Renaldo Book Update

by Steve McGill

Taking on a book project can be a daunting task, even as it’s also thrilling and exciting. Back in March of 2019, I embarked on a journey to write the biography of hurdling great Renaldo Nehemiah. My mother passed away that June, which led to a pause in my progress. But after I picked myself up from that devastating loss, I continued working on the book, and was making good progress — much of which I documented in previous articles. When quarantine began in March of 2020 and the school where I teach shifted to online classes, that actually helped me in regards to the book. Because I was home all day, there were no school activities taking place after school or in the evenings, I had a lot more time to devote to the book. Then spring rolled into summer, and I made lots of progress; I finished the first draft of the first seven chapters, which covered Renaldo’s childhood years through his 12.93 race and his decision to leave amateur track for professional football in 1982. The last article I wrote about the book was about that final 1982 indoor season, when Renaldo was breaking his own indoor records, and it was looking like he was on his way to breaking his outdoor 110m record as well. 

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Then, in August of 2020, school started up again, and my school returned to the building as opposed to remaining online. Meanwhile, I was teaching, for the first time in many years, an English Composition course that was a huge time-consumer because of all the grading and all the reading of rough drafts. In addition, because of all the social unrest that had happened over the summer, several students turned to me to ask how we could raise awareness at our school and ensure that our community stay close-knit. So I started up a Student Diversity Council and organized monthly Zoom meetings that served as forums where students, faculty, admin, and alumni could talk about about various diversity-related topics. And, finally, as per usual, I had a boatload of reference letters to write for seniors who were applying to colleges. As a result of all of that, my plan of writing one chapter of the Nehemiah biography per month went down the toilet bowl. 

My inactivity regarding the book gnawed at me as month after month went by. But writing a book is difficult. You have to be “in the zone” of it. You can’t just pick up where you left off after spending tie away from it. You have to go back and reread past chapters so you are back to living in that space again. And, in the case of biography, you have to put yourself back in the zone of being that person again. So I faltered. Then finally one day in early February, I woke up and asked myself, “Steve, do you want to be a writer or not?” And in that moment, I stopped procrastinating. I read through some research I had gathered, watched some videos from when Renaldo played for the San Francisco 49ers, and later that night I wrote about 600 words to get the eighth chapter started. Two weeks later, I finished the chapter, and now I’m working on Chapter Nine, which will detail his battle with the IAAF for reinstatement of his amateur status. 

So, Chapter Eight covers the years that Renaldo played for the 49ers — 1982 through 1985. When Renaldo first signed for the 49ers, his contract was historic in that he received a signing bonus of $100,000 — a figure unheard of for someone who hadn’t played football in college. Also, his four-year contract was guaranteed — another extreme rarity in professional football. When Renaldo joined the ranks of gridiron gladiators, what set him apart from the average free agent or draft pick out of college was that he was already an international superstar. Everybody knew his name, even people who didn’t follow track. After signing, he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, with the cover photo being of him clearing a hurdle while carrying a football in a 49er uniform. Meanwhile, the 49er team he was joining had just won the Super Bowl the year before, so they were stacked with talent. At Renaldo’s position, wide receiver, they had Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon, and the offense was led by quarterback Joe Montana, known as “Joe Cool” because of his ability to lead miraculous comebacks without hardly breaking a sweat. The team had a lot of weapons on offense during the years Renaldo was there. Besides the players just mentioned, they also had two running backs — Wendell Tyler and Roger Craig — who were equally adept at running the ball and catching the ball out of the backfield. Plus, the starting tight end, Russ Francis, had played several All Pro years with the New England Patriots before joining the 49ers. 

So Renaldo’s role in the offense was to stretch the field with his speed. The 49ers’ coach, Bill Walsh, had created a system that featured a short passing game in which the skill position players could use their athleticism to gain yards after the catch. When defenses would key on the short passing game and the running game, Renaldo could be inserted into the lineup for a big pass play. His very presence on the field made it easier for the other receivers to get open, as defenses had to respect his speed. 

Although Renaldo did have some success as a receiver, and even though he did play a cameo role on their 1984 Super Bowl team, he never achieved anywhere near the level of success that he had achieved on the track. Part of the reason had to do with the fact that Walsh, who admired Renaldo’s unmatched athleticism and respected his status as one of the greatest athletes in the world, was very protective of him and very cautious about using him. In Renaldo’s first training camp, Walsh wouldn’t allow the defensive players to hit Renaldo, saying he was “off limits.” In games, he only used Renaldo situationally, with the bulk of the playing time going to Clark, Solomon and slot receiver Mike Wilson.

Walsh’s fear of Renaldo getting seriously injured or maimed was not unfounded. In a 1983 game against the Atlanta Falcons, Renaldo got “lit up” by Falcon safety Kenny Johnson while running a crossing route. The Falcons were in a mixed coverage on the play. The cornerback on Renaldo was playing man-to-man, but the defensive backs on the other side of the field were in a zone. So when Renaldo crossed the field and caught the ball, he kept running instead of turning around and “sitting,” as he would’ve done if he had realized Johnson was in zone coverage. When the ball hit Renaldo’s hands, Johnson hit Renaldo with a booming blow that knocked him unconscious before he even hit the ground. 

That play marked the beginning of the end of Renaldo’s professional football career. Walsh become even more cautious in putting Renaldo on the field, and Renaldo’s injuries started piling up. The worst injury came in a preseason game in the 1985 season, when he tore two discs in his spine and had to miss the whole season. Meanwhile, the 49ers had drafted wide receiver Jerry Rice out of Mississippi Valley State, who would go on to have a very good rookie season and then go on to have a legendary career. 

Tired of being injured so often and tired of not playing as much as he would’ve liked when he wasn’t injured, Renaldo made the decision after the 1985 season to return to track and field, which by that time was allowing professionalism both nationally and internationally. Many people in the track world said, and still say to this day, that Renaldo never should’ve left track to begin with. Professionalism entered the sport right after he left, and he would’ve gotten paid on a level equal to or higher than the likes of contemporaries like Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses. But there was no way that Renaldo could’ve known that such a development would take place in track and field when he signed with the 49ers. As it stands, he and “Bullet” Bob Hayes are the only athletes to have owned a world record in track and field and to have earned a Super Bowl ring in the NFL. There’s a give and take to everything, and Renaldo harbors no regrets about his decision to make the leap to professional football, even if his time in the league wasn’t a major success.

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