The San Francisco 49ers 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 of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play their home games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located 38 miles (61 km) southeast of San Francisco. The team is named after the prospectors who arrived in Northern California in the 1849 Gold Rush.
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", Montana is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. After winning a national championship at Notre Dame, Montana began his NFL career in 1979 at San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. With the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player to be named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He also holds Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception and the all-time highest passer rating of 127.8. In 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for his last two seasons and led the franchise to its first AFC Championship Game. Montana was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Douglas Robert Zachariah Brien is a former American football placekicker and American businessman. He played twelve seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for seven teams: San Francisco, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, New York Jets, and Chicago. Brien was picked in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft by San Francisco out of the University of California, Berkeley. After retiring from the NFL, Brien co-founded the real estate investment firms Waypoint Homes and Mynd.
The Catch was the game-winning touchdown reception in the 1981 NFC Championship Game played between the Dallas Cowboys and the eventual Super Bowl XVI champion San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on January 10, 1982, as part of the 1981-82 NFL playoffs. With 58 seconds left in the game, the 49ers faced 3rd down and 3 yards to gain on the Cowboys' 6-yard line. San Francisco wide receiver Dwight Clark made a leaping grab in the back of the end zone to complete a 6-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Montana, enabling the 49ers to defeat the Cowboys, 28–27. The Catch is widely regarded as one of the greatest plays in National Football League (NFL) history. It came at the end of a 14-play, 83-yard game-winning drive engineered by Montana. The Catch symbolized the end of the Cowboys' domination in the NFC since the conference's inception in 1970, and the beginning of the 49ers' rise as an NFL dynasty in the 1980s.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1971 season began on December 25, 1971. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, 24–3, on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the NFL's week 2 games were postponed and rescheduled to the weekend of January 6 and 7, 2002. To retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXVI, were rescheduled one week later. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20–17 at the Louisiana Superdome.
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end. Most significantly, the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy resulted in a then-unique legal settlement where the Cleveland Browns franchise, history, records, and intellectual property remained in Cleveland, while its players and personnel transferred to Baltimore, technically to a new league franchise that was named the Baltimore Ravens.
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The two expansion teams were slotted into the two remaining divisions that previously had only four teams : the AFC Central (Jaguars) and the NFC West (Panthers).
The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). It was the final season for coach Chuck Noll. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills, 37–24, at the Metrodome in Minnesota. This was the second of four consecutive Super Bowl losses for Buffalo.
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement. Paul Tagliabue was eventually chosen to succeed him, taking over on November 5.
The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana before the season.
Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the person who is drafted with the very last overall pick in the NFL Draft, as a disreputable reference to how the public and teams evaluate their skill level. Most players drafted with the very last draft pick do not go on to complete storied or notable careers. Often times a player chosen with this pick is released from the team that drafted them before preseason or training camps begin.
Eric Cortez Wright is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the 49ers in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft. Before that, the 6'1", 183 lbs. cornerback from the University of Missouri was an all-Big Eight defensive back in 1979 and '80. He played on three University of Missouri teams that appeared in bowl games, and was selected for Missouri's all-century team in 1990. Wright shares the Missouri record for the most pass interceptions in a game.
Jonathan Scott Goodwin is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. Goodwin also played for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers.
The San Francisco 49ers are the first major league professional sports franchise to be based in San Francisco, and one of the first professional sports teams based on the West Coast of the United States.
James Davis Stuckey is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Stuckey played college football for the Clemson Tigers, and was recognized as an All-American. A first-round pick in the 1980 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets of the NFL.
The 1994 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 45th in the National Football League (NFL), the 49th overall and their sixth under head coach George Seifert. This season was highlighted by a victory in Super Bowl XXIX. The championship made San Francisco the first team to win five Super Bowls. After losing to the Dallas Cowboys in the previous two conference championship games, the 49ers made significant acquisitions in the 1994 free agent market. This included the signing of two-sport star Deion Sanders and Cowboys linebacker Ken Norton, Jr. Sanders had a major impact on the team's success, winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award and recording six interceptions. The 49ers won their division, the NFC West, for the eighth time in nine seasons.
Frank Pollack is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive line coach and run game coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He was the offensive line coach for the New York Jets (2019–2020), Dallas Cowboys (2015–2017), and Oakland Raiders (2012), and was the assistant offensive line coach for the Cowboys (2013–2014) and the Houston Texans (2007–2011). After five years with the Cowboys, he left in 2018 to join the Bengals for his first stint with them as offensive line coach, for that year only. Paul Alexander replaced Pollack in Dallas. Coincidentally, Alexander had been the offensive line coach for the Bengals since 1994. Pollack played eight seasons in the NFL as offensive tackle and guard for the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos (1992–1993).
Kyle Steven Williams is a former American football wide receiver. Williams was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Arizona State University. Williams has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos.
