SANTA CLARA — When the San Francisco 49ers take the field for their first preseason game this week, on the sidelines again will be team photographer Michael Zagaris.
Zagaris, also known as “Z,” has been photographing the NFL for 60 years, including decades with the 49ers.
“I think my contribution has been much as a historian,” Zagaris said. “Basically, holding up a mirror and, for the most part, letting the pictures tell the story.”
The photos and the stories are now contained in a coffee table book called Field of Play which is due out in October. It spans the decades of Zagaris’ career with the 49ers but also includes pictures and stories of the Oakland Raiders and other NFL teams and superstars.
“[I’m] sharing that not only with the men that played the game … but when you see this, you can relate to so much of what is in here,” Zagaris said.
On the book’s cover is a memorable photograph of Coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana designing a play on the ground on the sidelines. Zagaris said he actually laid down on the field of play to shoot up at the crouching coach and player to get a cloudy, gloomy sky in the background.
“It was Bill’s and Joe’s favorite picture,” Zagaris said.
Besides photographing the 49ers, Zagaris is also a team photographer for the Oakland A’s and spent decades photographing the early rock scene in the Bay Area and beyond.
“If I can’t be in the band, this was the next best thing,” he said. “I wanted to be the experience.”
The book Field of Play will be in bookstores and Amazon in early October.
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