49ers CEO Jed York's Opening Comments:
"Good morning. Thank you very much for being here today. This is a very special day. Anytime we talk about the 49ers and the great history, you think about the people that embody the 49ers and that's what the Hall of Fame is about. I don't think anybody epitomizes being a 49er more than Tom Rathman. Tom's been a Niner for 23 years, 15 years coaching, eight years playing. He's won two Super Bowls. Anytime you talk to my uncle [Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.] it's hard for him not to gush about any player, and I don't think that's a surprise to anyone. But, my grandfather [Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr.], who didn't talk a lot about players, he always had a favorite and it was Tom. They liked to go to the racetrack together in Oklahoma City. They had a good relationship and a good rapport, and I remember how much my grandfather talked about Tom's toughness. Nothing comes to my mind more than the championship game in '88 when we went to Chicago, '88 season, January of '89. It's negative 26, 27 degrees and everybody is talking about the weak 49ers from the West Coast coming to Chicago and how are they going to deal with the elements and they dealt with it with Tom Rathman coming out, short sleeves, nothing on underneath his uniform and just didn't let it bother him. And that was his mentality. That was his toughness. And he brought that as a player. All of his teammates saw it. All of his coaches saw it, and he certainty brought it as a coach. And, the person that I see that most with is [former 49ers and current Indianapolis RB] Frank Gore. Frank learned so much from being around Tom Rathman and I know how much Frank respects and loves Tom and I don't think anybody loves and respects Tom as much as I do. It's my honor to introduce Tom Rathman into the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame."
Former 49ers RB Tom Rathman's Opening Comments:
"I just want to practice a little bit. With the 34th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select [San Jose Mercury News reporter] Cam Inman, offensive guard. I'm just practicing. I'm going to Philly tomorrow to announce the 49ers second round draft pick on Friday. What an amazing honor to stand up here and to say that I'm the 27th inductee of the Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. Sports Hall of Fame. It's very special to me. As Jed had said, I had a very special relationship with Senior. He was a horse racing guy, had three tracks at the time. Went to Oklahoma City with him to the Remington Park Derby and then spent a couple times with him at the Kentucky Derby. So, he was a horse racing guy and everybody that knows me, knows that I love the horses. So, that was our association that we had in common and loved it. Loved being around him, just what he stood for and that speaks volumes for the museum here, all the inductees prior to me getting inducted into it. High standard when you talk about the DeBartolo family, not only Eddie's father, but Eddie himself and I'm proud to say I'm the 27thinductee of the sports hall of fame, very proud of that moment. Anybody have any questions? We can open it up to the floor here for questions. I know you've got something [NBCSportsBayArea.com reporter] Matt [Maiocco]."
Tom Rathman HOF Announcement Press Conference
"Well, it's not the first time I had to leave this organization. I left as a player in '94 and finished my career with the L.A. Raiders. The second time I had to leave after my first stint here as a coach after the 2002 season, I left for four seasons. Actually, it was longer than four seasons. It was six seasons. I spent three years in Detroit, sat out a year, just like I'm doing this year, and then got back out to the West Coast with the Oakland Raiders at that time as a coach. After those two years there, I got a call from the 49ers. My contact ran out and there was some interest about coming back here and I didn't hesitate at all to tell them that I was interested, because I believe that as a player, as an individual that gives everything that you have for an organization, you always want to be accepted by them and eventually you want to work for them as long as you can. I've been able to do that 22 years, 23 if you talk about the '96 season, so I'm very proud of that."
During your playing career, did you ever think that you'd develop such a love for coaching?
"Oh yeah. I felt like I was a coach out on the field. Probably after maybe about the '88 season, when Jed had talked about that championship that we beat Cincinnati, started putting a little bit of a leadership role on myself. Really, you talk about leadership, you talk about leading by example and that's one thing that I tried to do each and every day, tried to get somebody better every day, whether I'm a player or a coach, and play at a high level. And you talk about consistency. That's the key, is consistency. It's not having peaks and valleys, so to speak, in your play. It's about playing consistent football and I took a lot of pride in those factors."
You were a coach for twice as long as you were a player. As you stand here today, what do you feel like more, a player or a coach?
Jed mentioned Frank Gore. A few years from now we may be talking about Frank Gore in the Hall of Fame.
"You should be."
What would be your pitch for getting Frank into Canton?
"For Canton? You just look at what he's done year in and year out. Here's a guy, I think he's going on 12 or 13 right now and he's still playing at a fairly high level. I talk to him every week and I just tell him every time I talk to him, 'Don't screw it up. So, you've got a great opportunity to get into Canton as a Hall of Famer. Just don't screw it up.' He's well deserving. Just all the little things that he does. Here's a guy that, you want to talk about being a complete player and that's one thing I try to develop in players is being complete. We don't want to have any weaknesses because if you have weaknesses, you'll get exposed eventually. Playing at that high level in every role that you get an opportunity to play in is critical and I think he's played at a high level in the roles that he's been put in."
"I mean, it was probably one of the funnest. There's been a lot of special games. When you're able to play belong side [former 49ers RB] Roger Craig, [former 49ers T] Harris Barton, players like that and sweat and bleed together. I think that speaks volumes as a football player and that's what it's all about. I don't really have one situation or one game that I'm proud of. I'm proud of every time I stepped out on the field. I tried to be the same guy, same player every time I stepped out there. I tried to be the same coach every game that I coached. Be the same guy every day and just try to get people better."
How did this come about? When did you get the phone call that this was going to happen?
"Well, I think it had been in the works and I've got to give a lot of credit to [vice president of football affairs] Keena [Turner] and [team consultant] Harry Edwards. I think they were two guys that pushed the envelope to try and get me in here. Keena asked if since you're sitting out this year, we're going to do it sooner or later and he asked me if I'd rather wait until I was done with football, you know, I retired from coaching to do it or do it this year and I said let's do it this year. I really don't have anything going on this year. So, I've got the time, let's get it done now. I'll be in the Bay Area for this year until I have to hopefully get a job next year and then go someplace else. So, perfect timing."
Closing statement:
* Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers
