The Untold Perspective of the San Francisco 49ers: Part V

Reminiscing over a few of the all-time great images in sports history, one may think of a horizontally floating Bobby Orr after scoring the OT game-winner in the 1970 Stanley Cup or perhaps a chiseled 22-year-old Muhammad Ali towering over a laid out Sonny Liston.

Through the use of photojournalism, these unforgettable moments are cemented in history and ingrained in people’s minds forever.

To close out our video series on the San Francisco 49ers, artist Michael Zagaris allows us to relive one of the great sports photographs of our time. For the first time ever, Z-Man retells the tale of how it happened, taking us through the process of the most famous pic at the 'Stick as the city prepares to close the stadium for good.

 Mentor and Master

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To me, I see the comradeship that existed between Joe Montana and myself. The look in his eyes and the focus and concentration. It captures a connection. We always spoke with our team that everyone is connected, almost visually—so we were in total sync when this was taken.

It’s a dramatic position because here is the greatest quarterback of all-time working with a coach, drawing plays in the grass, in the sand so to speak. And if I remember, that play worked. And to me, this is certainly my favorite photograph, as a coach, just the very essence of the success we had and the way we went about doing it. – Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, Bill Walsh, via NFL Films

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Thank you for viewing. See Part I, II, III & IV.

Directed and produced by Dylan DeSimone and David Haladjian. Special thanks to the San Francisco 49ers, Michael Zagaris, Guy McIntyre, the city of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Library and the staff at Candlestick Park.