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Wade Wilson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1981 NFL draft in the eighth round — which no longer exists. He came from Texas A&M-Commerce, where the football stadium seats 11,582.
He was installed behind Vikings incumbent starting quarterback Tommy Kramer. But before Wilson could say “incumbent starter,” Minnesota traded for Rich Gannon, whom the Vikings general manager hailed as “our future.”
“So where did that leave me?” Wilson said. “An All-Pro in front of me and a wonder kid behind me. My résumé said, ‘Wade Wilson, terminal backup.'”
Wade Wilson died Friday, on his 60th birthday. He rose above his humble roots and sporadic playing time to carve out a 17-year NFL career. He also served 11 years as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback coach, serving as a mentor to Tony Romo and Dak Prescott.
But Wilson experienced one great shining moment as a pro — 49ers fans, is that a twitch in your left eye?
The 1987 season was a weird one. The players went on strike, wiping out one week of games. Replacement players were quickly signed and thrown into official games. Regular players raged against the “scabs” and in some cases themselves.
Thanks in large part to regular players who crossed the picket line and went back to work, the strike died a quick death. Meanwhile, the 49ers were simply obliterating opponents. Jerry Rice caught 22 touchdown passes that season. Joe Montana showed no ill effects of his 1986 back surgery. A dazzling array of talent was eager to erase playoff disappointments in 1985 and ’86. They peaked at just the right time, winning their final three regular season games — by scores of 41-0, 35-7 and 48-0 — to finish at 13-2.
Then Wilson nearly dropped the curtain on the 49ers’ Bill Walsh-era dynasty in one afternoon.
The 8-7 Vikings visited rain-soaked Candlestick in a divisional-round playoff game, and it was a rout as predicted. Only the Vikings were doing the pillaging.
Wilson wasn’t even told he would be the starter until the day before the game. Kramer’s knee was iffy, and Minnesota coach Jerry Burns felt Wilson could better navigate the Candlestick bog.
Wilson threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 30 yards. Full disclosure: The real star of the show that day was receiver Anthony Carter, who caught 10 passes for 227 yards — leaping, soaring, seemingly climbing invisible stairs to make brilliant catches. But someone had to throw him the ball. And that someone was Wilson.
The 49ers began crumbling early in the third quarter, facing a 27-10 deficit. That was when Walsh committed apparent sacrilege, pulling Montana and inserting Steve Young, in his first year with the team. “It was time go to with a quarterback who was faster than Joe,” Walsh said.
The move wasn’t consequential (the Vikings won 36-24) but it fomented doubt, confusion and disbelief in the 49ers’ locker room.
Walsh would later call the game “probably the most traumatic experience I’ve had in sports.” Asked immediately after the game if he would be back as head coach, he said, “Until you hear otherwise.” He stayed on as coach, but team owner Eddie DeBartolo stripped his title as team president.
The 49ers tried, with limited success, to tamp down talk about a quarterback controversy. But Walsh stirred the pot during training camp the following summer.
“Well, our strength is at quarterback, but our problem is we have two,” he said. “There is a quarterback controversy developing. We’ll have to select between Steve Young and Joe Montana.”
It’s no exaggeration to state the 49ers were in crisis. In the first 11 games of the 1988 season, Montana started eight games and Young started three. The strain was starting to show on Walsh. He appointed Young the starter for a game in Phoenix, telling the media that Montana was fatigued. Montana said he wasn’t. Young led the 49ers to a 23-0 lead in the first half against the Cardinals, who roared back to win 24-23 on a touchdown pass with three seconds left.
Walsh could be heard hollering from inside the coaches’ room after the game. Doors were slamming. Walsh came out, white hair in a whirl. When he left the locker room, the team’s security staff scrambled to get someone to follow him.
The next week, the 49ers lost again. They were 6-5 with five games left in the season.
And then: Suddenly all was right with the team. The 49ers won seven of their last eight games — including the Super Bowl. They won it again after the 1989 season.
Wilson? There’s a P.S. here. Walsh retired after Super Bowl XXIII, handing the reins to assistant George Seifert. In a game early in the 1993 season, Seifert learned how it felt to get bit by Wade Wilson.
Wilson was with the Saints then, and late in the fourth quarter he drove New Orleans to a game-winning 49-yard field goal by Morten Andersen that gave the Saints a 4-0 record for just the second time in the 27-year history of the team.
There’s a P.S. there, too. The following morning’s New Orleans Picayune had a big presentation on its front page. The theme was along the lines of, “The 49ers used The Catch to launch a dynasty. Now the Saints have The Kick.”
Or not.
Wilson’s swan song came in coach Jon Gruden’s first Raiders team in 1998. Late in the season, Wilson was pressed into duty as a starter. Almost 40, he was philosophical. “I was fortunate to get in the NFL at all,” he said.
The league was better for his service.
