Ring marvels at genius of Walsh

As a fullback for the San Francisco 49ers from 1981-86, Bill Ring played a pivotal role in Bill Walsh's West Coast offense, winning two Super Bowl rings along the way.

Until "The Genius" came around, fullbacks were rarely used like Ring, as he combined the position's standard blocking duties with ball-carrying and pass-catching.

"It was a lot of fun," said Ring, who has strong family ties to the Lodi area, including his brother, Dave, the owner of Forest Lake Golf Course.

"As a coach, I don't think there is any comparison out there to what he's accomplished."

While Ring appreciated Walsh's ability to coach, it wasn't until Walsh began his second head-coaching stint at Stanford in 1992, when he hired Ring to be his running backs coach, that the former player realized the extent of his coach's genius.

"You really don't understand his brilliance until you see him diagram an offensive play that has 10 different variables," Ring said. "And there's 140 different plays — different fronts, different backfield sets. He knew it all by memory, he didn't even have to look at anything."

That season at Stanford, the team went 10-3 and defeated Penn State in the Blockbuster Bowl. Ring went on to pursue a career in investment management after that — a field in which he still works today — but Walsh remained involved in Ring's life, appearing at various business functions for the sake of his former player and assistant coach.

"He'd do anything for any one of his players that ever played for him," Ring said. "There's a long list of people that he's helped along the way."

Ring saw Walsh only two weeks ago — just days before the legendary coach passed away — and despite the coach's failing health, Ring said the man hadn't lost his sense of humor.

"He always had a great wit about him," Ring said. "He was not in great shape, but he was still cracking jokes."

Ring recalled a time when, during a particularly rainy football season, Walsh put that humor on full display.

"We were practicing in mud every day and the players were pampering themselves — overdressing the situation," Ring said. "(Walsh) gathered us together in the locker room and just ripped us a new one. He said, 'I don't want to see any gloves, no undergarments, no thermal underwear. Just get out there and play the game for heaven's sake. This is ridiculous.'"

A bit shell-shocked, Ring recounted, the players went out to the field wondering why their coach was so upset. Then Walsh walked onto the field.

"He comes out looking like the captain of a fishing boat: Big yellow slicker, big yellow hat and rubber boots," Ring said. "Everyone had a good laugh about that. He was setting the whole thing up — and that's what he would do."

While keeping players loose was one of Walsh's trademarks, Ring will always remember the coach for giving him the opportunity to play in the NFL. Coming out of BYU, Ring tried out for the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers before landing a spot on the 49ers.

"I owe my career to Bill Walsh because he's the one who really discovered me back in '81," said Ring, whose banner season came in 1983 when he rushed for 254 yards on 64 carries and had 23 catches for 182 yards. "It really was a one-day tryout and he saw something in me that other people didn't see. I am just very thankful for what he did in my life."

Reader Feedback

Steward wrote on Aug 3, 2007 3:50 AM:

" Bill Ring might not have been the biggest on the field in size, but nobody could match his heart, he knows of what he speaks. "

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Ring marvels at genius of Walsh — his coach, friend

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