San Francisco 49ers

Lore & Background

The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and joined the NFL in 1949 when the leagues merged. The 49ers were the first major professional sports team based in San Francisco. They are the 10th-oldest franchise in the NFL, and have been owned and operated by Italian Americans (the Morabito and DeBartolo families) since their inception. The team played at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco before moving to Candlestick Park in 1971 and then to Levi's Stadium in 2014. Since 1988, the 49ers have been headquartered in Santa Clara.

In Their Own Story

The cold wind howled off the bay at Candlestick Park during an NFC Championship tilt in the late eighties. The Giants' defense, usually impenetrable, strained against a rhythmic passing attack that seemed to find open seams everywhere. As the final seconds ticked away, the scoreboard glowed with San Francisco's triumph, leaving New York fans to wonder if they had finally met their match on the national stage.

Reader's Guide

The 49ers won five Super Bowl championships between 1981 and 1994. Four of those came in the 1980s, and were led by Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young, Charles Haley, Fred Dean, and coaches Bill Walsh and George Seifert. They were division champions 22 times between 1970 and 2023. The 49ers are tied with the New England Patriots for most playoff wins (40) in NFL history, having been in the league playoffs 30 times (29 times in the NFL and one time in the AAFC), and have also played in the most NFC Championship Games (19), hosting 11 of them. The team has set numerous NFL records, including most consecutive away games won (18), most consecutive seasons leading the league in scoring (4), most consecutive games scored (420 games from 1977 to 2004), most field goals in a season (44), most games won in a season (18), and most touchdowns (8) and points scored (55) in a Super Bowl.

Did You Know?

• In 2025, 9.2% of the franchise was sold to various groups in two separate transactions which valued the team at $8.5 billion, the largest valuation in NFL history.
• In June 2023, the enterprise branch of the 49ers bought English soccer club Leeds United; in May 2025, it acquired 51% of Scottish soccer club Rangers F.C.
• The 49ers were the first NFL team to use the shotgun formation, devised by coach Red Hickey in 1960.
• The 49ers' 'Million Dollar Backfield' of the 1950s consisted of four future Hall of Fame members: Y. A. Tittle, John Henry Johnson, Hugh McElhenny, and Joe Perry.