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When the 49ers Were Kings: How Bill Walsh and Ed DeBartolo Jr. Built a Football Dynasty in San Francisco
In 1979, San Francisco was in turmoil attempting to recover from the assassination of two of its Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. The troubled city was in need of an emotional boost to restore their pride. But as the year drew to a sad close, the city’s professional football team, the 49ers, endured its second straight 2–14 season and it, too, was in deep despair. Critics jumped on Eddie DeBartolo Jr., the new owner, along with rookie head coach Bill Walsh. The thirty-year-old DeBartolo, handed the team by his billionaire father, was the league’s youngest owner. Walsh had been passed over in Cincinnati when the Bengals made a coaching change.
Yet there were promising signs that the 49ers were headed into a new era. The losses were closer. The player draft included an exciting quarterback named Joe Montana. The favorable signs proved prophetic. Over the next decade, the 49ers created a dynasty that was as unique as it was unexpected, winning four Super Bowls. The heroes were Walsh, the coach of speed and detail and long working hours, and Montana, who proved to be the perfect fit for Walsh’s fast-paced West Coast offense. In When the 49ers Were Kings , award-winning football writer Gordon Forbes examines how Walsh and DeBartolo assembled one of the greatest teams in pro football history featuring a legendary cast including Montana, Jerry Rice, and Ronnie Lott and unforgettable moments such as Dwight Clark and “The Catch,” a key goal-line stand in their first Super Bowl victory, and the last-minute drive capped by John Taylor’s Super Bowl-winning touchdown in Walsh’s final game.
“The good old days, the days of Camelot,” 49ers executive John McVay called the exciting decade. It was a special time in a very special city when Walsh and DeBartolo made the 49ers kings of San Francisco.
Yet there were promising signs that the 49ers were headed into a new era. The losses were closer. The player draft included an exciting quarterback named Joe Montana. The favorable signs proved prophetic. Over the next decade, the 49ers created a dynasty that was as unique as it was unexpected, winning four Super Bowls. The heroes were Walsh, the coach of speed and detail and long working hours, and Montana, who proved to be the perfect fit for Walsh’s fast-paced West Coast offense. In When the 49ers Were Kings , award-winning football writer Gordon Forbes examines how Walsh and DeBartolo assembled one of the greatest teams in pro football history featuring a legendary cast including Montana, Jerry Rice, and Ronnie Lott and unforgettable moments such as Dwight Clark and “The Catch,” a key goal-line stand in their first Super Bowl victory, and the last-minute drive capped by John Taylor’s Super Bowl-winning touchdown in Walsh’s final game.
“The good old days, the days of Camelot,” 49ers executive John McVay called the exciting decade. It was a special time in a very special city when Walsh and DeBartolo made the 49ers kings of San Francisco.
- GenresFootball
208 pages, Hardcover
Published September 4, 2018
4 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Forbes
4 booksGordon Forbes is a veteran sports journalist. He was the pro football columnist at USA Today for 20 years (1982-2002) and has covered more than 900 games - including 39 Super Bowls - in his journalistic career. Prior to joining USA Today, Forbes covered the Philadelphia Eagles for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He lives in Lakewood, New Jersey.
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July 29, 2023
When The 49ers Were Kings was a thoughtful book on the glory years of the San Francisco 49ers franchise. The book is an objective as well as a congratulatory analysis on what is widely known as the best period in 49ers history, the 1981 to 1989 period.
When The 49ers Were Kings set out to discuss that glorious 1980s era of 49ers history, but Forbes to his credit took a step in other directions in his book which included a chapter on the George Seifert years (Chapter 9), a poignant chapter on Bill Walsh's last days (chapter 12), and a chapter on former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. (chapter 11) losing the 49ers. When you see 49ers books especially the ones on the 1980s period of the franchise, you don't get chapters like that.
Pros of When The 49ers Were Kings: The book did a solid job at analyzing some of the years of the 49ers dynasty. This book by no means is anywhere near a comprehensive or definitive look at the 49ers 1981-1989 period but give the book credit for not trying to be what it wasn't. Forbes wanted to tell different 49ers stories in a concise and expeditious manner. Like I said before, the chapter on Walsh's life and last days (chapter 12) was a good look for this book and I feel it was the best chapter in the entire book.
Cons of When The 49ers Were Kings: This book didn't really add much to the narrative about the 1981-1989 49ers dynasty. This book was chock full of already known or rehashed stories on the 49ers glory era.
In conclusion, When The 49ers Were Kings won't wow you with its analysis of the 1980s 49ers dynasty and there are better and longer books written about that period elsewhere. But what you must give this book credit for is that its author tried to give you his own spin on what made the 49ers great in the 1980s, as well as some thoughts on where he felt the 49ers were headed from 2018 and on with new head coach Kyle Shanahan.
When The 49ers Were Kings set out to discuss that glorious 1980s era of 49ers history, but Forbes to his credit took a step in other directions in his book which included a chapter on the George Seifert years (Chapter 9), a poignant chapter on Bill Walsh's last days (chapter 12), and a chapter on former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. (chapter 11) losing the 49ers. When you see 49ers books especially the ones on the 1980s period of the franchise, you don't get chapters like that.
Pros of When The 49ers Were Kings: The book did a solid job at analyzing some of the years of the 49ers dynasty. This book by no means is anywhere near a comprehensive or definitive look at the 49ers 1981-1989 period but give the book credit for not trying to be what it wasn't. Forbes wanted to tell different 49ers stories in a concise and expeditious manner. Like I said before, the chapter on Walsh's life and last days (chapter 12) was a good look for this book and I feel it was the best chapter in the entire book.
Cons of When The 49ers Were Kings: This book didn't really add much to the narrative about the 1981-1989 49ers dynasty. This book was chock full of already known or rehashed stories on the 49ers glory era.
In conclusion, When The 49ers Were Kings won't wow you with its analysis of the 1980s 49ers dynasty and there are better and longer books written about that period elsewhere. But what you must give this book credit for is that its author tried to give you his own spin on what made the 49ers great in the 1980s, as well as some thoughts on where he felt the 49ers were headed from 2018 and on with new head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Displaying 1 of 1 review