When I first saw a football game on TV when I first arrived in San Francisco in 1973, I told myself that football was such a weird sports.  It was strange that a bunch of burly men would beat themselves silly to move a weird shaped ball to the end zones.  It was totally different from the "football" I used to play in high school P. E. back in the Philippines (soccer).  But in time, I learned to love the game, thanks to watching the 49ers on TV with some die hard friends (you know who you all are!).  I then wished that someday, I'd get to photograph a live game.  I pondered on what it would take for me to get a chance to shoot at least just one game.

In 1979, this dream came true.  With luck on my side and being at the right place at the right time, I got an opportunity to shoot the SF 49ers as a stringer photographer for mediaDispatch, an independent news agency being managed by a friend.  I ran into a guy named Rene Tolosa who used to work at Bechtel.  He figured that since I was a wannabe photographer then, he invited me to shoot the "niners" at Candlestick Park.  To make it short, not only did I get to do it once, I covered most of the home games for eight years straight and during the 49er's Glory Days, the '80s.

Timing could have not been any better.  The first year I covered them, the 49ers went on to win their first ever Super Bowl.  They went and got two more Super Bowls during the years I was in action.  There were many special memories.  But the one I cherish most is shooting the 49ers' battle with the Washingotn Redskins on a rain-drenched Sunday, where only a few shooters stayed on the sidelines.  I covered myself and my gears with a Glad plastic bag with a hole punched for the lens.  My Levi's blue jeans were soaked with water, mud, grass and sideline paint.  Another special moment was the home game after the big earthquake, which was played at Stanford University.  I ran into Jennifer Montana walking down the stadium ramp while she carried her newly born baby boy down to the field to meet up with Joe Montana.

Here are some photos from my stash.  Enjoy it until the day the Niners rule once again.  But don't hold your breath, it could take much longer than we want it to be.  I tell people that they started loosing because they cancelled out my press credentials.  They were not aware that I was their "good luck mascot" until they dropped me off from their roster.  And that was just their bad mistake!  XD  However, here's a tribute to the glory decade.