Sports and Music Photographs by Michael Zagaris to Auction

A collection of Type 1 photographs from the personal collection of longtime official photographer of the San Francisco 49ers Michael Zagaris will go under the hammer at Heritage Auctions' Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction running August 21-23.

The 27-lot Michael Zagaris Collection features photographs of Joe Montana, Bill Walsh, John Madden and Ken Stabler, as well as musicians including The Who and the Rolling Stones.

A Type 1 photograph is a first-generation print developed directly from the original negative within approximately two years of when the photo was taken.

“I wanted to be at every game,” said Zagaris, “and much like a wartime photographer, it wasn’t enough to take the pictures. I wanted to live it, I wanted to be part of it, I wanted to bear witness.

“That’s how I started, and when Bill Walsh became coach of the 49ers, I approached him. I knew he was a man of letters, he was a student of history, and I pitched him that I thought he was going to do great things. I thought it was important to document this, not just for the team and for the league, but for history. I wanted to shoot it as a presidential photographer would shoot it, but in order to do that, I would have to have total access, be on the buses, on the plane, in the locker room, pregame, halftime, postgame. I want to be able to record it all.”

Zagaris became the 49ers’ team photographer in 1973 and took on the same title for the Athletics in 1971. He covered more than 40 Super Bowls and 12 World Series, as well as performances and behind-the-scenes images from musicians like the Stones, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, The Clash, and Blondie.