Monty Stickles

Montford Anthony Stickles (August 16, 1938 – September 3, 2006) was an American professional football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints. A first round draft pick in the 1960 NFL draft, Stickles was a sure-handed receiver and rugged — and sometimes dirty — blocker who carved out a nine year NFL career.

As a collegian at Notre Dame, Stickles was twice recognized as an All-American, achieving consensus status as a senior in 1959.

Early life

Monty Stickles was born in Kingston, New York, on August 16, 1938, and grew up in Pughkeepsie, the son of Frances and Montfort Stickles. He was a graduate of Poughkeepsie High School.

College career

Stickles played End (offensive) and kicked extra points for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1957 to 1959, wearing number 80. As a collegian he stood 6'4" tall and weighed 215 pounds and gained a place on the Notre Dame squad as a three-year starter.

In 1957, he had 11 catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns.

Professional career

Stickles was the first-round-draft-pick of the San Francisco 49ers, who made him the 11th pick of the 1960 NFL draft. He also was chosen in the first round by the Los Angeles Chargers of the newly formed American Football League (AFL) in 1960.

Stickles got his career off to a fast start, snagging eight passes in his debut game against the New York Giants. He finished the 1960 season fourth on the team among receivers, with 22 catches for 252 years. From 1961 to 1966, Stickles would play in all but two games for the 49ers, starting in every game save four. He also did play-by-play commentary of basketball games for the University of San Francisco on local station KEST in 1968, before moving to the big station KGO to work as an analyst for California Golden Bears football and Oakland Raiders games. Giants relief pitcher Gary Lavelle was returning from injury, Robinson had inserted him in a game, and Lavelle had been shelled. Stickles asked Robinson whether he might have brought him back too soon. "Frank went fucking crazy," Stickles said. "We had to bleep him 23 times in 56 seconds."

Robinson would be fired later that year.

In 1985, Stickles left the world of broadcasting to take a lucrative job selling beer for a prominent Bay Area distributor. He would remain at that post for 20 years, retiring in September 2004.

Death and legacy

Stickles died September 3, 2006, of heart failure following a brief illness in Oakland, California.

Never a star but a regular throughout his NFL career, Stickles was remembered as a sure-handed receiver and a rugged blocker, with a dirty streak anticipating the infamous St. Louis Cardinals lineman Conrad Dobler. When his daughter Jessica Stickles Mattos heard such a comment in the press box about her father, she took umbrage, only to have her father later admit the merit of the remark with the words, "They were right, I do play dirty."

His teammate R.C. Owens remembered Stickles as an enforcer "who would come to the defense of his teammates." Owens recalled that "these linebackers, who were some of the game's toughest, would always be looking for No. 85 of the 49ers. He was going against guys like Deacon Jones. He would get head-slapped and clothes-lined. He had to be tough."

"He was a package," recalled former 49ers announcer Lon Simmons. "He used to cheap-shot the linebacker. Then he'd tell the official to watch the guy. The linebacker would retaliate and he'd get thrown out."

He was remembered by daughter as "a devoted father" and "an eclectic person". "As a father, he was great," she told the San Francisco Chronicle at the time of his death. "He collected art, he was a gourmet chef, he loved jazz music." Himself a musician, Stickles played drums as a hobby.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1969 Number One Himself 1974 Freebie and the Bean Texas Brawler (final film role)