(EDITOR’S NOTE: To listen to Bryant Young, just click on the following link: Ep 108: Bryant Young Hall of Fame returns to the show atomizer)
“The canton was built for men like Bryant Young.”
Those words were uttered a year ago by one of Young’s teammates from college, Notre Dame striker Aaron Taylor, and he wasn’t just talking about Young’s game on the field. He also spoke of his character.
“He has always had a Christian heart,” Taylor said in an interview with IrishIllustread.com. “He’s just a wonderful human being.”
An “introvert” by his own admission, Bryant Young is just as mildly spoken off the football field as he was dominant on it. Talk to teammates … friends … anyone who comes in contact with a 49ers Hall of Fame defensive attack … and they often contrast his relentless, physical game as a footballer with his quiet, humble, and principled individual behavior.
That speaks to Young’s character, and it must have come from someone or somewhere. Young had no problem identifying the source when he appeared on the latest podcast “Eye Test for Two” (fullpressradio.com).
“I think it’s the culmination of many of my parents and my upbringing,” he said. “But I would also add my personality. That’s who I am. I’m really an introvert, a quiet guy… I think I just look by my example and see Dad and Mom. How they treated people. How they loved people. How they just lived life. He was one of the best teachers. That taught me a lot. ”
Two years ago this month, Young lost one of those teachers when his mother Alice died. On Mother’s Day this Sunday, they asked him to recall the best advice he had received from her.
“There were a ton of it,” he said. “My mother would always tell me to always respect people and to treat them the way you would want them to treat you. And it was so precious to me because there were lessons along the way, in terms of how I appreciate people … how I treated them … how I know I don’t want to be treated.
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“I had to do it in return – respect people in a way that will make them special in some way – it will help, and then in return get what I can get out of it. I want to be treated with respect and to be honest; act fairly. That’s how I treated people.
“My mom was also a big, big advocate not only of what she talked about and what she instilled in us, but also the way she lived her life. There were some unique traits of my mom that told me a lot, talked about how she loved people … how she served people. She just had a big heart. ”
So did her son. In Notre Dame he was captain of the team. With the San Francisco 49ers, he was the eight-time winner of the prestigious Len Eshmont Award, given each year to the player who best portrays the “inspiring and courageous games” of Eshmont, a member of the original 1946 49ers who died in 1957.
No other 49er … neither Joe Montana, nor Jerry Rice, nor Ronnie Lott, nor Steve Young … has won more than twice.
“He was in our defense what Steve Young and Jerry Rice were in our attack,” said former San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci, “in terms of being a leader and showing the way. Bryant Young was a Man.”
A four-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro, a decade-long choice and a Super Bowl champion, Young was elected to Canton this year in one of the biggest disruptions in years. In 2021, he was not a finalist. A year later it was inductive. It is rare.
Ali and Bryant Young. In the end, voters listened to Aaron Taylor, just as Bryant Young listened to his mother.
“I know this has been said many times: rent is always paid,” Young said. “She is always in debt. Every day. So for me, I’m not a big story. I will come in … do my job … do what I have to do to be better to inspire my teammates … to make sure I am responsible to them, to this organization … and I will not talk about it. But I’ll show you, and I will be about that.
“It was my mantra. That’s how I lived and (it was) the cornerstone of the things I lived by. I think deeds definitely speak louder than words. ”