49ers retire Young's jersey

By Josh Dubow
The Associated Press

last updated: October 06, 2008 02:34:30 AM

SAN FRANCISCO -- As Steve Young listened to the Candlestick Park crowd roar at his jersey retirement ceremony, he looked at Jerry Rice and wished he was in his old No. 8 uniform instead of a suit.

"Honestly I feel like I want to play," Young said after the ceremony. "My life is sublime now and great and wonderful in many ways but you can't replace it."

Young was honored at halftime of the 49ers game Sunday against the New England Patriots. He was introduced to the adoring crowd by his close friend and former teammate Brent Jones, who called Young a "brilliant field general" who "could destroy you with his left arm and then could turn around and destroy you as well with his legs."

Several members of the 49ers glory teams from the late 1980s and '90s were on stage with Young for the ceremony, including Rice, Jones, Harris Barton and Jesse Sapolu.

Young thanked the fans and recalled some of his greatest moments, including his memorable stumbling run to beat Minnesota, the game-ending touchdown pass to Terrell Owens to win a playoff game against Green Bay and his NFC championship triumph over Dallas in 1995.

Young thanked Bill Walsh, who brought him from Tampa Bay to San Francisco in 1987, and wished his former coach were still alive to be at this event.

"Bill Walsh told me many times that anyone who came to this place was very lucky because they now had a platform to see how good they could be," Young said. "I really appreciated that."

Young is a two-time league MVP who led San Francisco to its fifth NFL title in the 1995 Super Bowl, winning the game's MVP award with a record six touchdown passes. He spent parts of 13 seasons with the 49ers, finishing his NFL career with 33,124 yards passing and 232 TD passes.

Young was the 11th player to have his number retired by the 49ers, joining fellow quarterbacks Joe Montana and John Brodie.

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