Frank Thomas

Young Notable Sports Figures
Chronology
1961 Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 11
1980-84 Attends Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah
1984 Picked by the Los Angeles Express in first round of United
States Football League draft
1985 Joins Tampa Bay Buccaneers of NFL
1987 Traded by Buccaneers to San Francisco 49ers
2000 Retires from football on June 12
Born in Salt Lake City
He was born Jon Steven Young in Salt Lake City,
Utah, on October 11, 1961. One of five children of
LeGrande (an attorney) and Sherry Young and a greatgreat-great
grandson of Brigham Young, one of the
founders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (the Mormon church), Young grew up in Greenwich,
Connecticut. He was raised as a Mormon, adhering
closely to the strict rules of his faith. After high
school, where he played quarterback for the varsity
football team, Young decided to attend Brigham Young
University, his father’s alma mater. Following in the
footsteps of his father, who had been a college football
star, he joined the Brigham Young football team, only
to find himself playing eighth-string quarterback.
Young grew so disillusioned that for a while he considered
quitting football altogether but was persuaded by his
father to hang in there. Looking back on his years in college
football, Young told Sports Illustrated: “I really didn’t
know how to throw back then. I learned to throw at
Brigham Young, mostly from Jim McMahon [who later
played for the Chicago Bears]. We were about the same
size and had the same athletic abilities.” Despite his inauspicious
start in college football, Young worked his way up
to starting quarterback by his senior year. That year he
completed 306 of 429 passes for 3,902 yards and 33
touchdowns, and was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
Bidding War Erupts
In 1984 Young became the object of a spirited bidding
war between the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL
and the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football
League (USFL). When the Express offered a contract
that would pay him more than $60 million over 44
years, Young could no longer resist. He signed with the
Express and in his two seasons with the team passed for
4,102 yards and 16 touchdowns. Unfortunately, the
USFL was on its last legs, so in 1985 Young bought out
his contract and signed on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
of the NFL. It proved an unhappy match for both
Young and the Buccaneers, who seemed unable to successfully
tap the quarterback’s potential.
Bill Walsh, coach of the 49ers, was convinced that
Young was capable of greater things, and in 1987 San
Francisco negotiated a trade with Tampa Bay. In his early
1822
Awards and Accomplishments
1983 Leads Brigham Young to Holiday Bowl victory over University
of Missouri
1985 While in USFL, becomes first pro player to pass for 300 yards
and rush for 100 in the same game
1990 Becomes only second 49ers quarterback to pass for more
than 100 yards in a single game
1991 Leads NFL in passing efficiency
1992 Leads NFL in passing with 3,465 yards
1992, 1994 Named most valuable player in NFL
1993 Becomes only 49ers quarterback to pass for more than 4,000
yards in season
1995 Leads 49ers to victory over San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl
XXIX
1996 Leads NFL in passing efficiency
years with the 49ers, Young saw only limited action, for
Montana, the team’s starting quarterback, was still at the
top of his game. In the early 1990s, Young began to assert
himself more and more. His big break came in 1991 after
Montana was injured in preseason action. Although Young
himself was injured later in the season and sidelined for
several games, he managed to lead the NFL in passing efficiency
with a pass-completion rate of 64.5 percent.
Young Comes into His Own
Montana’s injury kept him out of action for most of the
1992 season, giving Young further opportunity to showcase
his talents. As starting quarterback, Young passed for
3,465 yards with an impressive pass-completion rate of
66.7 percent, earning him honors as the league’s most
valuable player. Although Montana played well in the second
half of the last game of the regular season, 1992 belonged
to Young. Forced to decide whether Montana or
Young would start as quarterback in the 1993 season, San
Francisco coaches went with Young, prompting Montana
to ask to be traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Although the legendary Montana was no longer playing
in San Francisco, Young found that his predecessor
still had a firm grip on the hearts and minds of 49ers’
fans. No matter what magic Young produced on the gridiron,
it seemed somehow to pale in comparison to the
feats of Montana, at least in the view of most fans. Young
turned in a brilliant performance in 1993, passing for
4,023 yards with a completion rate of 68 percent. Equally
spectacular were Young’s 1994 statistics: 3,969 yards
with a pass-completion rate of 70.3 percent. But most
importantly of all, Young led his team to a National Football
Conference championship with a decisive 38-28 victory
over the Dallas Cowboys. The stage was set for the
high point of Young’s football career: Super Bowl XXIX.
Passes for Six Super Bowl Touchdowns
Although San Francisco was heavily favored to win
in the Super Bowl against the San Diego Chargers, the
game was even more one-sided than predicted by the