VISIT THE CANYON INN RESTAURANT

by Dan Brown

I If you want to have a “Hacksaw Burger” the way Hacksaw Reynolds actually ate his, you’ve got to douse your double-cheeseburger with Tabasco Sauce.

If you want a burger the way Bob St. Clair ate his, make sure the chef doesn’t actually cook it. St. Clair liked his meat raw.

And those who have delicate stomachs – or good sense – can still enjoy at The Canyon Inn Restaurant, an eclectic family-style joint in Redwood City where Joe Montana, Dwight Clark and other stars from the 1980s dynasty would come for a post-victory meal.

This is part eatery, part time-machine: The walls are speckled with snapshots, autographs, newspaper clippings and letters from some of football’s most famous names. It’s the kind of place where you might find an old NFL contract autographed by Paul Brown tucked under the counter near the pizza oven.

And if the vintage photos aren’t enough to bring memories to life, there’s a reasonable chance a former 49ers player will be there in the flesh. On the day I visited with former 49ers PR director Jerry Walker to do research for this book, Tim Anderson, the team’s first-round draft pick from 1971, happened to stop by. So did Alyn Beals, Jr., whose father led the All-America Football Conference in receptions as a member of the original 1946 49ers.

The Canyon Inn was established in 1973. But the restaurant, like the team, really took off in 1981. Shortly before training camp that season, 49ers executive John McVay stopped by the restaurant for lunch. Owner and founder Tim Harrison introduced himself and told McVay he wanted to host a 49ers season-kickoff rally.

McVay directed him to former 49ers star R.C. Owens, who by then working in the team’s community relations department. Owens told Harrison that players would come to the restaurant for a rally --- but only if they got something in return.

So Harrison came up with a promotional deal for the players: Win a game, get a voucher for free meal. It hardly seemed like a financial risk. The 49ers had gone 2-14, 2-14 and 6-10 over the previous three seasons.

But Harrison got an inkling of what was to come almost immediately. He was listening to a Week 2 game on the radio when Ray Wersching drilled a last-second kick against the Chicago Bears to give the 49ers their win.

Harrison turned to his girlfriend and asked, “Do you think anybody will show up?” The next day, players were lined up out the door, still in their practice sweatpants and waiting for their burgers.

The 49ers would go to finish 16-3 (including the playoffs) that season and apparently worked up quite an appetite along the way. Offensive linemen would come in and gorge on burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and maybe even the occasional salad. But they weren’t the worst. Harrison still remembers a low-level assistant coach who turned the Canyon Inn into his personal all-you-can-eat buffet.

Let’s do the math. Sixteen victories multiplied by more than 50 players equals? “It bet it was bout $10,000’’ Harris said. “And that was 30-years-ago money.”

Harris said he didn’t mind, though. For one thing, he made a commitment and never though about backing out. For another, the payoff to the Canyon Inn has been priceless. On the day after “The Catch,’’ for example, Clark came in for a burger. He used those famous fingertips – fresh off hauling in Montana ’s pass – to sign a San Francisco Chronicle sports page that now hangs above one of the booths.

Players continued to frequent the place for years because it was about two miles from the team’s former headquarters.

The restaurant remains located at 587 Canyon Road in Redwood City (www.canyoninn.com) In fact, it’s just a stone’s throw away from the “The Hill,’’ the famous Roger Craig-Jerry Rice training ground detailed in Chapter XX.

It’s the perfect place to go burn off those Hacksaw Burgers.