By Cam Inman/San Jose Mercury News

Charles Haley heads into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with an NFL-record five Super Bowl rings. But the lord of the rings also carries with him countless tales of disobedience and disturbing behaviour. Such issues ultimately led the 49ers to ditch the elite pass rusher, trading him in 1992 to the rival Dallas Cowboys for two draft picks.
“I know some of my actions and behavior would seem to close a lot of doors,” Haley said, reflecting on his career during a recent conference call.
On Saturday, Haley will walk through the cherished doors in Canton, Ohio, for enshrinement into the Hall of Fame. A finalist each of the previous five years, Haley finally was elected Jan. 31, becoming the 23rd member of the 49ers to join football’s ultimate fraternity.
His off-field drama aside, Haley wouldn’t be a Hall of Famer if not for the lessons he learned in the first of his two stints with the 49ers, from 1986-91. A fourth-round draft pick from James Madison, Haley joined a 49ers dynasty. His 12 sacks as a rookie were followed by Super Bowl wins on their 1988 and ‘89 teams, under coaches Bill Walsh and then George Seifert.
“I had two of the best coaches there. I played with some of the best teammates ever,” recalled Haley, who finished with 100{ career sacks and was selected to five Pro Bowls. “They were the hardest-working men that I’ve ever been around in my life. “They pushed me to new limits and new heights, and they gave me the vision to be a champion.” After winning three more rings in five seasons with Dallas (1992-96), Haley resurfaced with the 49ers for their 1998 season’s playoff run (two games) and the 1999 season (three sacks).
Eddie DeBartolo will present Haley for induction, having done the same for Walsh (1993), Joe Montana (2000), Fred Dean (2008) and Jerry Rice (2010).
Haley can’t think of his 49ers days without recalling Walsh’s mentorship, which lasted up to the coach’s 2007 death. That affection from Walsh - and now the Pro Football Hall of Fame - has Haley in disbelief.
“I keep looking back and ask God, ‘Why do you test me like you do when I’ve done so many dumb things?’ “ Haley said. “Bill, why would you care about me like this? I was there only three years with you?”
Haley’s initial 49ers tenure ended just before the 1992 season, after more unruly behaviour that, 10 years later, could be explained by his bipolar-disorder diagnosis.
Haley’s barrage of verbal abuse, sexual harassment and insubordination were detailed in Jeff Pearlman’s 2008 book, “Boys Will Be Boys.” Among the book’s allegations are: Haley urinated into then-teammate Tim Harris’ BMW; Haley took a swing at Seifert after a 1991 loss at the Los Angeles Raiders; and Haley threw soiled toilet paper at defensive line coach John Marshall in a meeting.
“As I tell kids, when I went into the NFL, I was a 22-year-old athlete that had an 11-year-old kid inside of me crying for help, but I refused to ask for it,” Haley said. “People who saw me knew I needed help. I was too dumb or weak to ask for it.”
“He was a grown man but he acted like a little kid,” teammate Roger Craig wrote in his 2004 book, “Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline. He had conflicts with everyone.”
Apologizing for past mistakes isn’t atop Haley’s to-do list. “The thing I do is I just let people watch the way I am now and try to be a friend,” Haley said. “How many times can you tell people you’re sorry? The thing people want to know is if you’ve changed, and I have.”