There was a time when the San Francisco 49ers were the first NFL franchise to win five Super Bowls. Getting that record-tying sixth Lombardi Trophy has certainly been a challenge. There was a 34-31 loss to the Ravens in 2012 (XLVII) and a rough 31-20 setback to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 (LIV).
These days, under the guidance of general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan, the Niners have been in the championship mix. The team has made an appearance in three of the last four NFC title games.
Here are five standouts who spent most of their careers with this proud franchise. You could make a case that each (and perhaps others) deserves a little more attention when it comes from Hall of Fame voters.
49ers: 5 legends who deserve more Hall of Fame consideration
5. S Merton Hanks
That entertaining "Chicken Dance" that the talented defender displayed after a big play was one of his many talents. Defensive back Merton Hanks was a fifth-round draft choice by the San Francisco 49ers in 1991. The former University of Iowa standout didn't become a fixture in the secondary until his third season in the league. However, he showed his instincts early in his career when it came to that nose for the football.
As a rookie, he came up with a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. In his second season, there were a pair of interceptions. Hanks was just getting warmed up. In a total of eight seasons with the 49ers, he picked off 31 passes and returned two for scores. He also scooped up 10 fumbles, with a pair taken back for touchdowns. Hanks was named to four straight Pro Bowls from 1994-97 and earned All-Pro accolades in 1995.
The Super Bowl XXIX champion was released after the 1998 season and latched on with Mike Holmgren's Seattle Seahawks in '99. He played in a dozen games and he returned his lone interception of the season for a score.
4. LB NaVorro Bowman
Former Penn State linebacker Navarro Bowman was a big part of the 49ers' standout defensive units, excelling during the Jim Harbaugh Era. A third-round draft choice in 2010, he was a special teams standout as a rookie. He made one start that year, but he played in all 16 games, totaled 26 stops on defense and added 20 tackles on the kick coverage units.
Over the next three seasons. Bowman didn't miss a start and led the Niners in tackles each year. He was named All-Pro in each of those campaigns and was a Pro Bowler in 2012 and '13. He rolled up 130-plus stops each season and also came up with three interceptions (1 TD), seven fumble recoveries, seven forced fumbles and nine sacks.
After missing the 2014 season due to injury, he bounced back with his third All-Pro year, leading the Niners with a career-best 154 tackles. Bowman would earn some votes for NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Unfortunately, he missed the final 12 games with an Achilles injury one year later.
In his final NFL season, the three-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro played in only five games with the club in 2017 and was eventually released. Bowman latched on with the Raiders for 10 contests and not surprisingly, tied for the team lead with 89 tackles.
3. DB/KR Abe Woodson
A little history lesson. The All-America Football Conference was a league that lasted four years and was dominated by the Cleveland Browns. That franchise won all four titles during the AAFC's brief existence. In 1950, the Browns, along with the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts, joined the National Football League in 1950.
During the latter stages of the team's first decade in the NFL, the 49ers featured a versatile performer from the University of Illinois named Abe Woodson. There were only 12 teams in the league in 1958 and while Woodson was a second-round pick, he was the 15th overall selection that year. He would excel on special teams, especially on kickoff returns.
Along with current Falcons' standout Cordarrelle Patterson, they are the only two players in NFL annals to lead the league in kickoff return average on three occasions. He also led the National Football League in punt return average (13.4) in 1960.
Woodson spent the first seven seasons of his career with San Francisco. He took back a total of seven kicks (5 kickoffs, 2 punts) for scores with the team. He was named to five straight Pro Bowls from 1959-63 and earned All-Pro honors in 1959 and '60.
The big-play performer was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965 and finished his nine-year NFL career with 19 interceptions.
2. LB Patrick Willis
His NFL career was pretty short but awfully sweet. Linebacker Patrick Willis was the 11th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the 49ers. He played under three different head coaches during his first four seasons in the league, a span that saw the team amass a dismal 26-38 overall record.
That didn't stop the former Ole Miss standout from dominating. He led San Francisco in tackles in each of those years, amassing at least 125 stops in each campaign. Willis was a Pro Bowler each year, earned three All-Pro nods and was the 2007 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Over the next three seasons, he was the Niners' second-leading tackler behind NaVorro Bowman. They were quite the combination and over that stretch, made the Pro Bowl each year and was named All-Pro in 2011 and '12. More importantly, the team went to three straight NFC title games and reached Super Bowl XLVII in 2012. His 2014 season ended after six games due to a toe injury.
In March of 2015, Willis announced his retirement apparently very content with his decision. "In my head, I'm already a Hall of Famer. I am leaving this with closure. I'm happy today, more happy today than the day I was drafted."
It seems like only a matter of time before the star linebacker is enshrined in Canton. Willis was a Semifinalist in his first two years of eligibility and a Finalist in 2022 and '23.
1. RB Roger Craig
There have been six players to score three touchdowns in a Super Bowl. The most recent was Eagles' quarterback Jalen Hurts, who reached the end zone three times in the Super Bowl LVII loss to the Chiefs.
Three of the six players did it with the San Francisco 49ers. Jerry Rice (XXIV and XXIX) actually did it twice. Ricky Watters turned the trick in with Rice in Super Bowl XXIX.
The first to do it predated Rice and Watters in San Francisco. Roger Craig joined the team as a second-round draft choice in 1983 and in his second season, ran for one score and caught a pair of TD passes from Joe Montana in San Francisco's 38-16 victory over the Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX.
The hard-charging running back was also the first player in NFL annals to total at least 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. That was 1985, when he earned the first of four Pro Bowl invitations. That includes 1988, when he was named All-Pro and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. In just his eight seasons with the 49ers (he finished his career with the Raiders, then Vikings), Craig totaled 11,506 yards from scrimmage and 66 touchdowns.
Mike Holmgren (via Clark Judge of Talk of Game Two) certainly feels that the versatile performer deserves a bust in Canton, Ohio. "I would just say that in all my years (in the NFL), and I was 17 years as a head coach and 25 years in the league that, when I think about it, he was the best back I ever coached. He was the best guy I've ever had, and I had Shaun Alexander (in Seattle)."
Craig was one of 12 Seniors Committee Semifinalists for the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 but didn't make the final three. When will his time come?
