Mark Purdy, the award-winning former sports columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, says of the San Francisco 49ers: “This franchise all along has had drama.”
He’s written about the football team’s history in “The San Francisco 49ers: An Illustrated Timeline” (Reedy Press, 176 pages, $42), published in October, and will sign copies this week at Books Inc. in Campbell.
Co-author Jeff Suess organized the 166-page volume, which looks good on a coffee table.
There are pictures or illustrations on nearly every page, along with short articles.
The book spans nearly 100 years of 49ers history, going back to 1928 when two Santa Clara University students discussed starting a local team. Those two students, Tony Morabito and Al Ruffo, actually went on to start the team in 1946. Morabito initially owned the team, while Ruffo was the team’s lawyer and later a part owner. Ruffo also was a mayor of San Jose.
“Some 49ers fans, especially the younger ones, think the history started with Colin Kaepernick,” says Purdy, who is not related to the 49ers current quarterback Brock Purdy.
Quarterback Kaepernick’s improbable run to the Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 is in the book, along with his 2016 “taking a knee” stance against police brutality and racial inequality that ended his career.
The book finishes with a recap of the 49ers’ loss in the Super Bowl in February 2024.
Purdy tells engaging stories throughout the book, such as how two widows inherited the team in the 1960s, becoming the rare female owners of a professional sports franchise.
The team moved from San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium to Candlestick in 1971, and then to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in 2014.
One chapter covers the dynasty years from 1980 to 1990, when the 49ers won four Super Bowl championships. Also chronicled is January 1982’s “The Catch,” recounting how quarterback Joe Montana threw a game-winning ball to Dwight Clark to help the team defeat the Dallas Cowboys 28-27.
Purdy explains how the team became integrated in the 1940s when most teams were all white. Wally Yonamine, the first Asian American pro football player, joined the team in 1947. In 1948, the 49ers hired its first African American player, Joe Perry, who later was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
There are lots of familiar names in the book: Y.A. Tittle, John Brodie, Jerry Rice, Bill Walsh, Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig are mentioned. Quarterback Steve Young, who joined the team in 1987, wrote the introduction.
Co-author Suess, a librarian at the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper, has deep California roots. He grew up in Modesto and is a graduate of San Francisco State University.
Purdy said the book is aimed at fans of all ages, from middle-school students to seniors.
“Following your favorite team is part of American culture,” he says.
Mark Purdy appears in a meet-and-greet at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Books Inc., The Pruneyard, 1875 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell; visit booksinc.net.