Modesto woman, 98, has loved 49ers since 1940s. A current standout likes her, too
Laura Crocco Shaw, 98, of Modesto started rooting for the San Francisco 49ers soon after their founding in 1946.
A victory Sunday in the Super Bowl would bring yet another thrill after 70-plus years of devotion. Shaw began following the team via radio and visits sometimes to old Kezar Stadium. She suffered through the dreadful teams of the 1970s, which gave way to a run of five Super Bowl wins over 13 years.
Shaw attended some games at Candlestick Park but has not been to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, where the team moved in 2014. She will watch Sunday’s battle with the Kansas City Chiefs at home with family and friends.
One of the current 49ers, linebacker Kwon Alexander, learned of Shaw’s dedication via a tweet from daughter Leslie Klinger of Modesto. He retweeted the message, which included a photo of the women celebrating a recent playoff win, to the team Twitter account.
“It’s up over 4,000 likes,” Klinger said Friday. “Mom went viral.”
Mother and daughter share a home in the Copper Creek area of east Modesto. Laura also has a son, John Shaw. Their father, also John Shaw, died in 2003.
Laura Crocco Shaw had a long career in banking, mostly in Pleasant Hill in Contra Costa County, and moved to Modesto in 1998.
She and Klinger talked about their passion in a living room festooned with red and gold. Both wore T-shirts that said “Bang Bang Niner Gang,” a rap song celebrating this amazing season.
Long-ago players
Shaw said she does not know the exact year of the first 49er games she attended, but she believes it was a close loss to Chicago in the late 1940s. She recalls 1950s standouts such as quarterback Frankie Albert, fullback Joe Perry and defensive tackle Leo Nomellini.
The ’60s brought quarterback John Brodie, another favorite, and receiver Gene Washington. The early ’70s teams had some playoff runs, but San Francisco still had no title.
The first Super Bowl campaign in 1981 was much like this one – a 13-3 record after four straight losing seasons. Shaw has favorites from that year – quarterback Joe Montana, receiver Dwight Clark and defensive back Ronnie Lott.
She remembers meeting Clark later at the restaurant that the Clemson product owned in Redwood City.
“Dwight Clark was really a gentleman,” she said. “The Southern hospitality showed through.”
One Super Bowl loss
This is San Francisco’s first Super Bowl since Turlock-raised quarterback Colin Kaepernick led a losing effort after the 2012 season. Shaw said she admires his charitable work, including Camp Taylor for children with heart disease.
Her favorite on the current team? That would be record-setting tight end George Kittle. She said quarterback JImmy Garappolo needs more time to show that he is the long-term choice at that position.
Shaw declined to predict the outcome of Sunday’s game but did say Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be a handful.
So which player stands out most across those seven decades?
“I say Joe Montana,” Shaw said, “but he was the way he was because he had such good players around him.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 3:10 PM.
