Sports
70s, 80s & 90sSan Francisco flirted with success in 1970, 1971 and 1972, when the 49ers won three straight NFC Western division titles. Every year, they were eliminated by the Dallas Cowboys, in the NFC championship games in 1970 and 1971 and in the first playoff round in 1972. In 1971, the 49ers moved their home games from Kezar Stadium to its current stadium at Candlestick Point,where they still play their games today.
In 1979, team owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. selected Bill Walsh as 49ers head coach, fresh off a successful run as coach at Stanford University,where he was renowned as an offensive specialist. It took Walsh just three seasons to bring San Francisco its first-ever championship with a 26-21 win over Cincinnati in Super Bowl XVI. San Francisco also won the NFC West in 1983 and did even better in 1984, with 18 wins in 19 games and a 38-16 Super Bowl XIX victory over the Miami Dolphins.Walsh concluded his pro coaching career after a last-second 20-16 victory over Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII. In 10 years,Walsh compiled a 102-62-1 record and won six NFCWest titles and three Super Bowls.
The 49ers, aptly named the "Team of the '80s," were loaded with a group of young superstars, including quarterback Joe Montana, receivers Dwight Clark and Jerry Rice, running back Roger Craig and defensive back Ronnie Lott. While some consider Montana to be one of the finest quarterbacks to ever play, others believe Rice is the best football player ever,setting the standard of excellence at the wide receiver position and setting numerous all-time records which may never be touched.
George Seifert, who replaced Walsh, continued to take full advantage of the existing talent. Careful personnel planning paid off as capable new players were on hand when veteran stars retired. Montana, for instance,was replaced by Steve Young, who himself led the 49ers to a Super Bowl victory before being enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Salary Cap Era
While the salary cap forced most teams to increase their salary,some of the better teams at that time, like the 49ers, had to make salary cuts. The 49ers had plenty of stars from their 18-year run of success that earned some of the higher salaries in the league.When current 49ers owners John and Denise York took ownership of the franchise in 1998, they had to recalibrate the team to reflect the realities of a post-salary cap environment, after advancing to the playoffs in both 2001 and 2002. Since then, they have been dedicated to building and maintaining a winning organization. From the installation of Head Coach Mike Nolan in 2005 to the exemplary group supporting Nolan, including Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary as assistant head coach, the 49ers have assembled a team of leaders with extraordinary talent.
Nolan and Vice President of Player Personnel Scot McCloughan,have been widely praised in their time with the 49ers for continually enhancing the talent on the team. They selected quarterback Alex Smith with their first draft pick in 2005, the top selection overall. They later picked running back Frank Gore, now considered one of the NFL's top young talents. He set a 49ers franchise record in 2006,with 1,695 yards rushing—the best in the conference and the third best in the NFL that season.
The team's current stars, like Smith and Gore, have helped the 49ers maintain the national prominence they enjoyed during their Super Bowl run in the 1980's.Three of their players were voted to the 2007 Pro Bowl, the NFL's annual all-star game: Gore, cornerback Walt Harris, and guard Larry Allen, who most likely will end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame soon after he retires. The 49ers also returned to the national television spotlight in 2007, playing and winning on the opening night of Monday Night Football against the Arizona Cardinals.
read more...