Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline

A Collection of the Greatest 49ers Stories Ever Told

By: Matt Maiocco, Roger Craig

Narrated by: David Crommett

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Recapture all the excitement of 49ers football - newly updated!

The San Francisco 49ers shaped the NFL throughout the 1980s with their unique blend of precision, panache, and preparation. Three decades later, NFL teams are still copying the system and the methods that made the 49ers unlike any other organization in professional sports. Now fans of this dynamic franchise will relive all the action and thrills of 49ers football through the eyes of one of the greatest San Francisco legends of all time: Roger Craig.

Star of three of the 49ers Super Bowl wins, Roger Craig was one of the most productive players in franchise history. The first player in NFL history to top 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season, he used his kneechurning, eyes-wide-open style to earn four trips to the Pro Bowl and score a Super Bowl-record three touchdowns in one game. In this newly revised edition of Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline, Roger Craig uses his trademark vision to capture some of the moments that defined the organization during its glory years, and up to its recent return to greatness.

Included are stories about all of the men who shaped the direction of the franchise, including such luminaries such as Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice, George Seifert, and more. Fans will relive all the great moments and read some never-before-told stories from a man who kept his eyes open to everything during his fascinating career.

©2004, 2012 Roger Craig and Matt Maiocco (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Great book l love it all

My friend love it it is awesome it is great my sister my dad and my mom like it

Roger's in my personal "Hall" but not Canton, Ohio

I only knew of the Roger from his final 3-4 years with San Francisco. An offense from my point of view where the pass set up the run. Roger may never get invited to Canton but I felt he was a more exciting player to watch than Emmitt Smith and others on the stat leaderboards. Roger had a passion and I loved his overachieving attitude. There were some good 49ers stories here for sure. It might seem unfair to say that Roger had less to overcome than Steve Young. Young's book was much more layered and interesting.

A minor criticism: Though the narrator who did Steve Young's book was a different reader, it seemed that names like Debartolo (and others) kept getting mispronounced in both books.

More of a Roger Craig Autobiography

What did you like best about Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline? What did you like least?

I enjoyed learning new things about the 49ers relating to on and off field events, player personalities, coaching strategies, etc. What I liked least was I thought to book was going to be more of those things, but it was really Roger Craig's autobiography with some stories thrown in.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting aspect was learning things I did not know about Roger Craig. He was a member of a franchise which had so many great stars that he gets lost in the fold sometimes, so it was interesting to be reminded of his importance to the team.

Did David Crommett do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

N/A

Do you think Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes. I would love for Roger Craig to write a follow up in a few years to discuss events within the organization which have occurred since 2012 with the falling out between Harbaugh and Baalke, hiring/firing both Tomsula and Chip Kelly, as well as the downfall of Kaepernick.

awesome read

I really enjoyed this book it was an awesome read I learned a lot I did not know even though those were my teams I recommend this book to any 49ers fan or really any football fan casual or otherwise okay

The Pompous Roger Craig Autobiography

I grew up on the Niners and liked Roger Craig as a player. This book is more about how Roger Craig is the whole reason the team succeeded and how he was the best player on the team. Everything is about how the sideline revolved around him. He even talks about leaving the 49ers and how he beat them that year which shows that his teams win.

Compared to QB by Steve Young, this book misses a lot. The stories are few and far between and not nearly as interesting.