Editor’s note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now.
Kay McFarland once had to weigh Green River, Wyo., against San Francisco, and it wasn’t an automatic choice.
Green River didn’t have the Golden Gate Bridge, but it had a coaching and teaching job that was his for the taking. But San Francisco offered a chance, though not a sure thing, to play for the 49ers.
The odds may have made Green River the better choice, but the NFL team had drafted him and wanted him to try out at wide receiver.
The problem was McFarland had mainly played basketball, at Colorado State. He would have jumped at the chance to play in the National Industrial Basketball League for either the Phillips 66 Oilers or the Denver-Chicago Truckers.
But anyone who knew McFarland’s competitive drive from his playing days at Englewood High School and CSU could guess he’d be on his way to the City by the Bay.
“I asked them if they could hold the (coaching) job open because I’d only be out there for a couple of weeks and coming back in need of a job,” McFarland said. “At that time, the chance with the 49ers seemed like a better deal. It was about $2,000 more money, but I wasn’t thinking that I’d end up playing pro football.”
Green River didn’t hold the job but McFarland played seven seasons for the 49ers, for coaches Red Hickey, Jack Christiansen and Dick Nolan.
While his memories include some big games against the Dallas Cowboys, a 1968 preseason game also stands out because it was against the Broncos at the old DU Stadium.
With the merger of the AFL and the NFL underway in 1967, the Broncos had beaten the Detroit Lions 13-7 at DU Stadium. Before the game, Detroit’s Alex Karras said he would walk home if the lowly Broncos beat the Lions.
McFarland picked up on the boast the next year, but faced only a short jaunt home from Evans to Hampden avenues. It became a moot point – the 49ers won 22-6 in the last pro game at DU Stadium.
Dave Parks and Bernie Casey were the two established receivers, but quarterback John Brodie noted assistant coach Y.A. Tittle called McFarland “the best third man in the business.”
McFarland’s athletic prowess was well-documented in Englewood. He became one of the state’s best athletes and gained every all-star team recognition possible in football and basketball, including All-American status. He won state titles in the long jump and as a member of the 880-yard relay team.
At CSU, McFarland played basketball for coach Jim Williams. Some of his teammates were Bill Green, Larry Hoffner from Greeley and Chuck Newcomb from Denver East. The Rams tied for the Skyline Conference title in 1961.
“I enjoyed basketball and playing in the NIT,” McFarland said. “I would have loved to play industrial league basketball, but I never was asked.”
He hadn’t played a game of football at CSU, but the 49ers drafted him in the 18th round in 1961, his senior year. The draft selection prompted McFarland to stay at CSU for one quarter in the fall of 1962 to pick up needed credits to graduate and play football for coach Don Mullison.
During his collegiate career, McFarland earned seven letters, three each in basketball and track and field and one in football.
At one time, his mother, Edith McFarland, wasn’t a fan of him playing football.
“No one played sports in my family,” McFarland said. “My mom was adverse to me playing football, and I didn’t go out at the beginning of my (high school) sophomore year.”
Two years later, McFarland scored two touchdowns and passed for another as Englewood beat Lakewood 33-14 in the semifinals of the Class AA state playoffs.
His late start still led to the NFL, and his seven-year stay qualified for the league’s pension plan.
“I’m making more in retirement than I did playing,” McFarland said. “Tell me how that works.”
McFarland turned to private business after the 1968 NFL season. He worked in the insurance business while playing, and when he turned 30, he decided it was time to leave.
Before retiring last spring, McFarland was the CEO of a dental service plan for 16 years.
“It was comparable to winning the Super Bowl for me,” McFarland said. “We took something from nothing, and 16 years later we have 92,000 people in the plan.”
At 68, McFarland remains a sports fan, but mainly watches football games at Englewood and CSU. He believes he would have made a good coach if he had gone to Green River.
“I don’t enjoy going to pro games because I can’t appreciate the money those guys are getting paid,” McFarland said. “I found a ticket from when I was playing and the cost of admission was $4.25.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
