san francisco 49ers founder

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERSin rushing with 293 yards and led the team with seven rushingtouchdowns. WR Jerry Rice set a team record with 112receptions for 1,499 yards and 13 touchdowns. However, hisshining moment came in Week 1 vs. the Los Angeles Raiderswhen he eclipsed Jim Brown’s all-time touchdown markwith 127. Norton Jr. led the 49ers with 92 total tackles and79 solo stops. S Merton Hanks placed second with 79 tackles(66-13) while leading the team with seven interceptions.DT Dana Stubblefield’s 8.5 sacks and 53.5 sack yards ledthe squad for the second consecutive season. And finally,Sanders, who joined the team in Week 3, shattered the teamrecord with an NFL-high 303 interception return yards on sixthefts. Among his three returns for touchdowns (tying a teammark) were efforts of 93, 90 and 74 yards. He was namedthe NFL Defensive Player of the Year as well as a starter inthe Pro Bowl. Other Pro Bowl selections included Young, Rice,TE Brent Jones, Oates, G Jesse Sapolu, Hanks, Stubblefield,S Tim McDonald and RB Ricky Watters. CB Eric Davis had ateam-leading 22 passes defensed during the regular seasonand four interceptions in the playoffs.1995 - San Francisco once again captured the NFC WestChampionship, despite battling through a season in whichinjuries wreaked havoc time and again. Among the keycontributors who were sidelined during the campaign werestarting FB William Floyd, whose season ended with a severeknee injury in the October New Orleans game, and QBSteve Young, who missed five games with a shoulder injury.Those injuries, in addition to several others in the offensiveline throughout the season, would have crippled most teams;however, the 1995 49ers established a reputation as oneof the grittiest in team history. The defensive unit created anew aggressive identity, finishing the season ranked numberone in the NFL. Not only did it lead the league in scoringdefense, it set team records for fewest rushing yards allowed(1,061) and fewest rushing yards per game (66.3).San Francisco’s defense also excelled in takeaways, forcinga total of 34, including a team-record seven (five interceptions,two fumbles) that resulted in touchdowns. Among thestandout performers were Pro Bowl selections CB Eric Davis,FS Merton Hanks and SS Tim McDonald, marking the secondconsecutive season the 49ers secondary included three ProBowl picks. LB Ken Norton Jr. racked up 127 tackles andset a team single-game record by returning two interceptionsfor touchdowns at St. Louis. LB Lee Woodall and DTDana Stubblefield rounded out the Niners Pro Bowl defensiveplayers. Offensively, WR Jerry Rice posted the finest of hislegendary 11 seasons with the 49ers. He became the NFL’scareer leader with 942 receptions and 15,123 yards, whilealso establishing the league’s single-season standard with1,848 yards. He was named as a starter in the Pro Bowl forthe 10th consecutive season. Young, who returned to quarterbackthe team for the final four regular season games,was also selected to the Pro Bowl, as was TE Brent Jones,who made the squad as an alternate. One of the highlightsof the season was the emergence of QB Elvis Grbac. Playingin place of the injured Young, he directed the Niners to threeof their biggest wins of the season at St. Louis, at eventualworld champion Dallas and at Miami. Floyd was the recipientof the team’s Len Eshmont Award.1996 - One streak continued and another ended for SanFrancisco in 1996. With a 12-4 record, the 49ers reacheddouble digits in the win column for the 14th consecutiveseason, the longest streak in the NFL. However, the upstartCarolina Panthers unseated the Niners as NFC West Champions,ending their four-year reign. San Francisco remainedone of the league’s most dangerous teams with an aggressivedefense and a productive offense. Despite losing QBSteve Young for four full games and parts of four others withvarious injuries, the 49ers offense ranked second in the NFCwith 398 points and sixth in the NFL in total offense. WR JerryRice became the first player in NFL history to record four100-catch seasons after making a league-high 108 receptionsfor 1,254 yards. The 12-year veteran earned his NFLrecord-tying 11th Pro Bowl invitation and was a first-teamAll-Pro selection. Young won his fifth NFL passing title with aQB rating of 97.2 and was named to the Pro Bowl for the fifthconsecutive season. Defensively, the 49ers had the league’smost imposing pass rushing trio in DE Roy Barker, DT BryantYoung and DE Chris Doleman. Barker finished fourth in theNFC with 12.5 sacks, while Doleman’s 11 sacks moved himinto seventh on the NFL’s career list with 115.5. Young wasnamed a starter on the NFC Pro Bowl team and earned firstteamAll-Pro honors after posting 11.5 sacks and 85 tackles.He also claimed the 49ers Len Eshmont Award as theteam’s most inspirational and courageous player. The thirdyearveteran was joined on the Pro Bowl team by FS MertonHanks, who was invited for the third consecutive season. Asusual, Rice’s assault on the record books continued. He becamethe first player in NFL history to register 1,000 careerreceptions and 16,000 receiving yards. Rice also surpassedK Ray Wersching as the team’s all-time leading scorer with982 points.1997 - Although they appeared vulnerable after first weekinjuries to QB Steve Young and WR Jerry Rice, the San Francisco49ers rallied under the direction of rookie head coachSteve Mariucci, reclaimed the NFC West title and advancedto the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers finished with a13-3 mark, including an 11-game winning streak, despitelosing Rice for all but two games. They did it behind a newfoundrunning attack and the league’s top-ranked defense.Mariucci became one of 13 head coaches since the NFL-AFLmerger in 1970 to lead his team to a division title in his rookieseason, and he was the fourth to do it directly out of the collegeranks. The former University of California skipper establishedan NFL record for consecutive wins by a rookie headcoach with an 11-game streak (games 2-12). The 49ersclaimed their 13th NFC West title in 17 years and posted10-or-more wins for the 15th consecutive season. Youngsuffered a concussion against Tampa Bay on opening day,but remained healthy throughout the season and claimed hisNFL record-tying (Sammy Baugh) sixth league passing titlewith a rating of 104.7. The 13-year veteran showed consistencywhile getting adjusted to a new coach, new runningback and two young receivers. The 49ers made a commitmentto a power rushing attack by signing G Kevin Goganduring the offseason. The additional size up front allowed the49ers to finish fourth in the NFC in rushing yards. RB GarrisonHearst (1,019 yards) became the first 49ers running back