bowl title in 1994.
When he served as a backup, Young admitted he did not have a close relationship with Montana, who resented Walsh for benching him in a 1987 playoff game in favor of Young.
Young is the only player to record a quarterback rating of more than 100 six times. He matched Sammy Baugh's NFL record with his sixth passing title with a rating of 104.7 in 1997 and ranks 16th all-time with 33,124 passing yards.
"I attained all the goals I could ever have dreamed of," Young said. "Every player needs a framework and system to perform and I've had the best here in San Francisco."
Young is second all-time with 4,239 rushing yards for a quarterback, trailing only Randall Cunningham (4,799), and tops all quarterbacks with 43 rushing touchdowns.
Young's seven straight selections to the Pro Bowl is the second longest streak in team history behind Rice (11).
A college star at Brigham Young, Young signed a contract with the Los Angeles Express of the USFL in 1984. When the league folded, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him in the first round of the supplemental draft.
After starting 19 games in two seasons with Tampa Bay, Young was traded to San Francisco for a pair of draft picks and the Bucs selected quarterback Vinny Testaverde with the first pick in the 1987 draft.
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