After a surprise run to win the Super Bowl in 1981, the San Francisco 49ers slipped back to 3-6 in the strike-shortened year of 1982. The possibility that the championship year was a fluke appeared a real possibility. The 1983 San Francisco 49ers didn’t win it all, but by reaching the NFC Championship Game they […]
The San Francisco 49ers’ tandem of Bill Walsh at head coach and Joe Montana playing quarterback has taken its place in the annals of NFL lore, but after winning the Super Bowl in 1984, postseason struggles hit. They lost playoff games in 1985 and 1986 to the New York Giants, never scoring a touchdown in either game. The Niners lost in 1987 to the Minnesota Vikings, a game Montana was benched. It looked like the end might be nearing.
Young had a big year in 1994 and again won the MVP award. The 49ers and the Cowboys were seen as far and above not just the NFC, but the league in general
The 1989 San Francisco 49ers came into the NFL season as a rare breed—a defending champion in a transitional state. Under the leadership of Bill Walsh and the quarterbacking of Joe Montana, they won the Super Bowl in 1981, 1984 and again in 1988. Even though Walsh had retired after the come-from-behind win over the Cincinnati Bengals to cap the previous year’s title run, the expectations at Candlestick Park were the same—to repeat. George Seifert had been elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach.
Sports in San Francisco for the year 1989 was a time of great triumph overshadowed by greater tragedy. Nothing can make up for the loss of life that resulted from an October earthquake that happened right before Game 3 of the World Series. But just as the city of New Orleans found joy in the Saints as they recovered from Hurricane Katrina, so too could the San Francisco of 1989 look back on the Giants’ run to the National League pennant and look ahead to the 49ers drive for a second straight Super Bowl title and fourth in nine years. The Notebook looks back on both teams.
The Notebook’s year-by-year study of the modern era (1976-Present) has focused on the best place to live as a sports fan in any calendar year. 1981 challenges that that paradigm. While California teams won the World Series (Dodgers) and Super Bowl (49ers), SoCal and NoCal are worlds apart. Indiana won the NCAA Tournament while Clemson’s Orange Bowl win gave them the national championship in football. The New York Islanders and Boston Celtics won titles in their sports. With titles all splintered out, was there any common theme? Yes, there was. The championships by both San Francisco and Clemson marked landmark wins in the football landscape, for two different reasons. Both were the first step in significant shifts in the power structure of the NFL and college football. The Notebook looks back at their autumn and winter rides to glory…