“I remember it was hot as hell.”
Michael Zagaris snapped the photograph in Miami on Sept. 28, 1986. The 49ers players were warming up for an early afternoon game against the Dolphins and the temperature already had reached a sticky 85 degrees. Coach Bill Walsh walked onto the field for the pregame ritual and owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., was beside him, as often was the case in those days. They were deep in conversation.
“And I just followed them through the canopy,” Zagaris, the 49ers’ long-time team photographer, said. “I was walking behind them and snapped that shot.