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<\/a>Super Bowl Champs<\/p><\/div>\n
I am thrilled that the San Francisco Forty-Niners<\/strong> will be playing in the Super Bowl<\/strong> this Sunday.\u00a0 My allegiance to this team has been unwavering, since . . . oh, since about somewhere in the early 50s.<\/p>\n I was probably about 10-11 years old when I attended my first 49er game, played in Kezar Stadium<\/strong> in beautiful, Golden Gate Park<\/strong> \u2013 that was when teams actually played in the city of their name; today, the \u2018Niners play 45 miles south of San Francisco, in Santa Clara<\/strong>.\u00a0 I remember that first game, they played the Chicago Bears<\/strong>, and lost. \u00a0But, my brother and I not only became life-long 49er fans, but were inspired to play the game that paid for our college education.<\/p>\n ‘Million Dollar Backfield’<\/p><\/div>\n It was in 1954 that the 49ers had the best backfield in the NFL, it was dubbed \u2018The Million Dollar Backfield\u2019<\/strong>.\u00a0 It was a \u2018T-formation\u2019 backfield, meaning there was a quarterback under center, and behind the quarterback, was a fullback and to both the fullback’s right and left were the halfbacks.\u00a0 The players were, Y.A. Tittle<\/strong> at quarterback,\u00a0\u00a0Joe Perry<\/strong> at fullback and Hugh McElhenny<\/strong> and John Henry Johnson<\/strong> at halfback.\u00a0 There is a misconception that they got their \u2018Million Dollar\u2019 name from the fact that they had a million-dollar salary – combined!\u00a0 The reality is, despite the name, not even when combined did the players’ salaries approach the million-dollar figure! In fact, at the time, many professional football players had to have a second job to supplement their income!\u00a0 All four of these players have been inducted into pro football\u2019s Hall of Fame<\/strong>, but despite this \u2018Million Dollar Backfield\u2019, the 49ers\u2019 poor defense kept them from winning a championship.<\/p>\n Throughout the \u201860s the Niners hovered around the 50%-win mark.\u00a0 A personal side note in this era was that my brother, Jack, a college quarterback, got a try out with the 49ers, but due to an injury to his neck in college, the Niners didn\u2019t want to take a chance on a re-injury, so they let him go.<\/p>\n George Siefert & Bill Walsh<\/p><\/div>\n In the \u201870s the Niners upped their game and had some excellent win-loss records, but still no championships.\u00a0 And then came Bill Walsh<\/strong>.\u00a0 He was born in Los Angeles, but raised and schooled in northern California; he was the head coach at Stanford<\/strong>, before taking the 49er job in 1979.\u00a0 He created the \u2018West Coast Offense\u2019<\/strong> and won three Super Bowls with quarterbacks, Joe Montana<\/strong> and Steve Young<\/strong> and NFL greats, Jerry Rice<\/strong>, Ronnie Lott<\/strong>, Randy Moss<\/strong> and Deion Sanders<\/strong>, to name just a few of the 29 49ers in the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Siefert and his ‘worst’ quarterback #9<\/p><\/div>\n In 1989 Walsh was replaced by assistant coach, George Siefert<\/strong>, who was also a Walsh assistant at Standford.\u00a0 Siefert coached the Niners for eight seasons, winning two Super Bowls.\u00a0 Another personal side note, is that Siefert was my college coach at Westminster College<\/strong> in Salt Lake City.\u00a0 At a Westminster reunion serveral years ago, Siefert spoke and mentioned that he coached Joe Montana and Steve Young, but, as a head coach, I was his first quarterback.\u00a0 Although, I\u2019m not sure I heard it correctly, he may have said that I was his \u2018worst\u2019 quarterback!\u00a0 Both are probably correct.<\/p>\n So, here the 49ers are again, in the Super Bowl with one of the most overall talented teams in the league, led by \u2018Mr. Irrelevant\u2019<\/strong>, quarterback, Brock Purdy<\/strong>.\u00a0 But they face the reining Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, with arguably the best quarterback in the league in Patrick Mahomes<\/strong> AND a fan base made up of all those \u2018Swifties\u2019<\/strong>.\u00a0 It should be a good game!<\/p>\n Win or lose \u2013 a 49er Faithful Forever!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow I am thrilled that the San Francisco Forty-Niners will be playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday.\u00a0 My allegiance to this team has been unwavering, since . . . oh, since about somewhere in the early 50s. … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/million-dollar-backfield.jpg\")
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