For Muster, home lost, but memories safe
Few players at either Stanford or Cal have had as much impact on the Big Game as the Cardinal’s powerful tailback of the 1980s, Brad Muster.
He dressed for five of them, including his redshirt freshman year of 1983, and played a big role in four, from 1984 (204 yards rushing in a 27-10 win) to 1987 (87 yards rushing, seven receptions in a 31-7 rout).
After Stanford withstood a huge Cal rally to win 24-22 in 1985, Muster tipped his cap to the Bears and head coach Joe Kapp: “Coach Kapp always says the Bear never dies. After today, I believe him.” Muster’s one Big Game loss in which he played was the Bears’ emotional 17-11 upset in 1986, Kapp’s last game.
Muster, who later played seven years in the NFL, collected numerous trophies and awards, photos and Big Game programs, not to mention his Stanford helmet and jersey.
All of it was destroyed in last month’s Wine
Country fires. His family’s home in the Fountaingrove area of Santa Rosa was a total loss. All that he and his wife, Vicki, have left of their home is a brick entry way. They lost all their possessions, including two cars, and one of their three cats.
“The fire burned so hot, my daughter’s car — on the street, well away from the house — melted,” he said. “You actually had liquid metal rolling off onto the street from the car.”
The Musters and their 27year-old daughter, Kelli, who makes costume jewelry but lost her whole inventory, are staying with family in Rohnert Park. Their son, Beau, 22, who works in the A’s ticket office, is living in Santa Clara.
Since his NFL career, Muster has done well with investments, and he has held several jobs at Santa Rosa Junior College, including physical education instructor and assistant golf coach.
Like their neighbors, Muster and his wife are faced with the emotional and taxing task of rebuilding their home and their lives. Only about a dozen homes survived in Fountaingrove, he said. The city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency set a deadline of early spring to remove the massive amounts of toxic ash, he said.
He remembers the first time he came onto the field for the Big Game. Redshirting freshmen were allowed to dress in those days, and he was used to seeing large amounts of open seats at the old, cavernous Stanford Stadium. For the Big Game, though, it was packed.
“It’s pretty awe-inspiring,” he said. “The seniors got up and talked about how it was the last game of their lives for most of them.”
He won’t be able to attend Saturday’s game because he’s busy with his post-fire duties. “Stanford’s going to win this game, no question about it,” he said.