Owner Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders watches his team warm up before a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1990. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame owner Al Davis died at his home in Oakland this morning at 82. I learned of the news shortly after I woke up today as my Twitter feed was going nuts with posts about the breaking news. This is national news in the sports world, and Page One news here in the Bay Area.

I am not going to recount all the facts about his life as a scout, coach, commissioner and owner. You can get all of that from numerous news stories like this one. I want to talk about how this guy effected my life as a fan and photographer who has spent my entire life in the Bay Area.

Owner Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders watches mini camp in Alameda, California on June 13, 2003. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Growing up in the Mangin House in Fremont in the 1970′s we rooted for both the 49ers and Raiders. I know this sounds nuts, but my dad Al had ties with both teams dating back decades. My dad’s college roomie and basketball teammate at College of Pacific in Stockton was Clyde Conner. Conner went on to play tight end for the 49ers at Kezar Stadium from 1956-1963. During this time my mom and dad attended many of the 49ers home games and became big fans of the team. By the time I was old enough to know the difference between first down and second down I realized that not only did our family root for the 49ers because of Clyde (whose family we regularly hung out with), but we also rooted for the Raiders. Why? One reason was because my dad worked the scoreboard for all home games at the Oakland Coliseum for the Silver and Black, and even did game in the early 1960′s when they played at Frank Youell Field. For his efforts my dad received $25, all the Kentucky Fried Chicken he could eat in the press dining room and all the beer he could drink. I can still remember waiting for my dad to come home at 4:30pm after a Raider home game with that days issue of PRO that I would spend the next few hours devouring.

Owner Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders meets the press at a press conference announcing the return of the Raiders from Los Angeles to Oakland at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California in 1995. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

I saw many great Raider games on television. I still remember watching the “Sea of Hands Game” in 1974 against Miami in the playoffs. I attended many Raider home games with our neighbor Bob Donovan in his sweet season ticket seats on the 25 yard line in the portable football bleachers behind the visitors bench. I was sad when Al Davis moved the team to Los Angeles in 1982 and happy when he moved them back in 1995. I was happy for many reasons, the most important being that as a photographer I would have the chance to shoot Raider games on Sundays. This all became reality in a bizarre press conference in 1995 when the move back to Oakland became official (see above).

Owner Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders (left) talks with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (center) during training camp with the Dallas Cowboys in Austin, Texas in 1997. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Few people knew Davis as well as my good friend, sports writer  Bill Soliday. Soliday covered the Raiders for five decades, and today’s news caused him to reflect on the life of Davis with his friends on Facebook. “Al Davis was The Godfather of the NFL. He inspired fear and respect. He took a certain pride in realizing/thinking nobody knew what wave length he was on. The 46 years I knew him, he always treated me well and, I think, fairly — a favor I tried to return within journalistic reason. It won’t be the same without him. Sad day,” said Soliday.

Owner Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders walks the sidelines during training camp with the Dallas Cowboys in Austin, Texas in 1997. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

I first photographed Davis during an exhibition game against the 49ers at Candlestick park in 1990 when I was working for The National Sports Daily. After their return in 1995 I shot pictures of him during games in Oakland, training camp in Austin and Napa, and mini camp in Alameda. His expressive face, crazy hair, and fashionable sunglasses always made for a good picture.

Owner Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders on the sidelines during mini camp at the Raiders practice facility in Alameda, California in 2000. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

As I finish writing this blog entry I look forward to the many tributes that will be in tonight’s newscasts and tomorrow’s newspapers. What I want most right now is a book about Davis written by Soliday. Whattaya say Bill? We need to drink some beers and talk about this.

New head coach Steve Mariucci of the San Francisco 49ers is introduced to the media with former head coach George Seifert (right) and former head coach Bill Walsh (left) at the 49ers facility in Santa Clara, California in 1997. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

The San Francisco 49ers will be introducing new head coach Jim Harbaugh to the media this afternoon after a crazy week of Tweets and rumors surrounding the future of the successful Stanford football coach. The 49ers went after him hard this week, but many thought their efforts were not enough to fight off more lucrative offers around the league. By last night it appeared that he might stay at Stanford for one more year. However things changed here in the Bay Area by around lunchtime and now it appears that 49er owner Jed York has his man.

Quarterback Jim Harbaugh of the Indianapolis Colts in action during a game against the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California in 1995. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

49er fans all over are celebrating this big hire and hope that the 49ers might finally be able to get back to the championship form that spoiled the Bay Area for 20 straight years in the 80′s and 90′s. With the truly awful Mike Singletary era ending last week fans are hoping that things will turn the corner and that history will repeat itself. In 1979 Bill Walsh was plucked from Stanford to lead the revitalization of the dismal 49er franchise and here in 2011 fans are hoping Harbaugh can do the same.

Head coach Mike Singletary of the San Francisco 49ers walks on the field before the game against the Detroit Lions at Candlestick Park on December 27, 2009 in San Francisco, California. The 49ers beat the Lions 20-6. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

In gathering photographs from my extensive archive looking for images of past 49ers coaches I was struck that my earliest image was from 1986. Yikes! That was when I shot my first game, in black and white, while I was a student at San Jose State. During my day on the sidelines shooting the Joe Montana-led 49ers beating the St. Louis Cardinals I am glad I squeezed off a few frames of The Genius doing his thing (see below). Remembering this golden era of 49er football reminds me of how far the organization has fallen.

Quarterback Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers talks to head coach Bill Walsh during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1986. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

I was fortunate to be able to document the end of the Walsh era, followed up by the very successful George Seifert era. Seifert was such an easy-going guy who continued to win with Walsh’s players, and then won it all with his guys in January of 1995 when they won Super Bowl XXIX over the Chargers. During this time Bay-TV started televising the 49ers press conferences live every Monday at noon, and I loved tuning in to see and writers lined up at the taco buffet line before things got started. Seifert would wear his lucky sweater as he casually answered questions from the writers and often joked with Examiner beat writer John Crumpacker. The writers loved dealing with Seifert and he seemed to really enjoy working with them, both on and off the record (see below).

Head coach George Seifert of the San Francisco 49ers talks to the media after practice at the 49ers facility in Santa Clara, California in 1996. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Seifert had such a great record with the 49ers it came as a shock when Santa Rosa Press Democrat beat writer Brian Murphy broke the biggest story of the year in January of 1997 announcing that the 49ers were letting Seifert go and replacing him with Cal coach Steve Mariucci. This HUGE story shocked the Bay Area and put Murphy on the map. It also brought about the most bizarre press conference I have ever attended the day the story broke in the Grand Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. In a grand setting under gold chandeliers the club said goodbye to Seifert and set the stage for the official hiring of Mariucci the next day.

Head coach George Seifert of the San Francisco 49ers steps down as coach at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California in 1997. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Thanks to a talent-laden roster Mariucci had a nice honeymoon period and led the team to many winning seasons before ownership crumbled with the departure of Eddie DeBartolo. Once the York family took over the organization things started to go very bad, and when management cut Marriuci loose after taking his team to the playoffs in 2002 things went downhill very quickly for the team. After covering this team for so many years at Candlestick Park I became so spoiled to shooting great players and great teams. Boy did things sure go to Hell quickly after Dennis Erickson took over in 2003. This was the beginning of the darkest period 49er football this generation of fans had ever experienced.

Coach Dennis Erickson of the San Francisco 49ers argues with an official during a game against the St. Louis Rams at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. November 2, 2003. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

The next few years are all a blur of poor management, bad draft picks, awful coaching, and questions about who Paraag Marathe was and what did he really do for the team in Santa Clara. Things got so bad they could not get anyone with a good track record to coach the team. They were desperate in 2005 when they drastically over paid and gambled by giving Mike Nolan complete control of the club, hoping the fans would cut the team some slack for hiring the warm and fuzzy candidate. Nolan had once been a ball boy for the team while his dad Dick coached them in the 1970′s, and this homecoming made for a nice story. Until they started playing, and losing.

Coach Mike Nolan of the San Francisco 49ers walks the sidelines during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Monster Park in San Francisco on November 19, 2006. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

It was only a matter of time before the self-important Mike Singletary was relieved of his duties in 2010. The team was awful, hard to watch, and poorly coached. I heard rumblings of the 49ers going after Harbaugh several months ago. It was no secret that Jed York was enamored with Harbaugh and spent several Saturday’s watching his team play in the Farm during the Fall. The fans wanted Harbaugh. York wanted Harbaugh. The media chased this story 24/7 all week as this story became the most dramatically covered breaking sports story in Bay Area history thanks to Twitter and the Internet. Maybe now @MaioccoCSN can get some sleep.

Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys in action against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1995. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

All-time great Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith joined six others who were elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. The NFL’s career rushing leader was joined by career receiving leader Jerry Rice, John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau. Smith and Rice were named to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys in action during Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on January 28 1996. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Smith rushed for 18,355 yards and 164 touchdowns during his career with Dallas and Arizona and won an MVP award in the Super Bowl. I had many chances to shoot Smith during his career as the Cowboys made many appearances at Candlestick Park to take on the 49ers in important regular and post-season games during the 1990′s. He always pissed me off because he was so good and the Cowboys always seemed to have the 49ers number. The better day Smith had, the worse day the Niners had.

Running back Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys lies on the ground hurt during the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1995. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

The one big NFC Championship game that the 49ers won over the Cowboys was made possible when Smith got hurt right in front of me and my cameras when I was on assignment for Sports Illustrated in 1995 (see above). The 49ers hung on to win 38-28 on the way to their last Super Bowl win, thanks to Smith’s injury.

Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys in action during a game against the San Diego Chargers at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California in 1995. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

The 2010 Hall of Fame class will increase to 260 the number of all-time greats permanently honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Enshrinement of the Class of 2010 will take place in Canton, Ohio on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. ET. I am sure this will be an evening Smith and his six other classmates will never forget.

Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers in action during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California on November 11, 2000. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

San Francisco 49er great Jerry Rice has been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 in an announcement made late this afternoon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida according to a Tweet by Matt Maiocco. Maiocco adds that Eddie DeBartolo will introduce Rice at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio in August. Rice joins Russ Grim, John Randle, Rickey Jackson, Emmitt Smith, Dick LeBeau and Floyd Little as the newest former NFL stars to be named to a very exclusive club.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice in action making a touchdown catch during a game against the San Diego Chargers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California on October 9, 1991. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Rice holds every major receiving record, was chosen first-team All-Pro 10 times, and was a 13-time Pro Bowler during 20 NFL seasons, most of which were spent wearing the red and gold at Candlestick Park. I first had a chance to photograph Rice back in 1986 when I shot a pocket full of Kodak Tri-X black and white film at my first 49er game while I was a photojournalism student at San Jose State University (see below). Back before the NFL uniform police became so over-zealous Rice was very stylish with his uniform and always had a white towel hanging from his waist with “Sweet Rice” written on it.

Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers kneels on the sidelines during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1986. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

The 49ers had a great team in the early 1980′s and were coming off their second Super Bowl win after a great 1984 season when they drafted Rice out of Mississippi Valley State. Most of my early memories of Rice are of him dropping passes in his rookie year as it took him awhile to get acclimated to the pro game.

Jerry Rice of the Oakland Raiders in action making a catch during a game against the New York Jets at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California on January 8, 2002. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Rice ended up settling into his role with the 49ers and benefited from having the chance to catch passes from back-to-back Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young. By the time his career with the 49ers ended Rice seemed to own almost every big touchdown record in the NFL.

Jerry Rice of the Oakland Raiders watches on the sidelines during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 2001. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Many 49er fans were disappointed when Rice left the team after the 2000 season and signed with the Oakland Raiders, but this made Bay Area football fans happy as they were still able to follow their favorite player closely. I was happy to still have the chance to shoot Rice, this time in the silver and black at the Oakland Coliseum. Rice hung on a little to long, playing with the Seahawks after a productive stint in Oakland. Rice went to training camp with the Denver Broncos prior to the 2005 season but retired shortly before the season began.

Jerry Rice Enters Hall of Fame – Images by Brad Mangin

Although many people immediately think of his fine showing on the television show Dancing with the Stars when they hear the name Jerry Rice, I will always look back on the wonderful Hall of Fame career of one of the greatest athletes I have ever photographed. Congrats JR.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana poses for a portrait at his home in Atherton, California on January 12, 2000. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

Sometimes when we are busy photographing a truly special athlete or a spectacular team we don’t take the time to stop and really appreciate the greatness in front of our camera lens. Often, many years need to pass before we can truly reflect back on a time and realize how lucky we were to witness an era of greatness. This is how I feel about having the special privilege of photographing Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers during their glory years from 1986 through the mid-90s.

Quarterback Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the sidelines during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1986. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

I was a photojournalism student at San Jose State when I got my first chance to photograph the best quarterback ever and his team. For the next few years I continued photographing Joe and the Niners whenever I could during a time when I worked for the Contra Costa Times, The National Sports Daily and The Associated Press.

Even back then, I knew he was a great player and I shot a fair amount of photos of him and the team. Yet in hindsight, I wish I had shot far more of those beautiful chromes of Joe dropping back to pass in the beautiful Candlestick light from corner of the end zone.

It’s easy, now, to look back on my work and say that I wish shot more. But what can I say? I was young.

Quarterback Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers signals for a touchdown during Super Bowl XXIV against the Denver Broncos at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana in January of 1990. (Photo by Brad Mangin)