{"id":501981,"date":"2026-10-20T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501981\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T08:00:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:00:02","slug":"then-and-now-heres-a-look-back-at-san-francisco-49ers-80-year-history-as-fans-celebrate-teams-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501981\/","title":{"rendered":"Then and now: Here’s a look back at San Francisco 49ers’ 80-year history as fans celebrate team’s legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — As the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> mark their 80th season, fans are reflecting on the franchise’s long history, from its founding in 1946 to its place among the NFL’s most storied organizations.<\/p>\n

Only nine current NFL teams predate the 49ers. Over eight decades, the franchise has built a legacy that includes multiple Super Bowl championships, Hall of Fame coaches and players, and generations of loyal fans.<\/p>\n

Asked to describe 80 years of 49ers football, fans offered a range of answers: “Fantastic. Magical torture.” “Successful.” “Super Bowl.” “Football legacy from the inception of the organization to current day.”<\/p>\n

Founded in 1946 by Tony Morabito, the 49ers began as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference.<\/p>\n

MORE: 49ers hold off furious Commanders’ second-half rally to go 6-0<\/a><\/p>\n

The team joined the NFL in 1950 and went on to establish a tradition centered on winning and fan support.<\/p>\n

“I’ve seen it all. This is my 56th year with season tickets, so I’ve seen everything come and go – coaches, players, fans. But it’s all been good. It’s been one fun trip the whole time,” said Tommie Silas, a 49ers fan from Hayward. Much has changed since the franchise’s early years, including the cost of everyday life and attending games.<\/p>\n

The script notes that the federal minimum wage was 40 cents in 1946, a gallon of milk cost 67 cents, and tickets for games at Kezar Stadium were $2.<\/p>\n

Today, attending a game comes at a significantly higher cost.<\/p>\n

“I think my average ticket today was worth $230 to $250.<\/p>\n

A little bit of an increase over time,” one fan said.<\/p>\n

The team’s home stadium has changed over the decades as well.<\/p>\n

The 49ers played at Kezar Stadium before moving to Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1971.<\/p>\n

The franchise relocated to Levi’s Stadium in the South Bay in 2014.<\/p>\n

For many fans, each venue is tied to unforgettable moments.<\/p>\n

“I was at the catch game, it was pandemonium. We went on the field after the game,” one fan said.<\/p>\n

“I seen Terrell Owens catch two and Vernon Davis catch three,” said another fan.<\/p>\n

“There’s so many good plays and memories,” a fan shared.<\/p>\n

Fans said the memories, prices and locations may change, but their support for the team remains constant.<\/p>\n

“I got to see Super Bowls, I got to see NFC Championship. So some good games ,some bad seasons. But you know you take the good with the bad,” said Corinne Sartorio, a 49ers fan from Fairfax.<\/p>\n

Another fan summed up that loyalty in two words: “Go Niners.”<\/p>\n

As the franchise celebrates its 80th season, fans said they hope the anniversary year ends with another Super Bowl championship added to the team’s history.<\/p>\n

The pursuit of a sixth title continues with Monday Night Football against Washington Commanders, which on Monday night, the niners won 23-16.<\/p>\n

\"Now<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — As the San Francisco 49ers mark their 80th season, fans are reflecting on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[194409,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-501981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-194409","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}