san francisco 49ers founder

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERSanswered all questions by earning a Pro Bowl nominationwith his 11.0 sacks on the season. S Lance Schulters, in hisfirst season as a starter, responded by finishing second inthe NFC with six interceptions, including a game-winning64-yard return against New Orleans (9-19) in the secondweek of the season. Schulters was named as the startingfree safety for the NFC squad in the 2000 Pro Bowl.2000 - San Francisco opened its sixth decade in the NFLunder new leadership. The transfer of ownership from EdwardJ. DeBartolo, Jr. to his sister Denise DeBartolo York wasapproved by the NFL May 23, 2000. DeBartolo, Jr. ended histenure after guiding the 49ers to five Super Bowl Championshipsand 16 postseason appearances. A young SanFrancisco team, which at one point started five rookies ondefense, showed marked improvement throughout the season,winning four of the last six games, to finish 6-10. Theoffense again was one of the best in the league, which ledto three starters being named to their first Pro Bowl - QBJeff Garcia, RB Charlie Garner and WR Terrell Owens. Garcia,who was in his first season as the full-time starter, set thepace for the offense all season long. He set career-highs inevery category, completing 355-of-561 passes for a teamrecord4,278 yards, with 31 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions.He finished the year ranked fifth in the NFL with a97.6 quarterback rating. Garcia started all 16 games and hadsix 300-yard passing games, including a 402-yard effortagainst Chicago in December, which was his third straight300-yard passing performance and his sixth of the season.His productivity not only led to his first Pro Bowl appearance,but Football Digest also named him the NFL’S Most ImprovedPlayer. WR Terrell Owens was one of the many benefactorsof Garcia’s success. Owens posted his second career 1,000-yard season, catching a career-high 97 passes for 1,451yards, which ranked him fourth in the NFL. Owens, who onlyplayed in 14 games during the season, also had five 100-yard games and scored a team-high 13 touchdowns. Owenshad his best performance of his career against Chicagoin December, breaking a 50-year old NFL record with 20receptions for 283 yards and one touchdown. Owens brokeTom Fears’ NFL record of 18 receptions in a game, which heset back in 1950 with the Rams. The 49ers backfield wasagain in the capable hands of Garner and FB Fred Beasley.Garner earned his first Pro Bowl appearance and became thefourth 49ers running back to rush for 1,000 yards in backto-backseasons. Garner, behind the stellar play of the 49ersoffensive line, ran for 1,142 yards on 258 carries and seventouchdowns. Also a receiving threat, Garner set career-highswith 68 receptions for 647 yards and three touchdowns. Inaddition, he established a team record with 201 yards rushingvs. Dallas. Beasley also had a solid year, rushing for 147yards on 50 carries and three touchdowns, while catching31 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns. The 49ersdefense was young, but got better over the last half of theseason. The defense was again paced by the efforts of DTBryant Young, who posted 51 tackles and led the team insacks with 9.5. LB Ken Norton Jr. was one of only three playersto start all 16 games, extending his consecutive gamesstreak to 160. The 49ers defense started five rookies in thefinal game at Denver and had seven different rookies startthroughout the 2000 campaign. Rookies CB Ahmed Plummer,DE John Engelberger and CB Jason Webster all startedat least 10 games. Six rookies—Plummer, Webster, Engelberger,LB Julian Peterson, DT Cedric Killings and S RonnieHeard—participated in more than 20-percent of the total1,096 plays.2001 - The San Francisco 49ers made their return to theplayoffs after a two-year absence, as the young and improvingteam posted a 12-4 record. The year marked the returnof RB Garrison Hearst, who came back from a devastatingankle injury that kept him out of football for two seasons.Hearst rushed for 1,206 yards, was named Associated PressComeback Player of the Year and also earned his second careerPro Bowl nomination. In total, the 49ers had six playerstravel to the islands for the annual all-star game. In additionto Hearst on offense, QB Jeff Garcia and WR Terrell Owensmade their second straight appearances, C Jeremy Newberryplayed in his first Pro Bowl, G Ray Brown made the first ProBowl appearance in his 16-year career, and on defense DTBryant Young made his third Pro Bowl appearance, anchoringthe 49ers defense that improved from ranking 29th in 2000to 13th in 2001. The offense was again in the capable handsof Garcia. The Gilroy native proved that 2000 wasn’t a fluke.He completed 316-of-504 passes for 3,538 yards. Thethird-year veteran also threw 32 touchdowns, becoming thefirst 49ers quarterback to throw for 30 or more touchdownsin consecutive seasons. Owens was one of Garcia’s favoritetargets, especially when it came to the endzone. Owenscaught 93 balls for 1,412 yards and a career-high and NFLleading 16 touchdowns. While Hearst was the big story, theoffensive line, which returned all five starters from the 2000season, proved to be vital to the team’s success. For the fifthconsecutive season, San Francisco produced a 1,000-yardrusher, which set a new team record. The defense was stillyoung, but improved as the season progressed. The defensiveline added two new starters to the mix, although oneof them was not so new. DT Dana Stubblefield returned tothe 49ers after spending three seasons with Washingtonand rookie DE Andre Carter made an impression, especiallyin the last four weeks of the season when he was namedNFC Rookie of the Month. Carter led the team in sacks with6.5, adding 4.5 of those in the last five games. The unit asa whole improved over the last half of the season, postinga team-record three shutouts in the last month of thecampaign. Another big addition was LB Derek Smith, whocame over from the Redskins as well. Smith brought withhim four consecutive seasons of 100 tackles or more. Smithkept that streak alive as he led the defense with 126 totaltackles. Also helping the defense with its improvement wasS Zack Bronson and CB Ahmed Plummer. Both players recordedcareer-highs with seven interceptions each. Bronsonalso returned two for touchdowns, including a career-highand team record 97-yard return at Chicago.2002 - The San Francisco 49ers entered 2002 with hopesof advancing past the first round of the NFC playoffs. Theteam accomplished the mission finishing the season with 10wins and advancing to the NFC Divisional Playoffs in grandfashion with the second largest playoff comeback in NFL his-