{"id":170366,"date":"2026-04-19T21:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/170366\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T21:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:36:10","slug":"picture-perfect-career-herald-standard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/170366\/","title":{"rendered":"Picture perfect career – Herald-Standard"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Work by NFL photographer shown at Pittsburgh gallery <\/p>\n

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Michael Zagaris, now 81, first started photographing professional football games when he was a teenager. [Pittsburgh Cultural Trust]\n<\/p>\n

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Memorabilia from Michael Zagaris\u2019 long career photographing professional football games are on display in \u201cMichael Zagaris: 60 Years of NFL Photography\u201d at the 707 Gallery. [Pittsburgh Cultural Trust]\n<\/p>\n

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Bill Walsh and Joe Montana during the fourth quarter of the 1985 NFC title game at San Francisco\u2019s Candlestick Park. [Michael Zagaris]\n<\/p>\n

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Lynn Swann of the Pittsburgh Steelers catching the winning touchdown in the 1974 AFC Championship game against the Oakland Raiders. [Michael Zagaris]\n<\/p>\n

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That guy in the Dos Equis beer ads might be the Most Interesting Man in the World, but Michael Zagaris could well be a close second.<\/p>\n

He was at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the night in 1968 when Robert Kennedy was assassinated and slipped on Kennedy\u2019s blood. He lived with Peter Frampton and his wife in London for a while, and hobnobbed with George Harrison. He had a firsthand view of 1970s rock and roll decadence when he went out on the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd.<\/p>\n

But even though Zagaris can happily regale you with tales about classic rock legends and political royalty, his first love and lifelong passion has been sports photography. He got his first taste of it when he was in high school when he would use discarded press passes to get onto the field at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco to snap photos of the 49ers. He eventually became the team\u2019s official photographer and, as a result, took photos of gridiron legends who were part of the 49ers and the teams that opposed them. Zagaris was able to get up close to the likes of Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Franco Harris and Vince Lombardi when they were on the field or pacing on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

According to Zagaris, \u201cI still love what I do.\u201d <\/p>\n

His photos may capture the grit and sweat of the playing field, but they can now be examined in the tidier, more rarefied world of art galleries. The exhibit, \u201cMichael Zagrais: 60 Years of NFL Photography,\u201d is being presented at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust\u2019s 707 Gallery at 707 Penn Ave. It\u2019s there to coincide with the NFL Draft, which gets underway in Point State Park and outside Acrisure Stadium Thursday. <\/p>\n

While in Pittsburgh in late March, the 81-year-old Zegaris talked expansively about his work, which has also been captured in a book, \u201cField of Play: 60 Years of NFL Photography,\u201d published in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to get on the field,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

That first happened when he was a teenager in the early 1960s. Seeing press passes that had been cast aside, Zagaris grabbed one, and decided to use it and bring his camera with him to an upcoming game. He wore appropriate attire, made sure he looked like he belonged and no one bothered him. The only time police grew suspicious, he told them he was working on a book and asked the officers to pose for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, you\u2019d be thrown out of the stadium and probably arrested,\u201d Zagaris said. \u201cI wanted to be in the show. If I couldn\u2019t play in the league, I wanted to be the next best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He played football and baseball in college, and worked in Kennedy\u2019s Senate office. While attending law school at George Washington University, he helped out on Kennedy\u2019s 1968 presidential campaign. On the dais with Kennedy after he declared victory in the California Democratic primary, Zagaris was trailing behind Kennedy when the shots rang out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they were firecrackers,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s death a little more than a day after he was shot was a pivotal moment for Zagaris. He grew disillusioned with law school and politics, read Aldous Huxley\u2019s \u201cThe Doors of Perception,\u201d dropped acid and dropped out. He snapped some photos at San Francisco rock concerts when the likes of The Who and the Grateful Dead were playing at venues like the Fillmore West and the Winterland Ballroom, and when he showed Eric Clapton some of his work while they were sharing hashish, the guitarist was so impressed he told Zagaris he should move to London and be part of the city\u2019s rock scene.<\/p>\n

It was there that he stayed with Frampton and his then-wife, Mary Lovett. Though Frampton\u2019s commercial breakthrough was still a handful of years away, he was acquainted with most of the key players in British music, including Harrison.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge was my favorite Beatle,\u201d Zagaris noted. \u201cLike so many other people, they\u2019re just people who just happen to be good at what they do. They\u2019re just people.\u201d<\/p>\n

He eventually migrated back to California, where he finagled his way into snapping more photos of San Francisco 49ers games. By 1973, he was the team\u2019s official photographer, and attained a similar role for the across-the-bay Oakland A\u2019s in 1981. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d played baseball and football all through college,\u201d Zagaris said. \u201cWe were all the same age. It was just like young guys going out and playing. I didn\u2019t feel any separation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, his work was seen by readers of Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated. All told, Zagaris snapped images at 34 Super Bowls and 12 World Series.<\/p>\n

The realms of both sports and popular music have changed seismically since he first aimed his camera at quarterbacks and guitar slingers six decades ago, Zagaris acknowledges. \u201cIt was a different world,\u201d he lamented. \u201cNothing was corporatized, the way it is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Zagaris isn\u2019t interested in putting away his camera and watching games purely as a spectator.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still doing it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll listen to my body and I\u2019ll keep doing it as long as it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael Zagaris: 60 Years of NFL Photography\u201d will be at the 707 Gallery through Nov. 8. For information, go online to trustarts.org.<\/p>\n


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