It Was 30 Years Ago Today...

Freddie Solomon, taking
it to the house.

Sure, there's a lot of negativity on this blog (I prefer to call it "constructive crticism" - to each their own), but that's because Niner fans expect so much more from this franchise than what has been delivered since the Yorks took things over.

I'm going to try out a new feature on the blog as we look back at the 49ers' first championship season in 1981. Why the 1981 season? Well, for starters, this year marks the 30th(!) anniversary of that unbelievable season. And since nobody expected much from that team, today's most optimistic Niner fans can probably find some parallels between the current squad and the '81 team that came out of nowhere to capture their first of five Lombardi Trophies (for the record, aside from the fact that both had first-time head coaches hailing from Stanford, I see no comparison between the two).

So let's start off with Week 4 of the 1981 season, a 21-14 home victory over the Saints. While the game itself wasn't very exciting, it is notable for four reasons:

1. This was the last time the 49ers played a home game as just another mediocre team with a largely disinterested fanbase. Two weeks later, the Niners hosted the Dallas Cowboys and pounded America's Team by a 45-14 margin. From that point on, the Niners were on their way to the top of the NFL ladder, a position they wouldn't relinquish for over 15 years.
2. As far as I can tell, this was the last Niner regular-season game that failed to sell out - I tried to confirm on the internet, but couldn't find anything definitive.
3. Following a loss in Atlanta the previous week, this game would mark the beginning of a 12-1 run throughout the rest of the regular season.
4. Some rookie named Ronnie Lott picked off an Archie Manning pass and returned it for a touchdown, the first signature play of his Hall-of-Fame career.

What else can I tell you about the game? I was one of the 40,000 or so fans at Candlestick that day, and aside from the Lott touchdown, I don't recall anything out of the ordinary. The Saints were coming off a dreadful 1-15 campaign in 1980, but I remember thinking that the 49ers would have their work cut out for them since it took a record-setting 28-point comeback to beat them the previous December.

A look at the box score shows a rushing touchdown by short-yardage specialist Johnny Davis (that six-yard score may have been his longest run of the year), and a 60-yard hookup from Joe Montana to Freddie Solomon (which I'm guessing was probably a ten-yard route followed by a 50-yard scamper into the end zone). Rookie cornerback Eric Wright also snagged an interception off of Manning, and my main man Paul Hofer continued his abbreviated comeback season with a handful of carries.

That's really about it. Back then, we were just happy to see the 49ers pick up any win, even against the Saints. We weren't thinking about the Super Bowl, or even the playoffs at that point. We were just hoping the Niners were taking another step to respectability. Within a month, however, all of that would change...

Next week: Dwight Hicks and the defense sends a message in the nation's capital.