San Francisco 49ers

▪ American football team

 American professional gridiron football (football, gridiron) team based in San Francisco that plays in the National Football League (NFL). The 49ers have won five Super Bowl titles and five National Football Conference (NFC) championships.

      The San Francisco 49ers were established in the All-American Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946. The team had a winning record in each of its first four years, but it could not displace the dominant Cleveland Browns, who won every championship in the four seasons of the AAFC. After the AAFC merged with the NFL in 1950, the 49ers struggled through their first losing season. Despite the presence of five future Hall of Famers—quarterback Y.A. Tittle, running backs Hugh McElhenny and Joe Perry, tackle Bob St. Clair, and defensive lineman Leo Nomellini—the 49ers were mostly unsuccessful during the 1950s, advancing to the postseason only once, in 1957. San Francisco began a string of 12 consecutive seasons without a play-off berth in 1958. One of the most noteworthy players on the team during the 1960s was running back Dave Kopay, who in 1977 became the first athlete from a major American team sport to publicly acknowledge that he was a homosexual. A resurgent 49ers squad under the guidance of head coach Dick Nolan and led by quarterback John Brodie advanced to the NFC championship game in both 1971 and 1972 but lost to the Dallas Cowboys on both occasions.

 The 49ers ascendancy began in 1979 when quarterback Joe Montana (Montana, Joe) was drafted by new head coach Bill Walsh (Walsh, Bill). Upon his arrival in San Francisco, Walsh installed his innovative “West Coast offense,” which relied on a series of quick, accurate passes and was a perfect fit for Montana's skills. San Francisco rebounded from a 2–14 record in Walsh's first year to the franchise's first Super Bowl win in his third. The 49ers' title run was highlighted by a last-second victory over the Cowboys in the NFC championship game off a brilliant touchdown pass from Montana to wide receiver Dwight Clark, which was immortalized as “The Catch.” The 49ers lost to the Washington Redskins in the 1984 NFC championship game, but they lost only one game the following year and returned to the Super Bowl, where they easily defeated the Miami Dolphins. In the 1985 NFL draft, the team selected wide receiver Jerry Rice (Rice, Jerry), who would team with Montana to create one of the most prolific passing duos in NFL history on his way to breaking every major career receiving record. After guiding the 49ers to a third Super Bowl win in 1989, Walsh retired and handed head-coaching duties to his defensive coordinator, George Seifert.

      While the 49ers teams of the 1980s were best known for their offensive prowess, their defense featured a number of star players, including future Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott. San Francisco's dominance on both sides of the ball was evidenced in 1990, when the 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55–10 in the most lopsided Super Bowl victory of all time. An injury to Montana in 1991 gave Steve Young an opportunity to step in as the 49ers' starting quarterback. Young excelled in his new role, which allowed the 49ers to trade Montana in 1993, and the team won a fifth Super Bowl in 1995. Young's retirement in 1999 marked a symbolic end to the 49ers long reign atop the NFL—the team had qualified for the postseason in 15 of the 16 seasons between 1983 and 1998—and San Francisco has struggled to field a consistently competitive team in recent seasons.

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