Steve Young
Steve Young is a renowned former professional football quarterback, born on October 11, 1961, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He rose to prominence during his college career at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he set a then-NCAA record for completion percentage and was a consensus All-American. Young's professional journey began in the USFL with the Los Angeles Express, where he made history by being the first quarterback to rush for 100 yards and pass for 300 yards in a single game. He later joined the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as a backup to Joe Montana.
Overcoming the challenges of a quarterback controversy, Young eventually established himself as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. He was instrumental in leading the team to a Super Bowl victory in 1995 and earned numerous accolades throughout his career, including NFL MVP and multiple Pro Bowl selections. After retiring in 1999, Young transitioned to a broadcasting career and remained active in philanthropy, particularly in support of children's health initiatives. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and has since been an advocate for player safety in football, sharing insights from his own experiences with concussions. Young's legacy in the sport is marked by his exceptional talent and resilience in overcoming adversity.
Steve Young
Football Player
- Born: October 11, 1961
- Place of Birth: Salt Lake City, Utah
SPORT: Football
Early Life
Jon Steven Young was born on October 11, 1961, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to the family of LeGrande Young, a corporate lawyer. When Steve, the oldest of five children, was eight years old, the Young family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut. Though his family never pushed him toward sports, Steve was a naturally gifted athlete. He was the quarterback of his Greenwich High School football team, which relied on his prowess as a runner rather than a passer.
The Road to Excellence
In selecting a college, Steve decided on Brigham Young University (BYU) because of his family’s Mormon background. Steve is the great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, the Mormon leader for whom the school is named.
Steve’s football fortunes at first seemed bleak, given BYU’s reliance on a wide-open, professional-style passing offense. When he first arrived at BYU in 1979, Steve was the school’s eighth-rated quarterback, far behind starter Jim McMahon, who was also destined for an outstanding professional career. Discouraged at the prospect of switching to defense, the raw left-hander was on the verge of quitting football until BYU quarterback coach Ted Tollner, sensing Steve’s intensity and capacity to learn, convinced BYU head coach LaVell Edwards to stick with the youngster as a possible successor to McMahon.
Tollner’s hunch paid off. In 1983, Steve’s senior year at BYU, he completed 71.3 percent of his passes, a then-National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) single-season record, and threw for 3,902 yards and 33 touchdowns. For his efforts, Steve was selected as a consensus all-American and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy behind Nebraska’s Mike Rozier.
The Emerging Champion
Steve’s outstanding career at BYU made him a top professional prospect. After his graduation from BYU in 1984, Steve’s talents were sought by both the established NFL and its upstart rival, the United States Football League (USFL). In a heated bidding war, the USFL’s Los Angeles Express offered Steve the then-richest deal in football history, a deferred contract worth $37.2 million through the year 2027. The Express also offered Steve an opportunity to start immediately and to work with veteran head coach Sid Gillman.
With Gillman’s wide-open offense, Steve put up big numbers for the Express, including becoming the first professional quarterback to run for 100 yards and pass for 300 yards in the same game. The USFL soon collapsed, however, and Steve became the first selection of the NFL’s 1985 supplemental draft. His new team was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a still-floundering NFL expansion team. During the 1985 and 1986 seasons, the beleaguered young quarterback ran for his life with a dreary team that managed only four wins. In 1987, though, Steve’s prospects soared with his trade to the San Francisco 49ers, the Super Bowl champions of 1981 and 1984. He had a chance to work under Bill Walsh, the 49er’s brilliant head coach, while understudying Joe Montana, arguably the game’s greatest quarterback.
Continuing the Story
Steve’s trade was viewed as part of a master plan to continue San Francisco’s dominance by ensuring a smooth transition at the quarterback position. Though a logical plan, it did not take account of Montana’s durability and almost mythic status among 49ers fans. Steve performed well as Joe’s backup, rescuing the 49ers whenever the brittle and oft-injured Montana was knocked out by injuries. In the late 1980s, however, it was the miraculous Montana, the battered but dazzling veteran, who kept returning from the sick bay for one more charge.
In 1988, Montana was out for much of the season, and Steve, who was still learning Walsh’s complex offensive system, managed only a 6-5 start. When Montana returned to the lineup, the classy veteran reeled off a string of victories culminating in yet another Super Bowl triumph. San Francisco won still another Super Bowl after the 1989 season. Although Steve again made mighty contributions as Montana’s fireman, it was Montana who captained the 49ers to the winners’ circle.
With Montana’s injuries becoming more frequent and severe, a Montana-Young quarterback controversy heated up, fanned by the Bay Area media. When Montana missed most of the 1991 and 1992 seasons with injuries, San Franciscans joked that “Young isn’t Montana, and, unfortunately, Montana isn’t young.”
In 1991, when the 10-6 49ers missed the playoffs, disconsolate fans failed to appreciate that Young was the NFL leader in passing efficiency. In 1992, Young led the 49ers to the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game, but the team lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 30-20. Young, though, had an outstanding season, rushing for 537 yards and passing for 3,465. His quarterback efficiency rating was the fifth-best in NFL history. For his superlative accomplishments, Steve was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
In the spring of 1993, the 49ers’ ongoing quarterback controversy was solved when Montana signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. In turn, the 49ers signed Steve to a five-year agreement worth $26.5 million, at the time the richest contract in NFL history. Finally, out from under Montana’s long shadow, Steve again led San Francisco to the NFC Championship game. Though the 49ers fell one game short of the Super Bowl, losing again to the Cowboys, Steve had clearly emerged as one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks. Perhaps more importantly, he had firmly established himself as number one on his own team.
In 1994, Steve was named NFL Player of the Year, was again selected for the Pro Bowl, set an NFL single-season record with his 112.8 quarterback rating, and was named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player when he led the 49ers to victory over the San Diego Chargers. In 1995, 1996, and 1997, Steve was again selected to the Pro Bowl. In 1998, he tied the NFL record with his sixth league passer-ratio title, reached the 3,000-yard mark in passing for the fifth time in his career, and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the seventh consecutive year. At the end of the 1999 season, Steve announced his retirement from professional football. Afterward, he became an analyst on pro football broadcasts.
Even before his retirement, Steve was involved in a number of activities. He served as an international spokesperson for the Children’s Miracle Network, which has raised more than $1 billion worldwide for children’s hospitals. He also became a member of the board of directors of American Indian Services. In 1996, he published a children’s book, Forever Young, geared toward fourth-graders. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Steve, who suffered numerous concussions throughout his career, has also spoken out about the dangers football players face from repeated hits they endure on the field. He also became involved with private equity and venture capitalist firms, cofounding HGGC in 2007. In 2016, he published his autobiography QB: My Life Behind the Spiral. After two decades working on ESPN’s NFL commentary programs, he was laid off in 2023.
Young set the NFL record for the highest single-game completion rate in 1991, completing 90 percent of his passes against the Detroit Lions. He held this record until 2023, when the San Francisco 49ers's Brock Purdy completed 95.2 percent of 21 passes against the Arizona Cardinals.
Summary
Steve Young had to endure a long wait before he got the chance to show his talent as the undisputed leader of a top NFL team. When he did, he made it clear that he needed to take a backseat to no one in the game.
Bibliography
Harmon, Dick. Steve Young: Staying in the Pocket. Salt Lake City: Black Moon, 1995.
Lazarus, Adam. Best of Rivals: Joe Montana, Steve Young, and the Inside Story behind the NFL's Greatest Quarterback Controversy. Da Capo, 2012.
Livsey, Laury. The Steve Young Story. Rocklin: Prima, 1996.
Maiocco, Mat. San Francisco 49ers: Where Have You Gone? 2nd ed. Sports, 2011.
Young, Steve, and Jeff Benedict. QB: My Life Behind the Spiral. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.
"Steve Young." ESPN, espn.com/nfl/player/stats/‗/id/13/steve-young. Accessed 20 June 2024.