San Francisco 49ers Milestones

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Order these San Francisco 49ers franchise moments by the year they happened. Drag or tap it onto the line

San Francisco 49ers

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How to play the San Francisco 49ers history timeline

Every card is a 49ers milestone, with a short description under the headline, and you arrange the deck by year. Your first card is already sitting on the line, its year printed for you. Read each new card and choose where it goes. Nail it and the year is shown; get it wrong and the card moves to its real position while you give up one of three lives.

The 49ers began outside the NFL, then became one of its great dynasties, and the deck gives that golden era plenty of cards. Championship cards and famous named plays are the hardest to sort, since there are several of each and their headlines sound alike. The descriptions help with names. Coaching hires and stadium moves are good anchors once a few cards are down.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 28 of the 29 cards you might be dealt, with 1 more in the deck. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Franchise founded Tony Morabito's club began play at Kezar Stadium as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference
Joined the NFL Absorbed into the older league alongside the Browns and Colts when the AAFC folded
The Alley-Oop debuts R.C. Owens began skying over defenders for Y.A. Tittle's high, arcing passes during a surprise run at the Western Conference title
Unveiled the shotgun formation Coach Red Hickey stunned the Colts by lining his quarterback up several yards behind center, popularizing a now-standard look
First playoff victory John Brodie's club won the newly formed NFC West, then beat the Vikings in a frigid divisional game at Metropolitan Stadium
Moved into Candlestick Park Left Kezar Stadium for a windy bayside park shared with baseball's Giants
Eddie DeBartolo bought the team A young Ohio shopping-mall heir took control of the franchise from the Morabito families
Drafted Joe Montana New head coach Bill Walsh grabbed a skinny Notre Dame quarterback in the third round of his very first 49ers draft
Drafted Ronnie Lott A hard-hitting USC defensive back headlined a class that rebuilt the entire secondary overnight
The Catch Dwight Clark's leaping fingertip grab beat Dallas, and two weeks later the franchise lifted its first Lombardi Trophy in the Silverdome
Went 15-1 Bill Walsh's juggernaut lost only once all regular season, then routed Miami in the Super Bowl weeks afterward
Drafted Jerry Rice Walsh traded up in the first round to land a record-smashing wideout from Mississippi Valley State
Traded for Steve Young A left-handed scrambler was acquired from Tampa Bay for mid-round picks to back up Montana
Won Super Bowl XXIII Montana's 92-yard drive ended with a John Taylor touchdown to beat the Bengals in Bill Walsh's final game
Won Super Bowl XXIV A 55-10 demolition of Denver in New Orleans made it back-to-back titles under George Seifert
Traded Joe Montana The legend was sent to Kansas City, formally handing the offense to Steve Young
Signed Deion Sanders Prime Time joined for one high-stepping season and won Defensive Player of the Year
Won Super Bowl XXIX Steve Young threw a record six touchdown passes against the Chargers and got 'the monkey off his back'
The Catch II Young's desperate strike to Terrell Owens split Green Bay defenders with seconds left in a wild-card thriller
Montana and Lott enter Canton The quarterback and the safety of the dynasty were enshrined in the Hall of Fame in the same class
Drafted Alex Smith first overall Passed on Cal's Aaron Rodgers to take a Utah quarterback with the top pick
Hired Jim Harbaugh The Stanford coach crossed the bay and immediately turned a losing team into an NFC finalist
The Catch III Vernon Davis's last-second touchdown from Alex Smith sank the Saints in a 36-32 divisional shootout
Played in Super Bowl XLVII The Harbaugh brothers coached against each other in New Orleans, where a stadium blackout preceded a furious comeback that fell short against Baltimore
Opened Levi's Stadium The franchise left Candlestick Park for a new home in Santa Clara
Hired Kyle Shanahan A young offensive mind arrived alongside new general manager John Lynch to lead a full rebuild
Lost Super Bowl LIV Held a fourth-quarter lead in Miami before Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs rallied late
Drafted Brock Purdy The very last pick of the draft, 'Mr. Irrelevant' from Iowa State, would soon take over at quarterback