1979 San Francisco 49ers season

NFL team season

1979 San Francisco 49ers season

Owner| Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
General manager| Bill Walsh
Head coach| Bill Walsh
Defensive coordinator| Chuck Studley
Home field| Candlestick Park
Results
Record| 2–14
Division place| 4th NFC West
Playoff finish| Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers| none

* <- 1978
* 49ers seasons
* 1980 ->

The 1979 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 30th season in the National Football League and their 34th overall. The season is noted as running back O. J. Simpson's final year, quarterback Joe Montana's rookie season, and Bill Walsh's first year as head coach.

The 1979 49ers remain the only team in NFL history to lose twelve games in which they held a lead.[1]

## Offseason[edit]

### NFL draft[edit]

Main article: 1979 NFL draft

1979 San Francisco 49ers draft

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | College  | Notes
2  | 29  | James Owens | Running back | UCLA |
3  | 82  | Joe Montana * † | Quarterback | Notre Dame |
5  | 111  | Tom Seabron | Linebacker | Michigan |
5  | 119  | Jerry Aldridge | Running back | Angelo State |
6  | 138  | Ruben Vaughan | Defensive tackle | Colorado |
7  | 166  | Phil Francis | Running back | Stanford |
9  | 221  | Steve Hamilton | Defensive tackle | Missouri |
10  | 249  | Dwight Clark * | Wide receiver | Clemson |
10  | 252  | Howard Ballage | Defensive back | Colorado |
11  | 276  | Billy McBride | Defensive back | Tennessee State |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

## Personnel[edit]

### Staff[edit]

1979 San Francisco 49ers staff |

Front office

* Owner and president – Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
* General manager – Bill Walsh
* Director of player personnel – John McVay

Head coaches

* Head coach – Bill Walsh

Offensive coaches

* Quarterbacks – Sam Wyche
* Running Backs – Billie Matthews
* Receivers – Dennis Green
* Offensive Line – Bobb McKittrick
* Administrative Assistant/Offensive Line – Mike White

|  |  | Defensive coaches

* Defensive Coordinator – Chuck Studley
* Linebackers – Bill McPherson
* Defensive Backs – Norb Hecker

Special teams coaches

* Special Teams – Dennis Green

Strength and conditioning

* Strength and Conditioning – Al Vermeil

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### Roster[edit]

1979 San Francisco 49ers roster

| Quarterbacks

* 17 Steve DeBerg
* 16 Joe Montana

Running backs

* 35 Lenvil Elliott
* 34 Phil Francis
* 38 Bob Ferrell FB
* 36 Paul Hofer
* 32 O. J. Simpson

Wide receivers

* 87 Dwight Clark
* 20 James Owens
* 84 Mike Shumann
* 88 Freddie Solomon

Tight ends

* 82 Bob Bruer
* 81 Ken MacAfee
* 80 Eason Ramson
* 85 Paul Seal

|  | Offensive linemen

* 68 John Ayers G
* 77 Jean Barrett T
* 51 Randy Cross G
* 62 Walt Downing G
* 71 Keith Fahnhorst T
* 56 Fred Quillan C
* 67 Ron Singleton T

Defensive linemen

* 76 Dwaine Board DE
* 79 Al Cowlings DT
* 86 Cedrick Hardman DE
* 78 Archie Reese DE
* 74 Jimmy Webb DT
* 72 Ruben Vaughan DT
* 66 Ted Vincent DT

|  | Linebackers

* 57 Dan Bunz MLB
* 58 Gordy Ceresino
* 55 Scott Hilton OLB
* 59 Willie Harper OLB
* 54 Bob Martin OLB
* 50 Dave Morton
* 53 Tom Seabron OLB
* 50 Ron Shumon MLB

Defensive backs

* 29 John Bristor
* 28 Charles Cornelius CB
* 27 Tony Dungy S
* 30 Tim Gray SS
* 22 Dwight Hicks CB
* 44 Charles Johnson CB
* 24 Eric Johnson
* 29 Gerald Williams CB

Special teams

* 11 Dan Melville P
* 14 Ray Wersching K

|  | Reserve lists

* 47 Jerry Aldridge RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 52 Mike Baldassin OLB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 65 Ernie Hughes G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 60 Steve Knutson G/T (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 46 Melvin Morgan CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 66 Bob Nelson MLB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* \-- Pete Woods QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)

Practice squad

Rookies in italics

## Preseason[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance

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1  | August 4 | San Diego Chargers | W 13–10  | 1–0  | Candlestick Park | 32,275
2  | August 11 | at Oakland Raiders | L 10–41  | 1–1  | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,503
3  | August 19 | Denver Broncos | L 0–21  | 1–2  | Candlestick Park  | 34,133
4  | August 24 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 20–55  | 1–3  | Kingdome | 59,941

[3]

## Regular season[edit]

### Schedule[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance

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1  | September 2  | at Minnesota Vikings | L 22–28  | 0–1  | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,539
2  | September 9  | Dallas Cowboys | L 13–21  | 0–2  | Candlestick Park | 56,728
3  | September 16  | at Los Angeles Rams | L 24–27  | 0–3  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 44,303
4  | September 23  | New Orleans Saints | L 21–30  | 0–4  | Candlestick Park  | 39,727
5  | September 30  | at San Diego Chargers | L 9–31  | 0–5  | San Diego Stadium | 50,893
6  | October 7  | Seattle Seahawks | L 24–35  | 0–6  | Candlestick Park  | 44,592
7  | October 14  | at New York Giants | L 16–32  | 0–7  | Giants Stadium | 70,352
8  | October 21  | Atlanta Falcons | W 20–15  | 1–7  | Candlestick Park  | 33,952
9  | October 28  | Chicago Bears | L 27–28  | 1–8  | Candlestick Park  | 42,773
10  | November 4  | at Oakland Raiders | L 10–23  | 1–9  | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 52,764
11  | November 11  | at New Orleans Saints | L 20–31  | 1–10  | Louisiana Superdome | 65,551
12  | November 18  | Denver Broncos | L 28–38  | 1–11  | Candlestick Park  | 42,910
13  | November 25  | Los Angeles Rams | L 20–26  | 1–12  | Candlestick Park  | 49,282
14  | December 2  | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 10–13  | 1–13  | Busch Memorial Stadium | 41,593
15  | December 9  | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 23–7  | 2–13  | Candlestick Park  | 44,506
16  | December 16  | at Atlanta Falcons | L 21–31  | 2–14  | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 37,211
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Game summaries[edit]

#### Week 8: vs. Atlanta Falcons[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Falcons | 0 | 9| 0| 6 | 15
• 49ers | 7 | 0| 7| 6 | 20

* Date: October 21
* Location: Candlestick Park
* Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 57 °F or 13.9 °C; wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
* TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung

| Scoring summary

Q1| | SF| Solomon 56 yard run (Wersching kick)| SF 7–0
Q2| | ATL| Mazzetti 23 yard field goal| SF 7–3
Q2| | ATL| Jenkins 7 yard pass from Bartkowski (kick failed)| ATL 9–7
Q3| | SF| Hofer 2 yard run (Wersching kick)| SF 14–9
Q4| | ATL| Lawrence 41 yard blocked punt return (kick failed)| ATL 15–14
Q4| | SF| Hofer 3 yard run (kick failed)| SF 20–15

[4]

#### Week 15: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers[edit]

Week Fifteen: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9–5) at San Francisco 49ers (1–13)

Period | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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Buccaneers | 0 | 7 | 0| 0| 7
49ers | 10 | 3 | 0| 10| 23

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

* Date: December 9, 1979
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
* Game attendance: 44,506
* Box Score

Game information

First quarter

* SF – Mike Shumann 19-yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 7–0.
* SF – Ray Wersching 39-yard field goal. 49ers 10–0.

Second quarter

* TB – Jimmie Giles 19-yard pass from Doug Williams (Neil O'Donoghue kick). 49ers 10–7.
* SF – Ray Wersching 27-yard field goal. 49ers 13–7.

Third quarter

* No scoring

Fourth quarter

* SF – Lenvil Elliott 1-yard run (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 20–7.
* SF – Ray Wersching 45-yard field goal. 49ers 27–7.

Top passers

* TB – Doug Williams – 10/24, 167 yards, TD, 5 INT
* SF – Steve DeBerg – 22/30, 186 yards, TD

Top rushers

* TB – Ricky Bell – 10 rushes, 36 yards
* SF – Wilbur Jackson – 10 rushes, 35 yards

Top receivers

* TB – Isaac Hagins – 3 receptions, 90 yards
* SF – Mike Shumann – 4 receptions, 61 yards, TD

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49ers' players carried Bill Walsh off the field and fans tore down the goal posts.

### Standings[edit]

NFC West

* view
* talk
* edit

| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK
Los Angeles Rams(3) | 9  | 7  | 0  | .563  | 5–1  | 7–5  | 323  | 309  | L1
New Orleans Saints | 8  | 8  | 0  | .500  | 4–2  | 8–4  | 370  | 360  | W1
Atlanta Falcons | 6  | 10  | 0  | .375  | 2–4  | 5–7  | 300  | 388  | W1
San Francisco 49ers | 2  | 14  | 0  | .125  | 1–5  | 2–10  | 308  | 416  | L1

## References[edit]

1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the NFL, in the regular season, team lost game, team had a lead at some point in the game, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
2. ^ "1979 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
3. ^ "1979 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Retrieved November 2, 2023.
4. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers - October 21st, 1979". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

## External links[edit]

* 1979 San Francisco 49ers at Pro-Football-Reference.com

* v
* t
* e

San Francisco 49ers

* Founded in 1946
* Based and headquartered in Santa Clara, California

Franchise|

* Franchise
* Team history
* Coaches
* Players
* Seasons
* Logo and uniform history
* Starting quarterbacks
* Draft history (First-round draft picks)
* Broadcasters
* Retired numbers

Stadiums|

* Kezar Stadium
* Candlestick Park
* Levi's Stadium
* State Farm Stadium
* Three games played due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Culture|

* 49er Faithful
* Sourdough Sam
* San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush
* West Coast offense
* The Pigskin Priest
* KGO
* KNBR

Lore|

* The Catch (II)
* Joe Cool
* Million Dollar Backfield
* Snowball Game
* No Punt Game
* Fútbol Americano
* Harbaugh Bowl
* The Tip
* Jet Chip Wasp

Rivalries|

* Arizona Cardinals
* Dallas Cowboys
* Green Bay Packers
* Oakland Raiders (former)
* Los Angeles Rams
* New York Giants
* Seattle Seahawks

Key figures|

* Eddie DeBartolo
* Denise DeBartolo York
* Jed York
* John York
* Gideon Yu

Division championships (22)|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1981
* 1983
* 1984
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1997
* 2002
* 2011
* 2012
* 2019
* 2022
* 2023

Conference championships (8)|

* 1981
* 1984
* 1988
* 1989
* 1994
* 2012
* 2019
* 2023

League championships (5)|

* 1981 (XVI)
* 1984 (XIX)
* 1988 (XXIII)
* 1989 (XXIV)
* 1994 (XXIX)

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1950–present)
* Conference: National Football Conference
* Division: West Division

Former league affiliation|

All-America Football Conference (1946–1949)

* v
* t
* e

San Francisco 49ers seasons

* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Bold indicates Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance

* v
* t
* e

1979 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

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Baltimore | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Buffalo | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| Los Angeles
Miami | Houston| Oakland| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
New England | Pittsburgh| San Diego| St. Louis| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | Seattle| Washington| Tampa Bay|

* 1979 NFL Draft
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl XIV

This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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* v
* t
* e

*[IR]: Injured reserve
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template