SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers’ dynasty had launched even before Roger Craig arrived in 1983 as a fullback out of Nebraska.
Craig’s versatility as a runner, receiver and blocker helped elevate Bill Walsh’s offense to an even higher level as a perfect fit in a trendsetting scheme.
"Roger was a pioneer,” former 49ers quarterback Steve Young said. “Our offense allowed for new things to happen, and it demanded running backs who could
catch the football, and run routes, and be dynamic and still line up in the eye and go downhill off tackle. It asked more of anyone and Roger answered that. He could do all the things that Earl Campbell could do, but all this other stuff that was now being asked. Now that you look at the game today, Roger was the first one to do that.”
Craig’s success in the offense led to him becoming the first player ever to reach 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season, helped San Francisco win three more Super Bowl titles and eventually made him a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Craig will be inducted into the Hall on Saturday after being chosen from the seniors category after being passed over for years as higher profile 49ers players like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Young got the accolades. Craig declined to be interviewed for this story but his former teammates had plenty to say.
“He was an amazing football player that I think was grossly underappreciated how good he was,” longtime guard Randy Cross said. “Part of that’s being that he came into the league as a fullback at Nebraska for Mike Rozier. Then he comes to us and he’s basically a fullback with Wendell Tyler. But Bill had all the faith in the world in what he can do with him and Roger changed the running back position.”
Craig’s impact on the 49ers was immediate as he showed off skills he was never asked to use in college when he caught just 16 passes in four seasons playing in Nebraska’s triple-option offense.
Craig entered the NFL in an era when running backs weren’t typically major parts of the passing offense. But he bucked that trend and quickly became one of the best receiving backs in the league.
He scored 12 TDs as a rookie and then had 1,324 yards from scrimmage and 10 more TDs in 1984 when he helped San Francisco win its second title as he became the first player ever to score three TDs in a Super Bowl.
He established the 1,000-1,000 club in 1985 that has only been reached by two other backs — Marshall Faulk in 1999 and Christian McCaffrey in 2019 — and was a first-team All-Pro in 1988 when he rushed for 1,502 yards.
“I think about him as a pioneer and someone who set the standard for guys like myself," McCaffrey said. "He showed someone could maybe not be a 245-pound back but be able to make a living playing football because of the work that he put in and being able to do everything — run the ball hard between the tackles, outside the tackles, catch the ball.”
Craig’s influence went beyond his stellar play on the field. He helped establish the standard that made the 49ers the model franchise in the NFL in the 1980s and ’90s. Craig started the tradition that Jerry Rice extended of running what was simply known as “The Hill” in a Bay Area park as part of his offseason training.
He carried that work ethic over to the season when he would run to the goal line after almost every carry in practice, inspiring teammates along the way.
“I know Jerry gets talked about in his offseason routine, but it started with Roger. Roger was the guy,” longtime linebacker Keena Turner said. “He was unmatched in the way he prepared, he was unmatched in the way he played, the dual threat that he was on the field, the human being that he was as a teammate. I can’t say enough about him and how he inspired me, the way he played, watching him. He was all in every single day.”
Craig finished his career with 13,100 yards from scrimmage and 73 touchdowns in the regular season. His 410 yards from scrimmage in his Super Bowls — all wins — are the third-most ever behind Hall of Famers Rice and Franco Harris.
But he also had a postseason blunder in his final game with the 49ers, when he fumbled late in the 1990 NFC title game with San Francisco protecting a 13-12 lead against the New York Giants.
New York turned that fumble into a game-winning field goal that denied the Niners a chance at a three-peat but doesn’t overshadow Craig’s contributions and how he is remembered.
“High knee action, how he would punish the defender,” Rice remembered. “Just overall, just a fantastic teammate that laid everything out there on the football field.”
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AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.
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