Shadow of a Legend: Steve Young’s Journey to Become the 49ers Quarterback

A few weeks ago, I was talking about my 49ers memorabilia collection when I mentioned an item signed by Steve Young. My mom’s friend who doesn’t follow football asked, “Who is Steve Young? I don’t know him.”

I stopped in my tracks. “You don’t know Steve Young?!”

While Joe Montana made me fall in love with the 49ers, it was Steve Young who made me fall in love with football. Every NFL fan has their quarterback, and Steve Young is mine.

So, Jamille, let me introduce you to Steve Young, and the winding, pressure-filled path he took to become the 49ers’ starting quarterback.

The Trade That Started It All

The start of Steve Young’s NFL career didn’t exactly portend his future as a Hall of Famer. He started with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of the league’s worst teams. With a 3-16 record as a starter, Young was widely considered a bust. His career easily could’ve ended there, with Young fading into obscurity, like those of so many promising players before him. But as John F. Kennedy said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” For Steve Young, that person was 49ers Coach Bill Walsh. Walsh didn’t see players the way most coaches did. He was able to see what a player was capable of in the right system, surrounded by the right people. Walsh could see Young’s natural talent had been obscured by the lack of talent around him. He felt that surrounded by capable players, Young could be one of the greats.

Meanwhile, Joe Montana had undergone major back surgery during the 1986 season. The Niners didn’t expect him to return, at least not at the same level. It was time to start looking for his heir apparent.

So, in 1987, the 49ers traded for Young with Walsh telling Young that Montana’s best days were behind him, and Young’s turn was coming sooner rather than later. There was just one problem: Joe Montana showed up at training camp the next season healthy and ready to lead the Niners to another winning season. It was the first of many awkward moments to come.

The Quarterback Controversy: Montana vs. Young

Joe Montana wasn’t merely the 49ers’ starting quarterback; Montana was the ‘. Montana was a two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP. He made impossible comebacks look routine and had earned the trust and loyalty of both teammates and fans alike. And as long as Montana was healthy, the starting job was his.

Young remained in the frustrating position of Montana’s backup. Whenever Montana got injured, Young stepped in. Today, 49ers fans talk about Young with nostalgia and pride. But when Young started filling in for Montana, he was met with a chorus of boos from fans every time he took the field simply because he wasn’t Montana. Young trained hard, studied the playbook, which he learned quickly given his photographic memory, and waited for his opportunity.

The 1988–1990 seasons were a tale of two quarterbacks. Walsh started utilizing both quarterbacks depending on how the game was going and which quarterback had the “hot hand,” the football term for the player that is playing better at that moment. The more Young played, the more that he began to win over Niner fans. Unlike Montana, the classic pocket-passer, Young was left-handed, fast, and fearless. He could escape defenders, race downfield himself, or throw an accurate pass while moving.

But Montana was not ready to relinquish his throne any time soon. He led the 49ers to a win against the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, then returned the following season and played some of the best football of his career. In 1989, he won the league’s Most Valuable Player award and led San Francisco to another championship—its fourth Super Bowl victory of the decade.

 At the end of the 1988 season, Bill Walsh retired, and his defensive coordinator, George Seifert, was named head coach. While Walsh kept telling Young to just be patient, Seifert made it clear that the dual quarterback approach was over. Montana was the starter. Young was his backup. The end.

Joe Cool vs The Lefty

Living on the East Coast, before streaming services or even cable TV, I was mostly a 49ers fan in name only. Then, I turned 21 and began meeting friends at sports bars every Sunday to watch the games.

I loved Joe Montana. He was the entire reason that I started watching football. But I was intrigued by the young, handsome, left-handed quarterback who could scramble away from defenders and complete passes on the run. And as a self-professed “good girl,” I admired that, in a league overflowing with oversize personalities and even larger egos, Young remained firmly committed to his Mormon faith and values. For a while, I rooted for whichever quarterback happened to be playing.

Changing of the Guard

For Steve Young, the starting job was the proverbial golden ring: always close enough to see, never close enough to grasp. Each time he seemed about to receive what he had been promised, the goal line moved again.

By 1991, Young had one year remaining on his contract and wanted out. He asked to be traded, but the Niners refused. Then Montana suffered a serious elbow injury that would keep him out for nearly two full seasons. Young finally became the starter—but even then, the job did not feel completely secure.

When Young’s contract expired after the 1991 season, he could have left as a free agent, meaning he was free to sign with another team. He could have escaped the comparisons, the uncertainty, and the emotional roller coaster. Instead, he did what he always did when faced with a difficult decision: he prayed. His answer was crystal clear: Stay in San Francisco. Against the advice of his family and friends, Young stayed with San Francisco, trusting that he would finally get his chance.

In 1992, with Montana still sidelined, Young proved that he had what it took to win. He led the NFL in several major passing categories and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. He quickly became the new media darling. But Montana was working toward a comeback. This was still his team.

In 1993, the quarterback controversy had reached a new peak, and something had to give. Young received a call from his agent, Leigh Steinberg, that Montana had asked to be traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, but 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo had invited Montana over to his house to try to persuade him to stay, offering him the starting quarterback job next season. Once again, Young felt like he had the starting position in his hands, only to feel it slipping away again. Young told Steinberg that the 49ers had to choose: either trade Montana or trade him. Young had waited long enough.

Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, and Steve Young was finally in the position that he believed he was meant to hold.

Goodbye to Joe Cool

49ers fans had grown to appreciate Steve Young, but that didn’t mean they were ready to say good-bye to Montana. Season-ticket holders vowed to shred their tickets. “I Miss Joe” bumper stickers appeared on cars throughout the Bay Area. And, as if rubbing it in, Montana graced the cover of Sports Illustrated that week, flashing his 4 Super Bowl rings. The rings. Young knew that until he earned one of his own by leading the 49ers to a Super Bowl win, he would always be in Montana’s shadow.

Defining “Faithful”

When Young took over as starting quarterback, I had only recently begun to follow football closely. It was early enough in my fandom that I could’ve stuck with Montana and switched my allegiance to the Chiefs. I had an important decision to make. I pondered what it meant to be a fan (another story for another day). Every NFL fan base has a nickname, and 49er fans are known as “The Faithful.” I decided that was more than just a moniker. If I was a 49ers fan, I was one for life. It broke my heart to watch Montana become a Kansas City Chief, but Steve Young was now my quarterback.

Out of the Shadow

Then came the 1994 season. After adding several important players, it was clear that the Niners were making a serious bid for the Lombardi Trophy. Young didn’t just lead the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl XXIX. He delivered one of the greatest performances in the game’s history, throwing a Super Bowl-record six touchdown passes to beat the San Diego Chargers, 49–26, and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

I still remember Steve Young on the victory stage, hugging the Lombardi Trophy like a teddy bear, then running around the track of the stadium holding it above his head, signaling to the world that he had earned his own place in 49ers history.

Stay Tuned…

So, Jamille, that’s a little bit about Steve Young and how he fought to earn his own spot in the 49ers dynasty. But that’s just the public story of Steve Young, the gifted quarterback who endured years of uncertainty, fought to earn the most intimidating job in football, and finally stepped out from under Joe Montana’s shadow by leading the Niners to a Super Bowl win of his own.

But that’s only part of the story.

In Part II, I’ll introduce you to Steve Young, the person behind the helmet; his lifelong struggle with anxiety, the overwhelming drive to be the best, and his guilt over the money he made serving as Montana’s backup.

That’s the Steve Young who’s one of my heroes.

To be continued…