Guest Columnist John G Filice tells the tale of Jeff Garcia
through his experiences.
In 1973, the Gavilan Rams football team was acclaimed the best in the nation. To celebrate the event coach Bob Garcia, assistants and staff along with the national championship players were feted at an Elks Lodge banquet.
Bud Ottmar, Hollister coach and sports figure renown was the athletic director of Gavilan at the time. At Bud’s behest the national championship players stood several times as he exclaimed that this was something we would only see once.
In my all-knowing youth I thought I knew better than most and would see everything many times. Categorize the experience as Life 101-lessons from sages and wise men that has osmosed into my conscious with age. The lesson assimilated to put it succinct-savor the flavor and cherish life’s unique events for they come along as astral visions only once to see. Yes, Mr. Ottmar, I get it, and in my heart I know that this tale to be told I will only see once.
If I had an outline of a story of a federal investigation of a Louisiana governor concerning bribes and kickbacks related to casino licenses; a genius whose position in time is imperative to the flow of the plot. Of an Italian surnamed football owner caught in the Louisiana web and forced to give up the team because of the taint and a hero who treks to another land to win a great trophy in national competition and whose competitive garb emblazons “5” to herald the family count. You may consider it an unlikely, confusing or a far-fetched plot. Perhaps a fanciful knight’s tale, a John Grisham novel or Sopranos’ intrigue.
The particulars of this story are not contrivances of an author or storyteller. We begin with a description of the pieces of the story and some background of each, and then into the denouement and the final fit.
The term “genius” is bandied about, but there is one gentleman where it is a bona fide fit and that is Bill Walsh of the 49ers. He took over an ailing 49er team in 1979, and in his third year at the helm was a Super Bowl champion. Two more Super Bowl trophies he added in 1984 and 1988. He retired and went into broadcasting, but in 1992 he was back at Stanford for a second stint as the Cardinal coach. He left the Stanford coaching job in 1994 and eventually landed a ceremonial position of “consultant” with the 49ers.
Eventually leaving the 49er organization in 1997 reportedly because of advice unheeded to draft quarterback Jake Plummer over Jim Druckenmiller.
The main act of our story revolves around quarterback Jeff Garcia, by his own admission in an individual workout he does not outstandingly impress, but put him on the field with ten on his side and eleven on defense, and consistently what the outcome is are “big numbers” and MVPs.
The son of a coach, he played at Gilroy High and then to Gavilan College where he played for dad in 1989. Then onto Division 1 football at San Jose State where he red-shirted in ’90 and shared quarterbacking in ’91. In ’92 and ’93 he was the sole quarterback at the helm and garnered great numbers that put him in the ’94 East West Shrine Bowl game. A unique occurrence where it was the only time that grandfather and grandson had played in that event. Jeff’s late game heroics earned him an offensive MVP, and with grandfather as honorary coach most would put it into their pocket and make it a pinnacle of a career. But Jeff looked to the horizon and wanted to accomplish more, and when he went undrafted there was frustration because he felt the equal of the quarterbacks that were.
In sport the great ones possess ability, hugeness of heart, and knowing what and when to do something on the sporting venue. Intuition, instinct, football knowledge, it is a flat out “knowing.” The first can be measured with scales and stopwatches, the latter no calibrated instruments are made to measure.
It was a fortuitous fact of Walsh coaching Stanford from ’92 to ’94 and the schedulers plotting San Jose State on the list. Standing as Stanford coach and watching Jeff firsthand was the man with the instruments to gauge the ability, and see into the heart and knowing. It was where seminal thoughts of “Montana like” and words like “…mobility, quickness, instincts for the game, courage and stamina” would grow.
Perhaps action spoke louder than words after that afternoon game between Stanford and State in ’93, where but for a ball going through the hands of a receiver State would have won. John Ralston the State coach related: “I remember Bill walking straight across the field to shake hands, not with me but with Jeff.”
When Jeff went undrafted Bill Walsh sent missives to 15 of his closest NFL friends imploring them to try him out. As the story goes none responded. Jeff trekked to Canada and landed with the Calgary Stampeders where in 1998 he won the Grey Cup and was named MVP.
Back up the story and go to a bar in a hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Edwin Edwards the longtime governor and Edward DeBartolo Jr. the San Francisco forty-niner owner were doing some business. On a piece of paper $400,000 was written and by DeBartolo’s testimony the governor said: “This has to be taken care of by next week or there’s going to be a serious problem with your license.”
One week later DeBartolo packed a briefcase with $100 bills and picked up the governor at San Francisco International where they headed for a diner nearby. By DeBartolo’s testimony he asked Edwards, “How do you plan on moving this money through the airport? It’s in a briefcase and it’s got to go through X-ray machines. That’s a red flag and they’re going to know that something’s going on.” He said, ‘That’s not going to be a problem,'” DeBartolo said. “He opened up his shirt and showed me a belt chest-high. That’s where he intended to put the money.”
At about the same time Walsh was leaving the 49ers in 1997 because of the direction they were going, federal agents were making tapes of phone wiretaps from Edwin Edwards’ home and office. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that one of the calls was from Edward DeBartolo, which put into place another important piece to the story.
Edward DeBartolo Jr. resigned as the San Francisco 49ers chairman and chief executive in December of 1997 and eventually agreed to pay $1 million in fines and was placed on two years probation. Denise DeBartolo York and husband John took over the reins of the team and with astuteness of vision brought back Bill Walsh as general manager in January of ’99. Jeff was signed as a free agent three weeks later.
Early in the football season in ’99 Steve Young went down and the hometown boy was the first string quarterback for the forty-niners. With outstanding stats he has claimed three straight Pro Bowl appearances.
Even though it is an interesting path, the engine that drives this story is the grit, tenacity, and determination in the face of doubt and derision.
Overlooked in the NFL draft and ignored despite Walsh’s missives, there were even huge hurdles when he made it with the 49ers. When you look at the articles and the quotes of Walsh, with the glowing, high praise to Jeff’s football talent, and coach Mariucci’s reserved and subdued comments, it does not take a lot of intuition to see that the genius could perceive what
Mariucci and the masses couldn’t.
I am sure the principals would like to have seen a more fair evaluation and chance given Jeff, but the allure of the perfect world that would give us all that genius talent would certainly be bland and the sameness test our sanity. And besides it is the arduous endeavor, and display of steeled resolve that transforms this football tale into a hero’s journey.
As it turns out it was a father and son on opposite ends of a lesson taught and learned, with Mr. Ottmar pointing his pedagogical pointer so that I could see. This is something so special, unique, exceptional that only the eyes of my heart perceive.
As an inhabitant of this planet, citizen of this great Country, resident of California and Santa Clara County and a native of Gilroy, thank you for the gift of calling Jeff – Gilroy’s own.
