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James, Bob & Dick
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Hall of Famer James Lofton gives us his opinions on the 2010 Bears, and we take a look back on the golden era of the NFL with Hall of Famer Bob St. Clair, and 5-time All-Pro Dick Stanfel.
Episode Segments:
 
Bearly Legal: James Lofton
Hall of Famer James Lofton puts on his analyst hat, and gives us his assessment of the Bears. He’ll tell us how good he thinks they really are, and what he thinks about Mike Martz’ offense.
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Bearly Legal: Bob St Clair
Bob gives us the story of how he got the nickname “The Geek,” and how he used to put a scare into the rookies. We’ll also find out what he thinks of the current 49ers and head coach Mike Singeltary.
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Bearly Legal: Coach Dick Stanfel
Bob St. Clair sticks around, as we welcome his former USF teammate Dick Stanfel to the show, who talks about his playing career and making the transition from player to coach.
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Bearly Legal: More with Bob & Dick
The conversation turns to player salaries & our guests reveal how big their first contracts were. Dick also discusses his role in creating the offensive line for the 1985 Bears, and the NFL’s list of the greatest players of all time.
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode
Dick Stanfel
Dick played offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of San Francisco and was drafted in the second round of the 1951 NFL Draft. Stanfel, who graduated from Commerce High School, played on the great Joe Kuharich teams at USF with three men who are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ollie Matson, Gino Marchetti and St. Clair. After sitting out his rookie season with the Lions because of a knee injury from the College All-Star Game, he went on to a stellar stint in the pros. In early 1959, after his fifth Pro Bowl appearance, he got a call from Kuharich, who had just been named head coach at Notre Dame. Kuharich asked Stanfel to join him. "I flew right from Los Angeles to South Bend," Stanfel said, "and when I got there, the snow was as high as the road signs. I thought, 'What in the hell am I doing here?' " Starting a very long career, as it turned out. The Notre Dame job led to ones with Marv Levy at Cal, with Kuharich and the Philadelphia Eagles, then with the 49ers, the Saints, the Bears and the Saints again, after Mike Ditka talked him out of a brief retirement. An offensive line coach for most of his 31 years in the NFL, Stanfel took over as the Saints' head coach for the final four games in 1980 after Dick Nolan was fired. Stanfel went 1-3 for a team that finished 1-15. Stanfel retired for good in 1999. He lives in the Chicago area, near his three sons and his eight grandchildren, but he returns to the Bay Area a couple of times a year to visit two sisters and a brother who live here.

Dick's Career Stats

 
Bob St. Clair
Bob St. Clair joined the San Francisco 49ers as a third-round draft selection in 1953. At 6-9 and 265 pounds, St. Clair's mere presence on the football field tended to intimidate many opponents. He was blessed with size, speed, intelligence and a genuine love of hitting and, using these traits to the maximum; his on-the-field trademarks became hostility, power, and strength. He was an outstanding blocker, both on passing plays and rushing attempts. Particularly early in his career, he was used on defense in goal line situations. He also excelled on the special teams. In 1956, he was credited with an amazing 10 blocked field goals. Extremely popular with the fans and his teammates, St. Clair served as the 49ers’ team captain in 1957, 1958 and 1959. He was named first- or second-team All-NFL nine times and was selected to play in five Pro Bowls. St. Clair was tough and durable and often played in spite of severe injuries. But injuries eventually did cut short his career. He was sidelined for a good part of the 1962 season with an Achilles tendon injury but he regained his All-Pro form in 1963. But a second Achilles tendon injury forced him to retire before the 1964 season. Born in San Francisco, St. Clair decided to play college football at home at the University of San Francisco. When that school quit football after the 1951 season, he transferred to Tulsa, where he was an All-Missouri Valley Conference star. By joining the 49ers, St. Clair became the ninth member of the 1951 USF team to enter the pros. His teammates nicknamed him "The Geek" because of several of his unusual lifestyle habits, such as eating all of his meat raw. He also became active in politics during his playing career and once served as the mayor of Daly City, California.

Bob's Page at the NFL Hall of Fame Website

 
James Lofton
Lofton won the long jump at the 1978 NCAA Track and Field Championships with a wind-aided jump of 26 feet 11¾ inches. He won the long jump at the 1974 CIF California State Meet with a jump of 24 feet 3½ inches after placing sixth in this meet the year before. He was also a sprinter of note, with a best of 20.7 in the 200 meter dash. He has been an active participant in Masters track and field since 1997. Lofton graduated from Stanford University. As a senior in 1977, Lofton received 57 passes for 1,010 yards (17.72 yards per reception average) with 14 touchdowns, and was an AP & NEA Second Team All-American selection. Lofton was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1978 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was named to the NFL Pro Bowl eight times (seven with the Packers, one with the Bills). He was also named to four All-Pro teams. He also played in three Super Bowls during his career with the Bills. Lofton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. In his 16 NFL seasons, Lofton caught 764 passes for 14,004 yards and 75 touchdowns. He averaged 20 yards per catch or more in five seasons, leading the league in 1983 and 1984 with an average of 22.4 and 22 yards respectively. He also rushed 32 times for 246 yards and one touchdown. Lofton is the first NFL player to record 14,000 yards receiving and the first to score a touchdown in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. During his nine seasons in Green Bay, Lofton played in seven Pro Bowls and left as the team's all time leading receiver with 9,656 yards. In 1991, Lofton became the oldest player to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season (since broken by Jerry Rice). On October 21, of that same year, Lofton became the oldest player to record 200 yards receiving as well as 200 yards from scrimmage in a game (35 years, 108 days). He is also the 2nd oldest player to have 200+ all purpose yards in a game behind Mel Gray, (35 years, 204 days). Lofton became the wide receiver coach for the San Diego Chargers in 2002 and continued that role until he was fired on January 22, 2008. In 2006, Lofton was one of two finalists for the Stanford head coaching job. That job went to Jim Harbaugh. Lofton was later announced as a candidate to become head coach for Oakland Raiders in 2007 but the job would later go to Lane Kiffin. In 2008, the Raiders hired him as their wide receivers coach. On January 13, 2009, Lofton was let go by the Oakland Raidersand replaced by Sanjay Lal. Lofton served as a color analyst and sideline reporter for NFL coverage on Westwood One radio from 1999-2001. In 2009 he re-joined the network to team with Dave Sims on Sunday Night Football broadcasts.

James' Career Stats