78 Fun Facts About 49ers

The 49ers began play in 1946 as charter members of which league?

All-America Football Conference was the 49ers' first home; the league lasted four seasons, and when it folded after 1949 the 49ers, Browns and original Baltimore Colts were absorbed into the NFL.

The team's name honors which group of people?

Gold seekers who came to California in 1849 inspired the name; the original logo showed a mustached miner in plaid pants leaping in midair and firing two pistols, one nearly shooting his own foot.

Where did the 49ers play their home games from 1946 through 1970?

Kezar Stadium, in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park, was the 49ers' home for their first 25 seasons and the scene of Jim Marshall's famous wrong-way run in 1964.

In what year did the 49ers move into Candlestick Park?

1971 brought the 49ers to Candlestick Park; the Beatles had played their last full public concert there on August 29, 1966, five years before the football team arrived.

Levi's Stadium, the 49ers' home field, is located in which city?

Santa Clara, about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco, has been the 49ers' headquarters since 1988, and the stadium rose next to the team's practice facility.

Who was the 49ers' first head coach?

Buck Shaw coached the 49ers from their first season through 1954, then later won the 1960 NFL championship with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Which was the first Super Bowl played at Levi's Stadium?

Super Bowl 50 was played there on February 7, 2016, with Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars sharing the halftime stage; the 49ers themselves were not in it.

In 2016, Levi's Stadium converted 6,500 square feet of its green roof into what?

A rooftop farm of about 6,500 square feet went in atop the stadium's suite tower in 2016, growing produce for the concessions; the building had already earned LEED Gold certification.

Bill Walsh's innovative play design earned him which nickname?

The Genius was the press's name for Walsh, whose scripted opening plays and short-passing scheme won three Super Bowls; his coaching tree runs through Mike Holmgren, Andy Reid and Jon Gruden.

Walsh developed what became known as the West Coast offense while an assistant with which team?

Cincinnati Bengals assistant Walsh built the short, timing-based passing game in the early 1970s to suit quarterback Virgil Carter; the 'West Coast' label was first applied to Don Coryell's very different system.

In which round of the 1979 draft did the 49ers select Joe Montana?

He went 82nd overall, and Walsh's other draft finds included Ronnie Lott, Charles Haley and Jerry Rice, all now in Canton.

How many times was Joe Montana named Super Bowl MVP?

3 Super Bowl MVP awards (XVI, XIX and XXIV) made Montana the first player to win it three times; he also threw 122 Super Bowl passes without an interception, a record.

What name is given to Joe Montana's 1979 Cotton Bowl comeback, played while hypothermic?

The Chicken Soup Game got its name from the bouillon the team doctor fed Montana at halftime; his temperature had dropped to 96 degrees before he rallied Notre Dame past Houston 35-34.

Which team acquired Montana in a 1993 trade?

He vetoed a deal to Phoenix that would have brought the fourth overall pick, then led his new club to its first AFC Championship Game.

Which jersey number did the 49ers retire for Montana in 1997?

16 was retired by the 49ers in 1997; at his final stop the number already belonged to Hall of Famer Len Dawson, who offered to un-retire it, but Montana chose 19 instead.

Jerry Rice played his college football at which school?

Mississippi Valley State, a Division I-AA school in Itta Bena, was where coach Archie Cooley, nicknamed The Gunslinger, ran a pass-heavy attack lining up four receivers on one side of the field.

How many receiving yards did Rice record in 1995, then an NFL single-season record?

1,848 receiving yards in 1995 set the single-season record, which stood until Calvin Johnson's 1,964 in 2012; Rice caught 122 passes that year for 15 touchdowns.

Which jersey number did the 49ers retire for Rice in 2010?

80 was retired by the 49ers in 2010, the year Rice entered the Hall of Fame on the first ballot; he wore the number in every regular season of his career.

Which two teams did Rice play for after leaving the 49ers?

Raiders and Seahawks: Oakland signed him in 2001, then traded him to Seattle six games into 2004 for a seventh-round pick, reuniting him with former 49ers coordinator Mike Holmgren; he retired before playing a regular-season game for another club.

Before joining the NFL, Steve Young played two seasons for which USFL team?

Los Angeles Express signed Young in 1984 to a famously huge contract, reported at about $40 million paid out over 43 years; his head coach there was John Hadl, who had tutored rookie John Elway the year before.

How many touchdown passes did Steve Young throw in Super Bowl XXIX, setting a record?

6 touchdown passes in Super Bowl XXIX broke Joe Montana's record of five from five years earlier; Young, the 1994 league MVP, also won the game's MVP award.

The 49ers' left-handed Hall of Fame quarterback descends from which historical figure?

Brigham Young, the Mormon leader who led settlers to Utah in 1847, was Steve Young's great-great-great-grandfather; Young also became the first left-handed quarterback elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in 2005.

Steve Young is the only player in 49ers history to have worn which jersey number?

8 was retired at halftime of an October 2008 game against the Patriots; Young had worn it since arriving from Tampa Bay in 1987.

What did Ronnie Lott have amputated after the 1985 season rather than miss the start of 1986?

Tip of his left pinky: the finger was crushed tackling Timmy Newsome in December 1985, and rather than miss the 1986 opener he had the top amputated; years later he said he should have just had it fixed.

Ronnie Lott was a consensus All-American at which university?

USC made Lott a consensus All-American in 1980 before the 49ers took him eighth overall; as a rookie in 1981 he intercepted seven passes and returned three for touchdowns.

Dwight Clark, who made The Catch, was drafted by the 49ers in which round of the 1979 draft?

Tenth round, 249th overall, was where the 49ers took Clark in 1979, after Walsh noticed him at Clemson while scouting quarterback Steve Fuller; he had caught just 33 passes in college.

The Catch beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC Championship Game by what final score?

28-27 was the final after Montana's pass to Clark with 51 seconds left; the play, Sprint Right Option, was designed as a quick throw to Freddie Solomon.

Which Cowboys defender was covering Clark on The Catch?

Everson Walls, a rookie cornerback, was the defender reaching in vain in Walter Iooss Jr.'s photo of the grab, which ran on the next week's Sports Illustrated cover.

Super Bowl XVI, the 49ers' first title, was played in which venue?

Pontiac Silverdome hosted the first Super Bowl in a cold-weather city, in January 1982, and the 49ers won 26-21 indoors for their first title.

Super Bowl XIX, a 38-16 win over Miami, was the first played in the Bay Area, at which venue?

Stanford Stadium, a horseshoe opened in 1921, had no permanent lights and no locker rooms suited to the NFL, so temporary facilities were brought in for the January 1985 game.

Who caught the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left in Super Bowl XXIII?

John Taylor caught the 10-yard winner that capped a 92-yard drive; in the huddle beforehand Montana calmed his teammates by pointing out John Candy in the stands.

What was the final score of Super Bowl XXIV, the 49ers' record rout in January 1990?

55-10 in January 1990 set the Super Bowl record for margin of victory, 45 points; Montana threw five touchdown passes, three of them to Jerry Rice, and was named the game's MVP.

The 49ers' fifth title, Super Bowl XXIX, came against which team?

San Diego Chargers lost 49-26 in an all-California matchup in January 1995, making the 49ers the first franchise with five Super Bowl wins.

Which brothers coached against each other in Super Bowl XLVII, the 49ers' first-ever Super Bowl loss?

Jim and John Harbaugh, the 49ers' and Ravens' head coaches, faced off in February 2013; a partial power outage stopped play for 34 minutes, and Baltimore won 34-31.

Super Bowl LVIII, lost 25-22 in overtime, was played in which state for the first time?

The winning pass to Mecole Hardman was his only touchdown of the entire season.

Which running back scored a Chiefs touchdown to seal Super Bowl LIV, ending the 49ers' 2019 run?

Damien Williams ran 38 yards for the clinching score with 1:12 left, after catching the go-ahead touchdown minutes earlier; his team erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to end a half-century title drought.

Who succeeded Bill Walsh as head coach in 1989 and won Super Bowls XXIV and XXIX?

George Seifert, a San Francisco native who had been Walsh's defensive coordinator, went 98-30 in eight regular seasons; he later coached three more years elsewhere and once told his players not to act like wildebeests.

Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016 in what capacity?

Contributor was the category, created in 2015 for non-players and non-coaches; DeBartolo, whose 49ers won five Super Bowls, had ceded control to his sister Denise York in 2000.

DeBartolo pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony in a case involving the governor of which state?

Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards had extorted $400,000 from him over a riverboat casino license; DeBartolo was fined $1 million, given two years' probation, and received a presidential pardon in 2020.

Frank Gore, the franchise's career rushing leader, played college football for which school?

Miami Hurricanes teammates included Willis McGahee and Clinton Portis; Gore tore an ACL in 2002 spring practice and another in 2003, yet finished his career behind only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton in NFL rushing yards.

Which 49ers team was the first in NFL history to win 15 regular-season games?

1984 saw the 49ers go 15-1, the first 15-win regular season in NFL history, before they beat Miami 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX.

Patrick Willis, the 2007 Defensive Rookie of the Year, starred in college for which program?

Ole Miss produced Willis as a two-time All-American and the 2006 Butkus Award winner; the 49ers took him 11th overall in 2007, and he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

How many rushing yards did Colin Kaepernick gain in his record-setting January 2013 playoff win over Green Bay?

It was his first career postseason start, and it broke Michael Vick's 2002 mark of 173.

Against which team did Kaepernick make his first NFL start, a Monday night win in 2012?

Chicago Bears were the opponent on November 19, 2012, when Kaepernick threw for 243 yards in a 32-7 Monday night win that earned him the starting job for good.

Kyle Shanahan came to the 49ers in 2017 straight from running the offense of which team?

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator was his post for 2015–16; he was hired the day after his Falcons offense lost Super Bowl LI despite leading the Patriots 28-3.

Kyle Shanahan went to high school in Saratoga, California, in 1994 because his father held what job?

49ers offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan ran the 1994 offense that won Super Bowl XXIX; Kyle later finished at Cherry Creek High School in Colorado after his father took a head-coaching job there in 1995.

Christian McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers in October 2022 from which team?

Carolina Panthers sent him west for picks in rounds two, three and four of the 2023 draft plus a 2024 fifth-rounder, and he won Offensive Player of the Year the next season.

Nick Bosa was drafted by the 49ers with which overall pick in 2019?

No. 2 overall, behind only Kyler Murray, is where the 49ers took Bosa in 2019; he won Defensive Rookie of the Year and then the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award with a league-leading 18.5 sacks.

Brock Purdy was the final selection of the 2022 draft. Which overall pick number was that?

He began 2022 as the third-stringer behind Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo before both were injured.

The Mr. Irrelevant tradition began in 1976 in which California city?

Newport Beach is where former receiver Paul Salata founded Irrelevant Week in 1976, a celebration that includes a Disneyland trip, a golf tournament and a roast ending with the Lowsman Trophy.

The 49ers' first mascot, in the 1950s, was a mule named what?

Clementine the mule was paraded at home games in the 1950s and 1960s, long before a costumed prospector became the team's mascot.

The 49ers' rivalry with the Rams has seen the two clubs meet twice a season since what year?

1950, the year the 49ers joined the NFL, put the two clubs in the same division; the Rams built a big series lead by 1980 before San Francisco won 17 straight meetings in the 1990s.

Which cornerback tipped the pass that ended the 49ers' 2013 NFC Championship Game in Seattle?

Richard Sherman tipped Kaepernick's end-zone pass to Michael Crabtree into Malcolm Smith's hands with 22 seconds left; he had played for the 49ers' coach at Stanford and signed with San Francisco in 2018.

Which defender won two Super Bowls with the 49ers and three with the Cowboys, the first five-time champion?

Charles Haley won XXIII and XXIV in San Francisco and XXVII, XXVIII and XXX in Dallas; clashes with his coaches got him traded to the Cowboys in 1992 for two mid-round picks.

Which free-agent signing was named 1994 NFL Defensive Player of the Year in his lone 49ers season?

Deion Sanders signed a one-year deal in September 1994, won Defensive Player of the Year with six interceptions, and returned one 93 yards for a touchdown that October against his former team at the Georgia Dome.

Steve Young's record 1994 passer rating, set during that Super Bowl season, was what?

112.8 was a single-season record at the time, later topped by Peyton Manning's 121.1 in 2004; Young threw 35 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and beat Dallas in the NFC Championship Game after losing to them the two previous Januarys.

The 49ers' 1994 throwback uniforms were based on the team's look from which year?

1955 was the model year, chosen for the NFL's 75th-anniversary throwback program; the 49ers liked the red jerseys with shadowed white numbers so much they wore them again later that season.

Which 49ers quarterback coined the sports term alley-oop for high passes to R.C. Owens?

Y. A. Tittle, nicknamed the Bald Eagle, lobbed the first alley-oops to the leaping Owens in 1957; he was also the first pro football player on a Sports Illustrated cover, in November 1954.

Fullback Joe Perry, the first NFL player with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, was nicknamed what?

The Jet was Joe Perry's nickname, earned for speed rare in a fullback; he ran for 1,018 yards in 1953 and 1,049 in 1954, the first back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in NFL history.

Which 49er of the 1950s Million Dollar Backfield was nicknamed The King and had his No. 39 retired?

Hugh McElhenny got the nickname as a 1952 rookie after a long punt return for a touchdown against the Bears; quarterback Frankie Albert is credited with coining it.

Hall of Fame tackle Bob St. Clair earned the nickname The Geek for what habit?

Eating raw meat, steak and liver included, earned the 6-foot-9 tackle the nickname, and he used it to intimidate rookies; he played every home game of his high school, college and pro career at the same San Francisco stadium.

Leo Nomellini, the 49ers' first-ever NFL draft pick, had which off-season second career?

Professional wrestler was his other job: billed as Leo the Lion, Nomellini wrestled for two decades in the off-season and held tag-team titles in more than one promotion.

The 49ers were the first NFL team to use which formation, in the early 1960s?

Shotgun was coach Red Hickey's name for it, introduced in late 1960 with the quarterback standing several yards behind center; the Bears killed it in 1961 by moving a linebacker over the center in a 31-0 shutout.

Team founder Tony Morabito died of a heart attack in 1957 while doing what?

Watching a 49ers game at the stadium on October 27, 1957, Morabito collapsed with the team trailing the Bears 17-7; told of his death at halftime, the players rallied to win 21-17.

Which quarterback won the 1970 NFL MVP award with the 49ers and later joined the Senior PGA Tour?

John Brodie spent all 17 seasons with the 49ers; his No. 12 was retired, though he let Trent Dilfer wear it in 2007 as a tribute, and he won a Senior PGA Tour event in 1991.

Roger Craig was the first NFL player to do what in a single season, in 1985?

Rush and receive for 1,000 yards each is what Craig did in 1985, with 1,050 rushing and 1,016 receiving yards; his high-knee running style was a trademark he credited to his high school coach.

Terrell Owens caught how many passes against the Bears in December 2000, breaking a 50-year-old record?

20 receptions for 283 yards against Chicago broke Tom Fears' half-century-old record of 18; Brandon Marshall topped the mark with 21 in 2009.

What did Terrell Owens pull from his sock to sign a touchdown ball against Seattle in 2002?

A Sharpie came out of his sock after a touchdown in Seattle on October 14, 2002; he signed the ball and handed it to his financial adviser, who also advised Shawn Springs, the cornerback covering him.

Vernon Davis's game-winning playoff touchdown against the Saints in January 2012 is nicknamed what?

The Catch III came with nine seconds left, a 14-yard strike up the seam in a 36-32 win over New Orleans; the play call is also remembered as Vernon Post.

Which coach's 2011 debut season produced a 13-3 record and the AP Coach of the Year award?

Jim Harbaugh arrived from Stanford, where he had just won the Orange Bowl, and went 13-3 in 2011 to take AP Coach of the Year; he and the team mutually parted ways after his fourth season.

Which 49ers defensive tackle was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1997?

Dana Stubblefield recorded 15 sacks from the interior in 1997, won Defensive Player of the Year, and then left for Washington as a free agent the following spring.

George Kittle's 210 receiving yards in a 2018 game, all before halftime, came against which team?

Denver Broncos gave up all 210 yards before halftime in December 2018, an NFL record for a tight end in a half; Kittle's 1,377 yards that season were the first 1,000-yard year by a 49ers tight end.

Deebo Samuel's nickname comes from a character in which 1995 film?

Friday gave him the name: his father nicknamed him after Deebo, the neighborhood bully played by Tiny Lister Jr.; his given name is Tyshun.

Fred Warner, the All-Pro linebacker, was drafted in 2018 out of which university?

BYU was where Warner played four seasons as a hybrid linebacker; the 49ers took him 70th overall in 2018, and he grew up in the LDS church in San Marcos, California.

Which soccer club did the 49ers' enterprise arm buy outright in June 2023?

Leeds United became a full 49ers Enterprises property in 2023 after the group raised its minority stake to 100 percent; the club won the Championship in 2025 to return to the Premier League.

Team supporters use the acronym FTTB. What does it stand for?

The official cheerleading squad, meanwhile, is called the Gold Rush.

How much did Levi Strauss & Co. agree to pay over 20 years to name the 49ers' stadium?

$220.3 million over two decades was the 2013 naming-rights deal, roughly $11 million a year, with an option to extend for five more years at about $75 million.

Which 49ers coach hired in 2005 was the son of a 49ers coach who won three straight division titles?

Mike Nolan arrived from the Ravens, where he had been defensive coordinator; his father Dick coached the 49ers to three straight NFC West titles starting in 1970.