Michael Zagaris (born February 22, 1945) is an American sports and rock and roll photographer known for his work on the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, and the 1970s Rock & Roll scene.

Early life and education

Born in Chicago, Michael Zagaris moved to

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

as a toddler. Before 7th grade, in 1957, he moved with his family north to

Redding, California Redding is a city in and the county seat of Shasta County, California, and the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, California, Sacrame ...

and attended St. Joseph School. While living in Redding, Zagaris boarded at

Bellarmine College Preparatory Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-boys, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded on May 8, 1851, it is the oldest Jesuit secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. ...

and later returned to attend Enterprise High School. Zagaris played both baseball and football while attending

Shasta College Shasta College is a public community college in Redding, California, with branch campuses in Burney, Weaverville, and Red Bluff. It was founded in 1950 and later moved to a much larger campus while the original campus became the new locatio ...

, where his skills as a wide receiver of the football team earned him a scholarship to

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. Zagaris graduated from George Washington University in 1967 and enrolled in Santa Clara Law School. In Law School, Zagaris worked as a speechwriter for Senator

Bobby Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yor ...

. Zagaris' whole life changed when he witnessed Senator Kennedy's assassination.

Rock & Roll Photography

After dropping out of Law School after one year, Zagaris began to embrace his photography hobby, finding ways to get on the field at 49ers games and backstage at concerts. While reviewing some of Zagaris' photos after a concert,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

advised Zagaris to pursue photography as a steady gig. Throughout the 1970s, Zagaris would photograph some of the popular bands of all time, including

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world music with psyc ...

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

, Blondie,

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, and

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

Sports Photography

While in high school, Zagaris used to take discarded press passes from the field at

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium () is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, United States, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It serves as the home of San Francisco City FC of USL League Two ...

and use them to gain access to the field to take photographs of the San Francisco 49ers. After years of finding his way onto the field, the 49ers made Zagaris the official team photographer in 1973. In 1981, Walter Haas bought the

and Zagaris was brought in as their official team photographer. In the years since, Zagaris has photographed 34

Super Bowls The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

, 12

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, and 14 MLB All-Star Games. His sports photography has graced the covers of

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

and

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

. Zagaris' sports photography is famous for its intimacy, as he gives the viewer a rare look behind the scenes in the clubhouse and the locker room to see a different side of the team.

Books

* * * * * * * * * *

Filmography

Personal life

Zagaris has lived in the

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called the Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the countercultu ...

neighborhood in San Francisco since 1973, with his girlfriend Kristin Sundbom.Michael Zagaris
RockPaperPhoto.com. Their son Ari Zagaris is an actor.Ari Zagaris
IMDb.com.

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. Noted for his reverb-laden rockabilly revivalist style and wide vocal range, he is popularly known for his breakthrough hit and sig ...

babysat Ari. While growing up in Redding, Zagaris played sandlot baseball at

Buck Martinez John Albert "Buck" Martinez (born November 7, 1948) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television color commentator for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

's house and American Legion baseball for the 1963 Redding Tigers, managed by

Joe Hatten Joseph Hilarian Hatten (November 7, 1916 – December 16, 1988) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 233 games pitched in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs from 1946 to mid-1952. Born in ...

, with future major leaguer

Bill Plummer William Francis Plummer (March 21, 1947 – March 12, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher in 1968 and then from 1970 to 1978, most notably as a ...

and Gene Parent, father of Mark Parent.The joy of day baseball in The City
ManginPhotography.net.

References

External links

Official Instagram
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Michael Zagaris Album Photography - DiscogsMichael Zagaris Album Photography - All Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagaris, Michael 1945 births Living people American photojournalists American sports photographers Journalists from San Francisco George Washington University alumni Bellarmine College Preparatory alumni People from Redding, California