Monty Stickles

Monty Stickles established himself as the San Francisco 49ers first great tight end combining surehanded receiving with ferociously physical blocking that made him one of the most intimidating players of his era Born on August 16 1938 in Kingston New York Stickles grew up in Poughkeepsie and attended Poughkeepsie High School before earning a scholarship to Notre Dame Playing as an end for the Fighting Irish from 1957 to 1959 he was a threeyear starter who accumulated 42 receptions for 746 yards and twelve touchdowns while also kicking extra points and field goals As a sophomore in 1957 he was part of the Notre Dame team that upset Oklahoma 70 ending their legendary 47game winning streak Stickles earned firstteam AllAmerican honors in 1958 and consensus AllAmerican recognition in 1959 finishing ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior Selected 11th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 1960 NFL draftand also chosen in the first round by the AFLs Los Angeles Chargersthe 6foot4 235pound Stickles chose the established league Over nine seasons 19601967 with San Francisco 1968 with New Orleans he accumulated 222 receptions for 3199 yards and sixteen touchdowns From 1961 to 1966 he started every game save four establishing himself as a cornerstone of the 49ers offense Stickless playing strengths defined toughness and versatility exceptional hands making him a reliable receiving target devastating blocking ability for protecting quarterbacks like John Brodie an intimidating physical presence when going against elite defenders like Deacon Jones selfadmitted dirty tactics of cheapshotting linebackers then drawing officials attention so opponents would be ejected when they retaliated a teammate enforcer coming to the defense of 49ers players His greatest moments showcased reliability and resilience an explosive NFL debut when he caught eight passes against the New York Giants the breakthrough 1961 season when he established career bests with 43 receptions for 794 yards and five touchdowns the impressive 1964 comeback when he posted 40 catches for 685 yards after struggling with just eleven receptions in 1963 Following his retirement Stickles pioneered sports talk radio as a color commentator for California Golden Bears football and Oakland Raiders games on KGO Radio including calling the famous 1978 Holy Roller game His most memorable broadcasting moment came in 1984 when a postgame interview with Giants manager Frank Robinson required bleeping Robinson 23 times in 56 seconds Stickles left broadcasting in 1985 to spend twenty years selling beer for a Bay Area distributor before retiring in 2004 He died on September 3 2006 of heart failure at age 68 in Oakland