Charle Young, the starting tight end in the first Super Bowl of the 49ers’ Bill Walsh-era dynasty, has died at age 75, the team announced on Tuesday.
In a post on social media, the 49ers mourned the passing of the tight end who hauled in two passes from Joe Montana in the 1981 NFC Championship, leading up to “The Catch” that sent them to Super Bowl 16.
Young joined the 49ers for the first of three memorable seasons with San Francisco in 1980, the year Montana won the starting quarterback job and Walsh’s second season as head coach.
Across 13 NFL seasons with four teams, Young had 418 receptions for 5,106 yards, one of 48 tight ends in NFL history with at least 5,000 career receiving yards. He totaled 914 yards on 88 catches during his three season with the Niners, plus seven more catches during their 1981 Super Bowl run, including the first of Montana’s 45 career postseason touchdown passes.
A unanimous All-American during his final year at USC, the Fresno native went on to be selected sixth overall by the Eagles and earned all three of his Pro Bowl nods in Philadelphia.
Young changed his name from Charlie to Charle following the 1981 season in San Francisco. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
