Roger Craig Paid the Price to Reach the Mountaintop. He Has No Regrets.

[Chris]

GIFT LINK

By Dan Pompei

Breathing heavily, Roger Craig makes his way up the hill, about three hard blocks.

When he was a running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Craig was famous for conditioning work on a hill, but this hill isn’t that hill.

That hill was a 2.5-mile path in Edgewood Park near Redwood City, Calif., where he trained for years, grinding hard, building endurance and embracing discomfort. Jerry Rice and other teammates followed him up and down like ducklings.

This hill is about 10 miles away in Portola Valley, outside the house Craig has called home for 40 years. He bought the house a little more than a year after he led the NFL with 92 receptions and became the first player to have 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a season and the first to score three touchdowns in a Super Bowl. In the workout room of this house, he kept a framed copy of the Sports Illustrated from the week after that game, with “Roger Craig Hammers the Dolphins” on the cover.

 

[Doc Fumble]

A big thumb's up to your new avatar, Chris!

"Judy, Judy, Judy." is, IMO, your best since "Maximum Effort."

While I'm on the subject, I really like Hunchback Johnny's new one too!

I'm a creature of habit and would go back to my 'Young Frankenstein' pose if not for my 'lucky' Husker cowboy hat. That baby is undefeated!!!

 

[Uenth]

A big thumb's up to your new avatar, Chris!

"Judy, Judy, Judy." is, IMO, your best since "Maximum Effort."

While I'm on the subject, I really like Hunchback Johnny's new one too!

I'm a creature of habit and would go back to my 'Young Frankenstein' pose if not for my 'lucky' Husker cowboy hat. That baby is undefeated!!!

Keep the Husker cowboy hat. The lucky charm for the 2026 season!

 

[Doc Fumble]

I shouldn't have waylaid this thread when I noticed Chris's new avatar.

I just finished reading the Athletic article on Roger Craig and it was really well done.

Thanks Chris for using your free link to share this with us. Good stuff like this is usually behind a pay wall.

 

[Jimbosc]

I guess we shouldn't be surprised Roger Craig likely has CTE - given how long his career was in the NFL and his ability to stay on the field over that career. When 49er greats point to Roger as the guy that worked the hardest - that might be biggest accolade you can get.

 

[HuskerVotary]

Great Husker; great player; great family man. Best Wishes to him and his as he moves forward. Tough card to draw to.

Thanks for the hook-up, Chris.

 

[SUHnami]

Roger's induction into the HOF was long overdue. Great player. Redefined the NFL. Best wishes to him and hos family as they move forward with his CTE diagnosis.

 

[Huusker]

I still remember the fun we had when Rozier and Craig were in the backfield at the same time. Roger and his brother Curtis were Iowa imports who added lofty dimensions to the offense. Roger is on the short list of most successful NFL Huskers.

Sad to read about his diagnosis. Happy to read he has no regrets and has a loving family around him for the next days.