Legendary San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh died yesterday, July 30, of leukemia. He was 75. I flipped to the NFL channel on DirecTV last night when I got home and was watching some of the coverage related to Walsh's death. There was an NFL films piece that focused on the longtime 49ers photographer, Michael Zagaris. In the documentary, which was filmed before Walsh's death, Zagaris reflected on photography; Walsh; the 49ers – including some of the most memorable personalities from the Walsh era like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott and Steve Young; rock and roll, and the philosophy he brought to covering the team.
In the documentary, Bill Walsh noted that the photo below was one of his favorite images, and he held a large framed print on his knee as he spoke about it. Zagaris said the same of the image, that it was one of his favorites:
49ers coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana during the 1984 NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears at Candlestick Park.
Zagaris said he loved to look for unique angles, to get down low and really try to show things that viewers of NFL games typically didn't see, particularly back in the Walsh era. And, he said he loved shooting in black and white, and many of his photos from the 49ers dynasty era were made in that format.
Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers talks to quarterback Joe Montana during a game against the Dallas Cowboys in 1983.
Zagaris is quite a character, having had aspirations earlier in life for getting a college football scholarship (which he did), playing in the NFL (he tried out), running for Congress and ultimately being president of the United States. He worked on political campaigns and was at one of the events in the late 1960's that tragically altered his life – and America – forever: the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1968. He left politics after that and started interviewing and photographing rock and roll bands. He was attracted by the British invasion in rock in the '60s and spent time shooting such rock icons like Eric Clapton, Roger Daltry and the Who, Led Zepplin and Mick Jagger, among many others.
Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones
However he returned to his background in football and started photographing the 49ers, becoming their team photographer in 1973. He's documented the team over four decades now, including the three years that Walsh coached the team to Super Bowl wins in 1982, 1985 and 1989.
Head coach Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers poses with 3 Superbowl Trophies in 1989.
Zagaris, who also became the Oakland A's photographer in the early '80s, continues to build on his astonishing resume. To read more about him and see more of his photography, check out these links: apple.com/pro/profiles, michaelzagarisvault.com, SportsShooter and PhotoShelter.com.
- Gary
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