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.
Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1988 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals 20–16, winning their third Super Bowl. The game was played on January 22, 1989, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held at the Orange Bowl.
Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1989 season. The game was played on January 28, 1990, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 49ers defeated the Broncos by the score of 55–10, winning their second consecutive Super Bowl, and then-tying the Pittsburgh Steelers with four Super Bowl victories. San Francisco also became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls with two different head coaches; rookie head coach George Seifert took over after Bill Walsh retired following the previous season's Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion San Diego Chargers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1994 season. The 49ers defeated the Chargers by the score of 49–26, becoming the first team to win five Super Bowl championships. The game was played on January 29, 1995, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. In turn, this was the first Super Bowl to be played in that area after Hurricane Andrew ravaged the city in 1992.
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.
Jon Steven Young is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers. He was drafted by and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL career, Young was a member of the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, setting school and NCAA records en route to being runner-up for the 1983 Heisman Trophy.
Jerry Lee Rice is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter stints at the end of his career with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. Nicknamed "World" because of his superb catching ability, his accomplishments and numerous records, Rice is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in NFL history. His biography on the official Pro Football Hall of Fame website names him "the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals". In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history.
Dwight Edward Clark was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 to 1987. He was a member of San Francisco's first two Super Bowl championship teams.
Steven Leroy DeBerg is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 years.
Brent Michael Jones is an American former professional football player, business executive, businessman, coach, and sports analyst. As a player, he was a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers during his entire 11-year career in the National Football League (NFL) from 1987 to 1997. Jones is listed among the top players in franchise history, and helped revolutionize the concept of the pass-catching tight end.
Elvis M. Grbac is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning the Sammy Baugh Trophy. Grbac was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He spent his first four seasons as a backup with the 49ers before playing his next four seasons as the Chiefs' starter.
Richard Franklin Mirer is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected second overall by the Seattle Seahawks in the 1993 NFL Draft. In his first season, Mirer set the rookie records for passing yards, attempts, and completions. Unable to duplicate his success, however, Mirer was traded after four seasons to the Chicago Bears. He spent the remainder of his career with the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, and Detroit Lions, mostly as a backup.
Stephen Ray Fuller is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, where he was twice named ACC Player of the Year, and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft. Fuller played his first four seasons with the Chiefs and was a member of the Los Angeles Rams during his fifth season. He joined the Chicago Bears in 1984, where he spent four seasons as a backup and was a member of the team that won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XX. In his final season, Fuller was a member of the San Diego Chargers.
Shaun Christopher Hill is a former American football quarterback who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Maryland. Hill also played for the Amsterdam Admirals, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and St. Louis Rams.
Norman Bailey Snead was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and was selected in the first round of the 1961 NFL Draft with the second overall pick.
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.
The 1994 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 45th in the National Football League (NFL), their 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.
The 1989 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 40th in the National Football League (NFL), their 44th overall and their 1st season under head coach George Seifert. After going 14–2 in the regular season, the 49ers completed the season with one of the most dominant playoff runs of all time, outscoring opponents 126–26, earning their fourth Super Bowl victory and their second consecutive, where they defeated the Broncos, 55–10. They finished with the best record in the NFL for the first time since 1987. Their two losses were by a combined 5 points.
Blake Bell is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he received the nickname "Belldozer", a play on words due to his large frame and running style.
Casey Jarrett Beathard is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa and was drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
