Editing San Francisco 49ers (section)

==== Buck Shaw years (1946–1954) ====
The San Francisco 49ers, an original member of the new [[All-America Football Conference]] (AAFC), were the first major league professional sports franchise based in San Francisco, and one of the first major league professional sports teams based on the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific Coast]].<ref name=Young>A.S. "Doc" Young, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ltoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA118 "The Black Athlete in the Golden Age of Sports, Part VI: The Black Athlete Makes His Mark,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128120408/https://books.google.com/books?id=ltoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA118 |date=January 28, 2016 }} ''Ebony'', May 1969, pg. 118.</ref> In 1946, the team joined the [[Los Angeles Dons]] of the AAFC and the [[Los Angeles Rams]] of the rival [[National Football League]] as the first three teams playing a "[[Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada|big four]]"-sport in the Western United States,<ref name=Young /> eventually becoming part of the NFL themselves in 1950.
[[File:View over Kezar stadium from Mt. Olympus in San Francisco.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kezar Stadium]] was the team's home venue from 1946 to 1970.]]
In [[1957 NFL season|1957]], the 49ers enjoyed their first sustained success as members of the NFL. After losing the opening game of the season, the 49ers won their next three against the [[1957 Los Angeles Rams season|Rams]], [[1957 Chicago Bears season|Bears]], and [[1957 Green Bay Packers season|Packers]] before returning home to Kezar Stadium for a game against the Chicago Bears on October 27, 1957. The 49ers fell behind the Bears 17–7. 49ers owner [[Tony Morabito]] (1910–1957) collapsed of a heart attack and died during the game. The 49ers players learned of his death at halftime when coach [[Frankie Albert]] was handed a note with two words: "Tony's gone". The 49ers scored 14 unanswered points to win the game, 21–17. [[Dicky Moegle]]'s late-game interception in the [[end zone]] sealed the victory. After Tony's death, 49er ownership went to Victor Morabito (1919–1964) and Tony's widow, Josephine V. Morabito (1910–1995). The 49ers' special assistant to the Morabitos, Louis G. Spadia (1921–2013) was named general manager.<ref name="v616"/>

[[File:Joeperry 49ers 1963.jpg|thumb|[[Joe Perry (American football)|Joe Perry]] played for the 49ers for 14 seasons.]]
During the decade of the 1950s, the 49ers were known for their so-called "[[Million Dollar Backfield (San Francisco 49ers)|Million Dollar Backfield]]", consisting of four future Hall of Fame members: quarterback [[Y. A. Tittle]] and running backs [[John Henry Johnson]], [[Hugh McElhenny]], and [[Joe Perry (American football)|Joe Perry]]. They became the only [[T formation|full-house]] backfield inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/the-1950s-and-the-king/|title=The 1950s and The King|website=Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site|access-date=November 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129144706/http://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/the-1950s-and-the-king/|archive-date=November 29, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

For most of the next 13 years, the 49ers hovered around .490, except for 1963 and 1964 when they went 2–12 and 4–10 respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1963 San Francisco 49ers Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/1963.htm |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1964 San Francisco 49ers Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/1964.htm |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> Key players for these 49ers included running back [[Ken Willard]], quarterback [[John Brodie]], and offensive lineman [[Bruce Bosley]]. During this time the 49ers became the first NFL team to use the [[shotgun formation]]. It was named by the man who devised the formation, San Francisco 49ers' coach [[Red Hickey]], in 1960. The formation, where the quarterback lines up seven yards behind the center, was designed to allow the quarterback extra time to throw. The formation was used for the first time in 1960 and enabled the 49ers to beat the [[1960 Baltimore Colts season|Baltimore Colts]], who were not familiar with the formation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201302030sfo.htm|title=Super Bowl XLVII – San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens – February 3rd, 2013|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=August 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023145432/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201302030sfo.htm|archive-date=October 23, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[1961 NFL season|1961]], primarily using the shotgun, the [[1961 San Francisco 49ers season|49ers]] got off to a fast 4–1 start, including two shutouts in back-to-back weeks. In their sixth game they faced the Chicago Bears, who by moving players closer to the line of scrimmage and rushing the quarterback, were able to defeat the shotgun and in fact shut out the 49ers, 31–0. Though the 49ers went only 3–5–1 the rest of the way, the shotgun eventually became a component of most team's offenses and is a formation used by football teams at all levels. In [[1962 NFL season|1962]], the [[1962 San Francisco 49ers season|49ers]] had a frustrating season as they won only 6 games that year. They won only one game at Kezar Stadium while on the road they won five of seven games. After posting a losing record in [[1963 NFL season|1963]]. Victor Morabito died May 10, 1964, at age 45. The [[1964 NFL season|1964 season]] was another lost campaign. According to the 1965 49ers Yearbook, the co-owners of the team were: Mrs. Josephine V. Morabito Fox, Mrs. Jane Morabito, Mrs. O.H. Heintzelman, Lawrence J. Purcell, Mrs. William O'Grady, [[Albert J. Ruffo]], [[Franklin Mieuli]], Frankie Albert, Louis G. Spadia and James Ginella. The [[1965 NFL season|1965]] [[1965 San Francisco 49ers season|49ers]] rebounded nicely to finish with a 7–6–1 record.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1965 San Francisco 49ers Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/1965.htm |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> They were led that year by John Brodie, who after being plagued by injuries came back to become one of the NFL's best passers by throwing for 3,112 yards and 30 touchdowns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1965 NFL Passing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1965/passing.htm |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> In [[1966 NFL season|1966]], the Morabito widows named Lou Spadia team president.<ref name="v616">{{cite web | title=Lou Spadia, ex-San Francisco 49ers president, dies at 92 | website=NFL.com | date=2013-02-18 | url=https://www.nfl.com/news/lou-spadia-ex-san-francisco-49ers-president-dies-at-92-0ap1000000140342 | access-date=2024-08-30}}</ref>