Five different paths to greatness bring these champions together
Harris Barton didn’t expect to be drafted by the 49ers. He worked out for plenty of other teams before the 1987 NFL draft. And his visit with then-49ers offensive line coach Bobb McKittrick, who came to see him at the University of North Carolina, was different.
“We walked around campus,” Barton recalled last week. “I showed him the library, the Dean Smith auditorium. Basically that was it.”
But the 49ers did draft Barton, with that year’s No. 22 overall pick, and the right tackle went on to play 10 seasons for them — making a Pro Bowl, protecting two Hall of Fame quarterbacks and winning
three Super Bowl rings.
Barton, 54, will be inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame on Monday. It’s another unexpected development, he said, made sweeter by the company he keeps in the 2018 class.
“I remember watching Matt Cain’s perfect game,” Barton said. “I remember what Brandi Chastain did for women’s sports all around the country.
“I remember Tim Hardaway and the Warriors, when they weren’t the Warriors. And John McVay actually drafted me at the 49ers. It’s quite an honor to be involved with those four.”
Here’s a closer look at this year’s inductees:
Matt Cain: That Cain’s induction comes less than eight months after he pitched in his last major-league game reflects the right-hander’s impact on the Giants and their three-World-Series-titles-in-fiveyears run.
Cain was 20 when he reached the majors in 2005. From 200613, he averaged 32 starts and 209 innings. He pitched 211⁄3 innings without allowing an earned run during the 2010 postseason, and started all three seriesclinching games when they won another title in 2012.
On June 13, 2012, Cain pitched the 22nd perfect game in MLB history in a 10-0 win over the Astros at AT&T Park. His 14 strikeouts that night marked a career high.
“I think the biggest thing is I was extremely just in the moment,” Cain said last week. “It was just one of those days where you were as even-keel as you could be. I was kind of along for the ride, it felt like.”
Cain ranks among the top 10 Giants pitchers in starts (331) and strikeouts (1,694) and is one of four players to play at least 10 years in the majors all with San Francisco.
“I think being away from it has made me realize how difficult the game is, and how much I appreciate the years I had my health and all of that,” Cain said. “It was tremendous times.”
Brandi Chastain: She was originally a forward in a decorated college career at Cal and Santa Clara and was part of the U.S. National Team that won the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991.
But she was cut from the national team before the 1995 World Cup. And when she was invited back, it was as a defender.
“In that moment I had to choose,” Chastain said. “Do I have personal pride and say, ‘No, this is who I am, I’m a forward and a goal-scorer,’ or did I want to be on the team? I wanted to be on the team. And I figured I could use my experiences as a forward to help me as a defender.”
Chastain went on to win two Olympic gold medals, a silver medal and another World Cup with the U.S. team. And she became an iconic figure — by scoring a goal.
After making the gamewinning penalty kick in the 1999 World Cup final at the Rose Bowl, Chastain removed her jersey and sank to her knees in celebration.
“The moment was pure joy,” Chastain said. “It was elation, it was insanity, it was release that the game was finally over and we had won. It was a pose of confidence and acknowledgment that this was a life spent doing something that had been achieved.
“Now, I hope that what it gives people is a picture of what the possibility could be.”
Tim Hardaway: Growing up in Chicago, Hardaway played a lot of one-on-one basketball — which meant plenty of contact and no referees.
“You had to develop a move to get open and get a clean shot,” Hardaway said.
Hardaway’s move was the crossover dribble. In five-plus seasons with the Warriors, it helped him make three All-Star teams and two playoff appearances. Listed at just 6 feet and 175 pounds, Hardaway got to 5,000 career points and 2,500 assists faster than any other NBA player except Oscar Robertson.
With Golden State, Hardaway was the “T” in coach Don Nelson’s fast-paced, high-scoring “Run TMC” offense. The trio of Hardaway, Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond spent only two seasons together but left an impression on Warriors fans. Mullin and Richmond will present Hardaway at Monday’s ceremony.
“With how much fun we had, how much camaraderie we had, it was a family,” Hardaway said. “The way we played, people loved to see that. Don Nelson still doesn’t get enough credit for how the game has evolved today. That’s how we used to play back then.”
John McVay: In 1979, McVay joined the front office of a 49ers team that had gone 2-14 the previous season. In McVay’s first draft, the 49ers were eyeing a quarterback from Notre Dame: Joe Montana.
With Montana still available in the third round, McVay placed a call to Irish assistant coach Jim Gruden, a former assistant of McVay’s at Dayton (and father of now-Raiders head coach Jon).
“I said, ‘We’re looking at Montana.’ He’s not real big, but he’s very, very productive,’” McVay said. “I said, ‘What do you think about him?’ And (Gruden) says, ‘Just take him.’ ”
The ensuing 49ers dynasty would be led by players McVay’s front office drafted (Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott) or traded for (Steve Young). With the 49ers, McVay won five Super Bowl rings.
McVay played center in college at Miami (Ohio). But he gravitated toward coaching, influenced partly by playing for both Woody Hayes and Ara Parseghian at Miami. He was the head coach for Dayton and for two-plus seasons with the New York Giants before joining the 49ers as an executive.
“When I came here I said to myself, ‘I promise the coach is going to have good players,’ ” McVay said. “‘And hopefully, if I can do a good job, he’ll have more good players than he needs.’ ”
Harris Barton: McVay used his first-round pick in 1987 on Barton and says now: “I think it turned out great.”
Barton started 134 games for the 49ers at right tackle, including a stretch of 89 straight. He was named an All-Pro in 1992 and 1993 and made the 1993 Pro Bowl.
The job of protecting Montana and, later, Young fell to an offensive line that included Barton, Steve Wallace, Jesse Sapolu and Guy McIntyre. All won at least three Super Bowl rings.
“All guys that were consistent,” Barton said. “We took a lot of pride in the way we operated and the way we worked and how hard we prepared. And we did it as a unit.”
As championship memories go, Barton’s favorite is his first: Jan. 22, 1989, a 20-16 win over the Bengals, with Montana capping the game-winning 92-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor — a drive that began with Montana attempting to calm Barton by pointing out comedian John Candy in the stands.
“Every time I watch that NFL Films highlight, I keep waiting for (Taylor) to drop it,” Barton said. “But he never did. And he still hasn’t.”