Defensive end Fred Dean, the revolutionary pass-rusher whom many viewed as the piece that completed the 49ers' first Super Bowl team, was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. The announcement was made in Phoenix, the day before Super Bowl XLII
It was Dean's 18th year of eligibility. It was the second time he was announced as a finalist. He was watching at home in Ruston, La., when he received the news.
"All I can say is thank you," Dean said. He said his heart was still racing.
Dean got the required 80-percent vote from the selection committee. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 2. He said he would have had Bill Walsh act as his presenter. With Walsh's death, Dean said he was not sure whom to ask.
Dean goes into the Hall, along with cornerbacks Emmitt Thomas and Darrell Green, receiver Art Monk, linebacker Andre Tippett and tackle Gary Zimmerman.
This is a well-deserved honor for Dean and it could not have been done without the hard work and persistence of Ira Miller and Nancy Gay.
Ira began working hard to get Dean into the Hall of Fame several years ago. Dean was named a finalist last year. But Ira did not participate in the selection process this year, leaving Nancy to make the argument for Dean. She did a phenomenal job.
One prominent member of the selection committee said he changed his vote to yes after hearing Nancy's case. Nancy said she did not argue the stats, she argued the way he impacted the game.
"You couldn't have an edge pass rusher without Fred Dean inventing that position," Nancy said.
* * *
Here is the chapter about Dean from my book "San Francisco 49ers: Where Have You Gone?" (2005).
* * *
It should come as no surprise that the game that stands out during the 1981 season for Fred Dean was against the Dallas Cowboys.
No, not that game against the Cowboys.
When the 49ers faced Dallas on October 11, they had just started to look like a pretty good team. The 49ers won two straight games to improve to a 3-2 record with the Dallas Cowboys looming ahead on the schedule. That is when coach Bill Walsh pulled the trigger on a trade that would transform the 49ers from a pretty good team to the best team in the league.
In the sixth week of the regular season, Walsh sent two draft picks to the San Diego Chargers to acquire Dean, an immensely talented player who was having problems with the team's management.
"We didn't know it at the time, but he turned it around," Walsh said. "It all started in that first game. He did things that shocked everybody."
Coincidentally, the first game in which Dean put on a 49ers uniform was against the Cowboys in front of a rare sellout crowd at Candlestick Park.
"To me, that game was my Super Bowl," Dean said. "Coach Walsh said he was going to ease me into the game. As it turned out, I played almost the whole game and I had a very good day."
Dean recorded three sacks of Cowboys quarterback Danny White, forced two hurried passes and batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage in the 49ers' 45-14 victory after practicing just three days with his new team. The 49ers have sold out every home game since.
Despite playing in just 11 games for the 49ers that season, Dean was chosen as the UPI's NFL Defensive Player of the Year. "Dean-fense" signs and chants became common at Candlestick Park.
"Fred was the best pure pass rusher I've ever seen to this day," 49ers teammate Jim Stuckey said. "He had great technique and quickness. His speed was unparalleled in the league at that time."
Dwight Clark said Philadelphia defensive end Jevon Kearse reminds him of Dean, who was listed at six-foot-three, 227 pounds.
"He was the original 'Freak,'" Clark said. "He's the 1980s version of 'The Freak.' He had those long arms, was fast, undersized and relentless. The elephant position was invented for him."
Dean was a naturally gifted player. He smoked cigarettes and rarely stepped inside the team's weight room. He was not physically imposing by NFL standards, yet opponents and teammates alike marveled at his strength.
"Fred would bench press 300 pounds 20 times, and this is a guy who never lifted weights," Stuckey said. "Then he'd say, 'That's it for the month.' And he was as fast as any wide receiver we had."
Dean capped that electric first season with a sack of Cincinnati quarterback Ken Anderson in the 49ers' 26-21 victory in Super Bowl XVI.
In five seasons with the 49ers, Dean recorded 40 sacks, ranking seventh on the team's all-time list. He racked up 93.5 sacks for his career, clearly establishing himself as a dominant player in his era. Although he's received some support from influential members of the football media, Dean has never made it to the final ballot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process.
Dean's best season came in 1983 when he recorded 17.5 sacks, including a then-NFL record six sacks in a 27-0 victory over the New Orleans Saints. The next season he missed the 49ers' first 11 games in a contract dispute before Willie Brown, who would eventually become San Francisco's mayor, offered to mediate the talks to resolve the stalemate.
Teammate Keena Turner once described Dean in baseball terms, saying he was like a team's top relief pitcher in a close game.
"If we were trying to protect a lead or we were close behind, Deano in the fourth quarter was a machine," Turner said.
While Dean was playing he had to cope with frequent migraine headaches. He said his problems started in 1976 when he ran head first into a camera cart on the sideline of a game. Since his retirement, the headaches have gotten increasingly prevalent, perhaps exacerbated by the other problems in his life.
Dean lost his automotive repair shop in San Diego after an IRS audit in the early 1990s. He also experienced acute back problems, along with his migraines, forcing him to pay numerous costly visits to hospital emergency rooms.
He has been diagnosed with migraines, cluster headaches and post-traumatic headaches, most likely from numerous concussions he sustained throughout his career. With his medical costs escalating and unable to work because of his physical condition, Dean was forced to sell his two Super Bowl rings at a San Diego pawn shop.
"That was a difficult thing to do," Dean said. "It still hurts. But under the circumstances, you got to do what you got to do. It really bothered me a lot. I was planning on one day trying to retrieve them. I went back to get them at the pawn shop, and the guy had let them go. I don't know where they are now. I didn't want to sell them in the first place, but with the bills piling up, I had no choice."
Dean and his family moved back to his home state of Louisiana, where he finds the heat and humidity more agreeable with his physical problems. He has attended seminary school in the area.
"I got into the school and started to hear the Word," Dean said. "A little light came on, and it all started to make sense."
* * *
Statement from Denise and John York:
"Denise and I would like to congratulate Fred Dean on his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I am proud that he is joining the elite group of 49ers players that are enshrined in Canton.
"As one of the dominant defensive players of his era, Fred was perhaps one of the key performers in the 49ers first Super Bowl team, especially considering he had joined the team five games into the 1981 season.
"His acquisition played a direct role in two 49ers Super Bowl Championships. His career as a standout player cannot be overstated.
"Fred's induction is extremely important to our family and the 49ers organization. It is equally important to our fans and every 49ers player that has ever worn the uniform."
It was Dean's 18th year of eligibility. It was the second time he was announced as a finalist. He was watching at home in Ruston, La., when he received the news.
"All I can say is thank you," Dean said. He said his heart was still racing.
Dean got the required 80-percent vote from the selection committee. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 2. He said he would have had Bill Walsh act as his presenter. With Walsh's death, Dean said he was not sure whom to ask.
Dean goes into the Hall, along with cornerbacks Emmitt Thomas and Darrell Green, receiver Art Monk, linebacker Andre Tippett and tackle Gary Zimmerman.
This is a well-deserved honor for Dean and it could not have been done without the hard work and persistence of Ira Miller and Nancy Gay.
Ira began working hard to get Dean into the Hall of Fame several years ago. Dean was named a finalist last year. But Ira did not participate in the selection process this year, leaving Nancy to make the argument for Dean. She did a phenomenal job.
One prominent member of the selection committee said he changed his vote to yes after hearing Nancy's case. Nancy said she did not argue the stats, she argued the way he impacted the game.
"You couldn't have an edge pass rusher without Fred Dean inventing that position," Nancy said.
* * *
Here is the chapter about Dean from my book "San Francisco 49ers: Where Have You Gone?" (2005).
* * *
It should come as no surprise that the game that stands out during the 1981 season for Fred Dean was against the Dallas Cowboys.
No, not that game against the Cowboys.
When the 49ers faced Dallas on October 11, they had just started to look like a pretty good team. The 49ers won two straight games to improve to a 3-2 record with the Dallas Cowboys looming ahead on the schedule. That is when coach Bill Walsh pulled the trigger on a trade that would transform the 49ers from a pretty good team to the best team in the league.
In the sixth week of the regular season, Walsh sent two draft picks to the San Diego Chargers to acquire Dean, an immensely talented player who was having problems with the team's management.
"We didn't know it at the time, but he turned it around," Walsh said. "It all started in that first game. He did things that shocked everybody."
Coincidentally, the first game in which Dean put on a 49ers uniform was against the Cowboys in front of a rare sellout crowd at Candlestick Park.
"To me, that game was my Super Bowl," Dean said. "Coach Walsh said he was going to ease me into the game. As it turned out, I played almost the whole game and I had a very good day."
Dean recorded three sacks of Cowboys quarterback Danny White, forced two hurried passes and batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage in the 49ers' 45-14 victory after practicing just three days with his new team. The 49ers have sold out every home game since.
Despite playing in just 11 games for the 49ers that season, Dean was chosen as the UPI's NFL Defensive Player of the Year. "Dean-fense" signs and chants became common at Candlestick Park.
"Fred was the best pure pass rusher I've ever seen to this day," 49ers teammate Jim Stuckey said. "He had great technique and quickness. His speed was unparalleled in the league at that time."
Dwight Clark said Philadelphia defensive end Jevon Kearse reminds him of Dean, who was listed at six-foot-three, 227 pounds.
"He was the original 'Freak,'" Clark said. "He's the 1980s version of 'The Freak.' He had those long arms, was fast, undersized and relentless. The elephant position was invented for him."
Dean was a naturally gifted player. He smoked cigarettes and rarely stepped inside the team's weight room. He was not physically imposing by NFL standards, yet opponents and teammates alike marveled at his strength.
"Fred would bench press 300 pounds 20 times, and this is a guy who never lifted weights," Stuckey said. "Then he'd say, 'That's it for the month.' And he was as fast as any wide receiver we had."
Dean capped that electric first season with a sack of Cincinnati quarterback Ken Anderson in the 49ers' 26-21 victory in Super Bowl XVI.
In five seasons with the 49ers, Dean recorded 40 sacks, ranking seventh on the team's all-time list. He racked up 93.5 sacks for his career, clearly establishing himself as a dominant player in his era. Although he's received some support from influential members of the football media, Dean has never made it to the final ballot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process.
Dean's best season came in 1983 when he recorded 17.5 sacks, including a then-NFL record six sacks in a 27-0 victory over the New Orleans Saints. The next season he missed the 49ers' first 11 games in a contract dispute before Willie Brown, who would eventually become San Francisco's mayor, offered to mediate the talks to resolve the stalemate.
Teammate Keena Turner once described Dean in baseball terms, saying he was like a team's top relief pitcher in a close game.
"If we were trying to protect a lead or we were close behind, Deano in the fourth quarter was a machine," Turner said.
While Dean was playing he had to cope with frequent migraine headaches. He said his problems started in 1976 when he ran head first into a camera cart on the sideline of a game. Since his retirement, the headaches have gotten increasingly prevalent, perhaps exacerbated by the other problems in his life.
Dean lost his automotive repair shop in San Diego after an IRS audit in the early 1990s. He also experienced acute back problems, along with his migraines, forcing him to pay numerous costly visits to hospital emergency rooms.
He has been diagnosed with migraines, cluster headaches and post-traumatic headaches, most likely from numerous concussions he sustained throughout his career. With his medical costs escalating and unable to work because of his physical condition, Dean was forced to sell his two Super Bowl rings at a San Diego pawn shop.
"That was a difficult thing to do," Dean said. "It still hurts. But under the circumstances, you got to do what you got to do. It really bothered me a lot. I was planning on one day trying to retrieve them. I went back to get them at the pawn shop, and the guy had let them go. I don't know where they are now. I didn't want to sell them in the first place, but with the bills piling up, I had no choice."
Dean and his family moved back to his home state of Louisiana, where he finds the heat and humidity more agreeable with his physical problems. He has attended seminary school in the area.
"I got into the school and started to hear the Word," Dean said. "A little light came on, and it all started to make sense."
* * *
Statement from Denise and John York:
"Denise and I would like to congratulate Fred Dean on his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I am proud that he is joining the elite group of 49ers players that are enshrined in Canton.
"As one of the dominant defensive players of his era, Fred was perhaps one of the key performers in the 49ers first Super Bowl team, especially considering he had joined the team five games into the 1981 season.
"His acquisition played a direct role in two 49ers Super Bowl Championships. His career as a standout player cannot be overstated.
"Fred's induction is extremely important to our family and the 49ers organization. It is equally important to our fans and every 49ers player that has ever worn the uniform."
