WHO ARE THE FORTY NINERS?

 



1849 49ers at work.



The San Francisco 49ers is by far one of the most successful NFL franchises of all time. Founded in 1946, many people don’t know where the name FORTY NINERS came from. In the early years they played for the All-American Conference (AAFC).  In 1950 they joined the NFL with their official name being “The San Francisco Forty Niners”. But how is it that they became the Forty Niners? During the years of 1848-1855 the state of California was the mecca of gold. People from Latin America, Hawaii, Europe and the east coast of the United States flocked to California in search of gold. A carpenter and  sawmill operator, by the name of James Wilson Marshall, was the person who discovered gold in the American river in California in January of 1848. This was the beginning of the California “Gold Rush”. The idea of getting gold nuggets from the ground could be compared as winning the lottery today. Yes it was a time that lots of gold was found, but when people got their many realized that it was not as easy as it sounded. In 1849 was the year when people from all over the world started going towards the west, some came in ships and others came by wagons. The population in California grew from 15,000 in 1848 to 100,000 in 1849. The movement as they called it was the ” Gold Rush”.  The term Forty Niners essentially refer to the miners, explorers, and fortune hunters who came to California during this time. This is how the owners of the San Francisco Forty Niners decided on the name for the NFL team.  Today the San Francisco 49ers use this name in reference to the miners and pioneers that came to the state of California because of the gold rush. Speaking of the “gold rush”, this is the name of the forty niner’s cheerleaders.                                                                                             





 2012 49ers at work.