Craig Makes a Name for Himself and Leaves the Dolphins Spinning

Roger Craig came to the San Francisco 49ers two years ago with a trademark. Every time he scored--and there were a dozen touchdowns in that first year--he would spin the ball in the end zone like a top.

Sunday, playing in the biggest game of his young life, the 24-year-old fullback from Nebraska crossed the goal line three times to set a Super Bowl record and help bury the Miami Dolphins, 38-16.

But not once did Craig spin the ball for all the world to see.

He dropped his little end zone signature earlier in the season. A referee had penalized him for it after a score against the Rams, applying the new Mark Gastineau anti-antics rule.

More than that, however, Craig had decided that with his touchdown gesture he “was being a hotdog or something.” And being a hotdog is just not Roger Craig’s style.

Craig is a throwback, a player who prides himself in his ability to do more than just rack up yards and points.

“I don’t like to concentrate on one thing,” he said Sunday after the game. “It’s my job and my duty to do whatever I am called on to do. I like every aspect--running, blocking and catching the ball.

“I’m more of a team player. I’m not into being an individual player carrying a team by myself, although I can play that role if I’m asked.”

In college, Craig was primarily a blocking back, clearing the way for the likes of Jarvis Redwine and Mike Rozier. Craig also managed to rush for 2,446 yards.

When he was drafted by the 49ers--the 49th player taken in the draft--Craig figured he better learn a new skill: catching the ball. He started a regimen of 100 practice catches a day, and in his rookie season he caught 48 passes.

This season, he led the 49ers with 71 receptions. He also rushed for 649 yards. His performance was not enough to make him a household name, eclipsed in his own backfield by Wendell Tyler, but coming into the Super Bowl he had a sense that he was ready to show the many things he can do on a football field.

“I was just doing what I did all year long,” Craig said after the game, “and this game was just a good game for me to show my talents off.”

Indeed, against the Dolphins, Craig was at his all-purpose best. He rushed for 58 yards on 15 carries, including five straight runs in the fourth quarter when the 49ers were intent on killing the clock. He caught eight passes for 82 yards. His blocks helped spring Tyler for 65 yards. And he scored, and he scored, and then he scored again.

Craig said his first touchdown, an eight-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Montana, came on a play that was designed for him. It occurred three minutes into the second quarter, and gave the 49ers the lead, 14-10.

His second score came on a two-yard burst, again in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Craig caught a 16-yard pass from Montana for what turned out to be the final score of the game, the coup de grace. Craig said Montana had called an audible on the play and hit him over the middle in full stride after both Miami linebackers converged on Tyler.

After that touchdown, Craig, who had not been around in 1981, began to realize he was on his way to a Super Bowl victory. And his reaction was that of any young man who had just accomplished something that, as he put it later, “I will remember the rest of my life.”

He got a stomach ache.

“I just got too excited,” he said. “I was jumping up and screaming. I almost fainted.”

After the game, Craig was much in demand for interviews. Jim Lampley wanted him live on ABC-TV. Brent Musburger wanted him for national radio. A throng awaited him in the interview room.

He had not anticipated this. In fact, he had stripped off his trousers and was preparing to take a shower when he was summoned to the cameras. First with a towel, and then with a borrowed pair of gym shorts, Craig managed to maintain his dignity.

Meeting the press, Craig was a model of humility. He came across like the old-fashioned fullback he is.

Were you thinking anything when you scored a touchdown? he was asked.

“I was thinking that I had just crossed the goal line.”

Did he think he deserved the game ball?

“If I had to give the game ball to anyone I would give it to those guys up front, the offensive line. They did a great job.”

How does it feel to set a Super Bowl record for touchdowns?

“I did? I didn’t know I did until right now.”

O.J. Simpson entered the interview room in his electric blue network blazer. Before the game, Simpson had predicted that Craig might well be a key factor, and now he walked up to the fullback and with a nod thanked him for making him a prophet.

“I thought he’d be the unsung hero,” Simpson said. “He has always been the guy who makes the big play.

Simpson nodded his head toward Craig, who was out of earshot, surrounded by at least two dozen reporters. “This kid here,” Simpson said, “he is just beginning.”