San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a National Football League team that plays in San Francisco, California. The 49ers were founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC merged into the older league. Frequently referred to as the "Niners", they share the record for most Super Bowl victories (5) with the Dallas Cowboys. The team's headquarters and practice facility are located in Santa Clara, California.

Franchise history

The San Francisco 49ers have the distinction of being the first major-league professional sports franchise on the West Coast. The 49ers entered professional football in 1946 and matured, nationally and locally, when the club was granted a National League franchise in 1950.

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The team earned its name from the surge of goldminers to the San Francisco area during 1849, thus the nickname the San Francisco 49ers. It is the only name the team has been affiliated with and San Francisco is the only city in which it has resided.

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The 49ers won five Super Bowls, four in the 1980s, and are considered The Team of the Eighties (the team had never won an NFL or Super Bowl championship prior, and had never even won a division title until 1970). They won XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV, and XXIX. During that decade, the team neglected to make the playoffs only twice — in 1980, and again in the strike-shortened 1982 season which saw them go 0-5 at home and 3-1 on the road — the only time in NFL history that a team went winless at home while winning more than half its away games in the same season.

Related Topics:
Super Bowls - 1980s - 1970 - XVI - XIX - XXIII - XXIV - XXIX - 1980 - 1982

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The team was led in its turnaround from late 1970s doormat by new owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. and head coach Bill Walsh. The former head coach of Stanford University made excellent draft picks, picked up key free agents or players released by other teams, and "invented" the 'West Coast offense' (actually created by 1960s L.A. / San Diego coach Sid Gillman, and developed by Sid Luckman and San Diego State coach Don Coryell; Walsh refined and won Super Bowls with it). During their first Super Bowl run the team was known for its short-range passing game and the play-making ability of quarterback Joe Montana. Later, they became dominant in all aspects of the game, featuring a dominant defense (always in the offense's shadow) and a fast-scoring passing attack (with wide-receiver Jerry Rice). Some other famous 49ers include Steve Young, Ronnie Lott, Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig, Fred Dean, Eric Wright, Dwight Hicks, Deion Sanders, and Ricky Watters; there are many others. Since DeBartolo, Jr.'s departure, the team has had a policy of releasing star players a year too early, rather than a year too late (to avoid paying the pricey final years of back-loaded contracts). This NFL salary cap-inspired process has led to some of their stars finishing their careers with other teams, for example Joe Montana spent his last few years with the Kansas City Chiefs. After retiring from coaching in the early 1990's, Bill Walsh remained with the 49ers as a special consultant to ownership on player and coaching decisions, and as its occasional public frontman.

Related Topics:
1970s - Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. - Bill Walsh - Stanford University - West Coast offense - Sid Gillman - Sid Luckman - Don Coryell - Joe Montana - Steve Young - Ronnie Lott - Dwight Clark - Jerry Rice - Roger Craig - Fred Dean - Eric Wright - Dwight Hicks - Deion Sanders - Ricky Watters - Salary cap - Kansas City Chiefs

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In the late 1990s Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. was involved in a corruption investigation regarding Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards and one of his Mississippi riverboat casinos. DeBartolo later pled guilty to a failure to report a felony charge. As a part of the fallout, he transferred controlling interest in the team to his sister and brother-in-law, Denise and Dr. John York. DeBartolo surprisingly resurfaced in 1999 as part-owner of the expansion version of the Cleveland Browns (the previous owners had relocated the franchise, but the NFL reserved the team's name and lineage for a new franchise promised to the city).

Related Topics:
1990s - Corruption - Louisiana - Governor - Edwin Edwards - Mississippi - Riverboat - Casino

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In 2002 they produced the second-greatest comeback in NFL playoff history by coming back from a 24 point deficit (14-38) and winning 39-38 against the New York Giants behind amazing games by then-49ers Jeff Garcia (quarterback) and Terrell Owens (wide receiver). They lost their subsequent game to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This would be, to date, the last post-season appearance for the 49ers. Following the season, head coach Steve Mariucci -- whose published statements about his degree of power in the organization had frayed already-strained relations with management -- was fired, despite a winning record. The replacement, former Seattle Seahawks (1995-1998: a 31-33 record over 4 seasons) and Oregon State (1999-2001: 31-17 with 3 bowl games; the program had 28 straight losing seasons prior) head coach Dennis Erickson was signed to a five-year contract.

Related Topics:
Jeff Garcia - Terrell Owens - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Steve Mariucci - Dennis Erickson

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The period since the 2001 season has been disastrous for the 49ers: injuries; a weak offensive line; inconsistent defense. Although they finished the 2003 season with a losing record of 7-9, Erickson was retained as coach for the 2004 season.

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On September 26, 2004, the Niners were shut out 34-0 by the Seattle Seahawks, their first such loss in 420 regular season and 36 playoff games, a league record. The last shutout had been 27 years ago in 1977 — they were defeated 7-0 by Atlanta at what was then known as Candlestick Park. The 49ers had several chances to score in the fourth quarter, but an interception and a fumble recovery sealed their fate in this game.

Related Topics:
September 26 - 2004 - Seattle Seahawks - 1977 - Atlanta

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During the 2004 season, rumors that the Yorks might sell the team began spreading. Larry Ellison and NFL Hall of Fame ex-quarterback Steve Young have been the names most commonly rumored as potential buyers. The 49ers would finish that season with a record of 2-14, their second consecutive losing season (and finishing last in the NFC West division for the first time since 1979, ending what had been the NFL's longest active streak for not finishing last in a division). It was also the worst record that season among the 32 NFL teams, securing them the right to the first pick in the NFL Draft. Erickson and the man who hired him, General Manager Terry Donahue, were fired. After an extensive and reportedly mishandled coaching search, the 49ers announced the belated hiring of Mike Nolan -- defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens -- as their head coach for the 2005 season. He is the son of Dick Nolan, who led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances in the early 1970's. The General Manager typically makes strategic, player and coaching personnel decisions; strangely, the 49ers hired a head coach well before hiring the head coach's boss. In his inaugural draft as head coach, Mike Nolan selected with the first pick of the draft quarterback Alex Smith of the University of Utah. It was a pick predicted by many, though some had the 49ers selecting local product Aaron Rodgers of the University of California, Berkeley. Expectations are hopeful that the new coach and quarterback tandem will bring renewed success to a faltering franchise.

Related Topics:
Larry Ellison - 1979 - Mike Nolan - Baltimore Ravens - Dick Nolan - Alex Smith - University of Utah - Aaron Rodgers - University of California, Berkeley

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On May 31, 2005, it became public knowledge that a controversial video production, intended to be viewed by the players only, had been made the previous August under the supervision of the team's public relations director, Kirk Reynolds, who also appeared prominently in it. The video contained unflattering stereotypical characterizations of numerous ethnic and other groups, including Chinese-Americans, lesbians, strippers and homeless persons — and worse yet, was meant to be used for "media-relations training" purposes. The revelation led to Reynolds being fired from his position, and sparked harsh condemnation of the club from the local media, who instantly dubbed the scandal "Videogate." Ironically, the story broke on the same day that the identity of "Deep Throat" from the Watergate scandal was made public (the 49ers story receiving priority over it in the San Francisco Chronicle) — and even more ironically, an anonymous source (widely thought to be recently-fired 49ers general manager Terry Donahue) "leaked" the story by sending a copy of the video to the media.

Related Topics:
May 31 - 2005 - August - Chinese-American - Lesbian - Strippers - Homeless - Deep Throat - Watergate scandal - San Francisco Chronicle - Terry Donahue

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Tragedy struck the Niners on August 20, 2005, when OL Thomas Herrion died of unknown causes immediately following a pre-season loss to the Denver Broncos. Coach Mike Nolan had just finished addressing the players in the locker room when Herrion collapsed. He was taken to a local Denver hospital, where he died several hours later. An autopsy revealed that Herrion died of a heart disease.

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