Roger Craig ran The Hill. Now he looks poised to reach the Hall of Fame mountaintop (paywall)
“Craig grew up in Iowa and played collegiately at Nebraska, so identifying hills wasn’t exactly his specialty. On his first crack at choosing a training path in the Bay Area, the running back picked something rocky and treacherous. Luckily, a noted local orthopedic surgeon named Arthur Ting got wind of what Roger was doing and told him, “Come with me.”
Ting, an avid runner, introduced Craig to Edgewood Park.
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“It was the toughest thing I ever did in my life,” Craig told me in 2012. “I threw up a couple of times going up this trail. I was a football player. I’d never run that far. I was only good for 100 yards. I ran track and stuff, but as far as running 4 miles? That was unheard of.
“(Ting) said, ‘Just hang in there … so I did it for a few weeks with him. And I started loving it. I could feel it. I was getting in great shape. So I introduced it to some of my teammates. I said, ‘Man, you guys need to come out here and run this trail.’”
Rice, because of his massive stardom, often gets credit for this legendary training regimen.“
Canton-bound: 49ers legendary running back Roger Craig reportedly selected to Pro Football Hall of Fame
“49ers reporter Matt Maiocco said that Walsh told him he couldn’t do everything he wanted with his offense until Craig arrived. And Walsh orchestrated the use of that weapon in a way that NFL defenses struggled to figure out.
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In Super Bowl XIX, Craig delivered one of the most dominant performances by a running back in Super Bowl history, scoring three touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins. He didn’t take home the MVP trophy that night—Montana did. But anyone watching understood Craig’s value.
“Rog was also a great teammate,” Montana said. “He never complained, even when he wasn’t getting the ball. A lot of guys aren’t happy if they’re not getting the ball. But Roger Craig just wanted to win. And he would do whatever the team needed him to do. Everyone has seen his great runs, but watch what he did when he didn’t have the ball. He’d be blocking down the field. Never a harder worker. Just a great guy.”
Craig changed the position. In 1985, he became the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and have 1,000 yards receiving in the same season, a milestone so ahead of its time that it wouldn’t be matched again for years. Today’s dual-threat running backs trace their lineage directly back to Craig, whether they realize it or not.“
Kyle Juszczyk hints 49ers could open the 2026 season in Australia
“The NFL recently announced its first-ever regular-season game in Melbourne, Australia, to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. One participant has already been confirmed: the Los Angeles Rams.
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Because the Rams will serve as the host team, a matchup against them would allow the 49ers to play internationally without surrendering a home game during the 2026 season.
When Kristin asked whether the 49ers were “for sure” playing in Australia, Juszczyk smiled and gestured, clearly choosing not to say too much.
“But potentially,” he added. “We may be in Australia, potentially, Week 1.”
49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, Fred Warner added to Super Bowl LX pregame show
“Former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward will join Shanahan and Warner as guest analysts.”
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