NFL rosters are filled with players who never make the Pro Bowl yet provide invaluable insight and playmaking ability week in and week out. Gary Plummer was one of those players. Twice, he was passed over for a scholarship, yet he was named the Pac-10's best defensive lineman. He had to go through a now-defunct Spring League to get any interest from the NFL, yet he promptly led his team in tackles. His quiet determination paid off when the 49ers included him in their star-studded free-agency haul that resulted in a Super Bowl victory. This is his resilient story.
The Early Years
Gary Plummer was born in Fremont, California on January 26, 1960. As one of nine siblings, he spent many afternoons playing football with his older brothers, sharpening his skills and toughening his demeanor. He played well as a linebacker for Mission San Jose High School, but was surrounded with 12 other teammates who were deemed worthier for a college scholarship.
He spent little time griping and complaining about the slight and played his heart out for nearby Ohlone College over the next two years. Still, he never received a scholarship offer and took a year off from school before walking on at Cal. However, his misfortune continued as the linebacker room was filled with quality players, none bigger than future Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl champion Ron Rivera.
So Plummer got into a three-point stance and played Division-I football as an undersized (6'1" 210 lbs) nose tackle. Although Cal stumbled through a miserable 2-9 1981, new coach Joe Kapp brought positive energy to the sidelines in 1982. Plummer more than held his own that senior year, finishing as the conference's best defensive lineman while the Golden Bears finished 7-4 and beat Stanford on one of the most memorable plays in the sport's history. With a degree in nutrition science in hand, Gary Plummer looked to the future, yearning to play for as long as he possibly could.
The Invaders
Gary Plummer was in luck. Having been left undrafted, a new football league was starting up in the Spring of 1983 and both his old defensive coordinator, Ron Lynn, and linebackers coach Mike Haluchak had recently been hired by the Oakland Invaders.
Plummer was nervous when he went to the tryout and wasn't sure he had stood out among the 55 other linebackers on the field. It wasn't until head coach John Ralston called him after the event to inform him of his success that Plummer knew just how well he had performed.
Still, having spent two years with his hands in the dirt, his skills as a linebacker were rusty. Plummer spent a lot of long nights and early mornings alone with Haluchak going over the techniques and the playbook and spending the rest of the time watching hours upon hours of film. He wanted to master his craft.
The Invaders finished their inaugural season 9-9, good enough for first place in the Pacific Division. After going the entire season playing in front of crowds 20,000 strong, they played in front of a crowd three times that size when they lost to the Michigan Panthers 37-21 at the Pontiac Silverdome to end their season in the first round of the playoffs.
After a forgettable 1984, the Panthers merged with the Invaders, sending many of their best players to Oakland. With future Pro Bowl receiver Anthony Carter and the fantastic running back duo of Albert Bentley and John Williams now on the roster, the Invaders made it all the way to the USFL championship game where they lost to the Baltimore Stars. After that game, the league folded and Gary Plummer was out of work.
San Diego
After several months of waiting, Gary Plummer finally got a call from the San Diego Chargers requesting his services at training camp. While he made a big enough impression on the coaches (including his old defensive coordinator from the Invaders, Ron Lynn, who held the same role with the Chargers), the other players were less than thrilled to have the USFL castoff. All he could do was what he had done all his life, role up his sleeves and work tirelessly at his craft. He would earn his teammate's respect one play at a time. He led the team with 98 tackles that first year while sacking the quarterback two and a half times and forcing a fumble. He remained consistent over the next couple of years and by 1989 easily led the team with a career best 146 tackles.
Still, despite his best efforts, San Diego was directionless without their once stellar offense led by Dan Fouts who had retired after the 1987 season. The Chargers needed something more than just the quiet reliability of Gary Plummer. They needed a voice. They got that in spades when they drafted local icon Junior Seau in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft. He and Plummer naturally gravitated towards each other, two gym rats dedicated to making themselves better while striving to lead the team to the Super Bowl.
Two years later, the Chargers finally made the playoffs and even shutout the division rival Chiefs in the Wild Card Round. However, they were shutout themselves in Miami the following week. Despite their best efforts, the Chargers never had much firepower on offense in those days. They were strictly a defensive team. At this point of his career, Gary Plummer began to realize just how quickly time was passing him by. Was he ever going to reach the Super Bowl?
San Francisco
In the Spring of 1994, the San Francisco 49ers had hit a crossroads. After losing in the NFC Championship Game to the Dallas Cowboys in back to back years, they knew that time was running short on their core group of players.. They knew that they had the talent to win it all, but they also knew that they didn't have enough to get over the hump.
So they spent that offseason going on a shopping spree, signing big name veterans to shore up a weak defensive unit. Player such as Deion Sanders and Ken Norton Jr. came on short-term deals, knowing full well that they were in San Francisco for one reason: to beat Dallas in January. Even though he had never been recognized as one of the league's best, the 49ers liked what they saw on tape and signed Gary Plummer, adding him to the very long list of free agent signings.
With stars swirling all around him, Plummer was simply a role player that year, providing intelligence to the linebacker's room while contributing 64 tackles and an interception of his own while the rest of the team tore through their schedule. At the end of the year, they had beaten the Cowboys not only once, but twice, showing the world how much better they were than everyone else that year.
The 49ers marched all the way to the Super Bowl where they faced of all teams, the San Diego Chargers. Gary Plummer's old team. Like he had all year, Plummer made a few tackles (four) while the rest of his teammates dominated the Chargers to the tune of 49-26. At long last, Gary Plummer was a Super Bowl champion.
Later Years
After retiring in 1997, Gary Plummer worked as a color analyst for the 49ers for 13 years. But behind the scenes, a dark cloud began to emerge. He had suffered numerous concussions during his 12-year career, but never paid them much mind until Junior Seau took his own life in May 2012.
From then on, Gary Plummer was a different person. He battled back from the depths of depression, undergoing numerous neurological tests to determine what exactly is wrong with his brain. He's invested time and energy in yoga and other exercises that focus on improving his cognitive ability. He remains one of the most outspoken individuals for the safety of the game.
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