BUCKINGHAM — The weather was pleasantly mild for a late August weekend and the fans widely scattered across Buckingham Golf and Country Club on Saturday during the 11th annual Pepsi Celebrity Quarterback Shootout.
There were plenty of fans to be sure, though not as many as past Shootouts. Jerry Rice of San Francisco 49er fame drew the largest following of autograph seekers and nearly all of them went home happy as No. 80 seemed much more comfortable with his surroundings this time around compared to his first visit at Buckingham.
There were other big draws in the field as well. Bay Area stars such as Dwight Clark and Roger Craig of the 49ers and Ken Stabler, Daryle Lamonica and Cliff Branch of the Raiders continue to be popular with the fans.
Two other autographs very much in demand were those of Hall of Fame members Fred Biletnikoff, another Silver and Black alumni, and Deacon Jones of the Los Angeles Rams. Jones not only signed autographs but posed for countless pictures, often leaving the roped area and going out to meet the fans. He even quizzed them on who the other members of the Fearsome Foursome were and while many correctly guessed Merlin Olsen and Rosey Grier, few were able to name the fourth member, Lamar Lundy.
Jones, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980, often would approach fans decked out in 49er jerseys and say, “I hate 49ers fans, get away from me.” He meant it, but he still obliged their autograph requests.
There were even a handful of Super Bowl rings to be seen if you were paying attention … and they were hard to miss. Former 49ers and Raiders tight end Ted Kwalick had one of them — he earned it for the Raiders” lopsided victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
Kwalick also had a mini-adventure of sorts on Friday night while out on Clear Lake with a friend. The boat he was riding in broke down and had to be towed back to shore.
“We weren”t too far out,” Kwalick said.
A Bay Area resident, Kwalick sees good things ahead for the improving 49ers, who he earned Pro Bowl honors with during the 1971, 1972 and 1973 seasons.
“The 49ers brought in some nice acquisitions (through free-agent signings) and I really like their tight end (Vernon) Davis. And I think their defense is coming around. If they stay healthy, I think they have a real good shot at going to the playoffs.”
As for the Raiders, Kwalick said he doesn”t see their No. 1 draft pick, JeMarcus Russell, signing any time soon.
“I think he”s getting some bad advice,” Kwalick said. “I held out for a couple of weeks one time, but this could go the entire season.”
Mike Wilson, former 49ers wide receiver and the Shootout player with the most Super Bowl rings — four — in this year”s field, touched on a variety of subjects and is one of the more well-spoken NFL players you”ll ever meet.
Wilson, who now resides in Southern California, is taking a year off from coaching after spending four seasons on Dennis Green”s coaching staff at Arizona, where he was the Cardinals” wide receivers coach. When Green was dismissed as Arizona”s coach, Wilson lost his job.
Wilson, who has a daughter attending Yale, said he has been keeping up with the 49ers — as the Cardinals” wide receiver coach he had no choice given that the two teams play in the same division — and with his former teammates from San Francisco”s first four Super Bowl teams.
“I keep in touch with Ronnie (Lott) and the others,” Wilson said. “Now, as we get further and further away from those years, we seem to have more time to talk than we did back then,” Wilson said. “Those were some great years.”
While Wilson was a third wide receiver for the 49ers during the years of Freddie Solomon, Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice and John Taylor, he was integral part of their first four Super Bowl championship teams.
“A lot of people don”t know that I was drafted in the ninth round by the Cowboys in 1981 and later released,” Wilson said.
A star coming out of Washington State, Wilson”s misfortune of being cut by the Tom Landry Cowboys turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
San Francisco coach Bill Walsh snapped up Wilson in a hurry and he played 10 seasons for the 49ers, his first on the 1981 squad that went on to beat the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game.
“He had a bigger impact on my life than anyone else had,” Wilson said of Walsh, who died on July 30 of leukemia. “He believed in me. He saw something in me that no one else did. The man had amazing foresight.”
Wilson said all of the 49ers” first four Super Bowl championship teams were special in different ways. His two favorites were the 1981 and 1984 clubs.
“In 1981, it was just so unexpected and the entire Bay Area was behind us,” Wilson said.
“In 1985 (January) we played the Dolphins in the Super Bowl at Stanford, and they had a real good team. But Bill had put together such a great defense and our offense was just coming into its own.”
The Dolphins also helped the 49ers, according to Wilson. “That”s all we heard about … ?no one can stop these guys, no one can beat them …” and it was a real source of motivation for us.”
By the late 1980s, when the 49ers won back-to-back Super Bowl championships against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV, Wilson said those teams had so much experience, talent and veteran leadership that they were not going to be denied.
“We had a mystique by then, there was a 49ers mystique,” Wilson said. “If we could hang around a game we knew we were going to win it and so did they (opposition).”
Wilson said Walsh was the biggest player behind the scenes, providing the focus and the leadership the entire way.
He didn”t have to provide much motivation, according to Wilson.
“We took care of that ourselves,” he said. “During those years, we were self-motivating. I think that is what separated us from a lot of other teams and it certainly separates us from a lot of the players today.”
Wilson also made an interesting observation on one of the 49ers” top defensive players of that era, cornerback Eric Wright.
“He might have been one of the best cornerbacks ever if not for all the injuries,” Wilson said. “He was great.”
A last-minute Shootout addition, running back Chuck Muncie, a Cal product who starred for the New Orleans Saints and later the “Air Coryell” San Diego Chargers,” also resides in the Bay Area although his business, a sports production company, is based out of New York.
Though he doesn”t follow the NFL as close as he used to, Muncie said he is rooting for his two former teams to reach the Super Bowl and said there is a real possibility that could happen this season.
And if does?
“Man, I can”t root for one against the other, I”ll just root for both,” said Muncie, who replaced Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel in the Shootout field when Gabriel had to cancel because of medical problems.
Muncie also will tell you he was a much better running back than he is a golfer.
“I play in about three tourneys a year,” Muncie said. “I do a lot of charity work … I sponsor (golf) tourneys during the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl.”
Muncie is still a big Cal football fan, too, and he thinks head coach Jeff Tedford is doing a “great job” with the Golden Bears.
Muncie has even done a little bit of scouting for the Bears.
As for Cal”s struggles to get a new stadium built in Berkeley because of environmental concerns and earthquake hazards, Muncie just smiled and said, “It”s Berkeley. Some things never change.”
One of the best quotes from this year Shootout came from Upper Lake”s Craig Kinser, who was paired with Roger Craig in the afternoon flight.
“He”s the nicest guy you could ever play with with the worst golf game you”ll ever see,” Kinser said.
