Then, in late September, Lott and Craig beat their former team, with the Raiders grinding out a tense, physical 12-6 victory in front of 91,494 fans.
Having dropped to 2-3 after losing to their former (and future) Bay Area rivals, San Francisco had issues. With Joe Montana sidelined by a season-ending elbow injury, replacement Steve Young had struggled against a rugged Raiders defense.
When a 49ers official hastily whisked the still-wet Lott past us and into the locker room, it seemed peculiar. Naturally, Lott still had lots of friends on the Niners, but why would he be rushing into their lair, practically naked, so soon after the game?
Later, we found out why: Charles Haley, the 49ers' prolific and capricious pass rusher, had not reacted well to the defeat. He went on a locker-room tirade against Young (among others), screaming, "Joe would have won this game in his sleep!" As coaches and teammates tried to calm Haley, he grew increasingly angry and emotional, at one point yanking an IV needle out of his arm, causing blood to spurt everywhere.
Desperate to stop the madness, a 49ers official dashed across a Coliseum hallway in search of the one man he knew could control Haley: Lott, the 49ers' longtime defensive leader. Told upon reaching the Raiders' locker room that Lott was in the shower, the official was undeterred.
Informed that he was needed immediately, Lott grabbed a towel and quickly made his way to his old team's locker room, where he calmed Haley and defused the situation.
