Upon leading the San Francisco 49ers to their emphatic Super Bowl XXIX victory and earning game MVP honors, Steve Young got the proverbial "monkey off his back" as he quoted so eloquently in the post-game celebration. The fleet-of-foot southpaw out of Brigham Young may have lived in Joe Montana's shadow for several years as his backup and eventual successor, but the 1994 season forever cemented Steve’s legacy in 49ers lore. Young led the NFL in touchdown passes four times and had the highest passer rating in the league in six out of seven seasons from 1991-97, while at the same time leading all quarterbacks in rushing.
His incredible scrambling ability and ad-libbing tendency made game prep a nightmare for opposing defenses. Never lacking in courage, he played the game with reckless abandon at times, and that unique style of play that made him a Hall of Famer began to catch up with his aging body by 1995. Steve missed five games due to injury in back-to-back regular seasons, but the 49ers made the playoffs each year before bowing out to Green Bay in the divisional round. Young was healthier in 1997 as he started 15 regular season games and led San Francisco to a 13-3 record. The Niners made it to the NFC Championship this time, but for the third straight year they fell to Favre’s Packers. Steve finally got some revenge against his nemesis in the ’98 playoffs when he hit Terrell Owens with that memorable game-winning 25-yard TD strike in the final seconds (a.k.a. “The Catch II”).
This offered San Francisco 49ers game-used helmet attributed to Steve Young dates to the 1996 and ’97 seasons, with Young’s autograph in black marker on the outer shell. The helmet shows outstanding evidence of use throughout with scuff marks, a few paint transfers, and signs of head perspiration on the interior. Velcro, used to accommodate the QB’s wireless headset for play-calling, is affixed at each inner earhole. Red Dymo tape [commonly used by team equipment managers at that time] with Young’s iconic No. “8” is found inside the left earhole. The gold shell, ‘SF’ logo decals, red facemask, Riddell chinstrap, and placement of airholes and snap buttons all match the style of helmet Young used in the 1996-97 period; unfortunately, we were unable to make a conclusive photo-match to any one game. (Several style matches from Oct '96 to Oct '97 on Getty such as 72361015 and 72574059). The Schutt AiR model helmet has a “49ERS” sticker on the forehead bumper with the NFL shield logo, size “L” and warning decals on the rear of the shell. The interior blue bladder padding and snap-on ear pads are as-issued and problem-free. The exterior neck pad is present, but loose from wear and age.
The helmet was originally sourced from a Bay Area resident with a connection to the Niners equipment staff. Young’s signature has been authenticated by Beckett.