The History and Evolution of the San Francisco 49ers Logo

The Exciting Rise and Evolution of the SF 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are the first major-four sports team based out of the San Francisco area and
the
first major sports franchise to emerge from the US West Coast. The colors of the eponymous 49ers
logo are an
homage to the gold rush of 1849. The light gold band around the edge of the emblem signifies the
precious
metal. The dark red background is a nod to the typical red plaid worn by the majority of the miners
and
prospectors of that era.

Over the years, the San Francisco 49ers sports team logo has won five league championships, all from the Super Bowl
era. The
1980s were their top era as a team, resulting in them winning four Super Bowl titles in that decade
and
failing to make the playoffs only twice in that time.

1. The Story of the Franchise and the 49ers logo history

Created by a lumber transport businessman named Anthony J. Morabito, the team has been part of the
NFL since
1946. A member of the NFC West division, the team, is one of the ten oldest teams in the NFL and has
seen
widespread success over the years, with many records to its name.

The team’s name and their first NFL
logo were a nod to the many gold prospectors who came to the San
Francisco Bay in 1849 to benefit from the Gold Rush. An infamous time in the history of California,
the Gold
Rush led to the economic and infrastructural growth of the area, including the San Francisco area.

Over the years, the franchise has been quite successful in representing the city of San Francisco in
one of
the big four sports teams. It has become one of the most successful teams in the NFL. Originally
registered
as the San Francisco Forty-Niners, the team has become known as the 49ers
by the
fans.

2. San Francisco 49ers Logos Through the Years

Throughout its nearly seven and a half decades of playing football, the 49ers logo has seen just a
couple of
significant changes and a few minor ones as well. The first custom logo
design used by the franchise was an elaborate image representing the gold rush. Still, over
the
years, the logo was simplified for better visibility and made it more memorable.

The logos for the team can be broken down into three broad categories.

• The primary logos are the ones used by the team as their central representation. They are the
  images
  that are used by the fans to identify the franchise.
• Text-based logos are wordmark designs that are used alongside the primary logos, as well as
  independently. It provides the team’s name in stylized design, making it easier to identify its
  name.
• And finally, the commemorative logos are used to celebrate milestones or achievements for the
  franchise,
  similar to the NFL 100 logo used by the league to celebrate their centennial anniversary in the
  sport.

3. Primary San Francisco 49ers Logos

The team uses these logos as their primary identifier, either alone or alongside the wordmark
logos. Throughout the nearly seventy-five
years of
playing in the league, the San Francisco 49ers have had their logo modified a few times,
with only a
couple
of significant changes.

Let us have a look at the evolution of the primary 49ers logo.

3.1- 1946-1967 (The Image That Inspired the 49ers Logo and Name)

The first logo was proposed by Allen Sorrel, who co-owned the franchise with Tony Morabito.
Allen saw
the
image of a plaid-clad gold prospector, drunkenly waving about and firing a pair of pistols,
on the
side of a
railway freight car. Looking at it, Allen thought that the image was a perfect
representation of the
team
name and decided to adopt that imagery for the team logo.

This San Francisco 49ers logo featured a mustached gold-digger, waving a pair of revolvers around
drunkenly
with one pistol above the head and the other pointing down and firing towards his foot. The
prospector was
clad in a red shirt and plaid trousers, with his wide-brimmed hat flying off behind him due to his
vigorous
actions.

This logo represented the lack of law in the area during the gold rush, and the owners felt that it
was a
good image to accompany the team name.

3.2- 1968-1995 (The Simplified 49ers Logo)

In 1968, the team released a new logo that featured an oval-shaped background signifying a
football.
The
image was colored red and enclosed by a black bar all around the shape.

The red oval featured the initials of the team’s city, the letters S and
F.
The letter S overlapped the letter F in the left top
corner,
breaking the
letter into three fragments. The letters were solid white, with bold and long serifs at the
ends of
the
logo’s characters.

The 1985 redesign saw a minor change being made to the logo.

The logo’s initials were now outlined in black, which made it easier to differentiate the designs
from the
background. It also made the fragments of the letter F more distinct, which made
the design
a little better to identify visually.

3.3- 1996-2008 (The One Leading to the Current 49ers Logo)

In 1996, the logo was redesigned again, and the new design was visually more assertive than
the
previous
iterations.

The oval shape of the logo was stretched and elongated, making it more similar to the
football shape
it was
meant to resemble.

The following change was the joining of the letter F’s fragments into a single piece. The
shadowed
outline
added to both characters made it look as if the S was overlaid over the
letter
F.

The base color was now a darker red. The outer black border was made thicker at the left and right
edges. A
metallic gold bar was added to the inside edge of the logo signifying their ties to the California
gold rush
of the mid-19^th century.

3.4- 2009-Present Day (The Metamorphosis of the 49ers New Logo)

The current version of the 49ers logo is the same as the previous iteration; the only
difference is
the
change in the design’s colors.

In 2009, the owners changed the shades of the colors used in the logo, which included:

• The dark red background was made a deep scarlet color, making it easier for the other
  design
  elements on
  the logo to pop instead of blending into the back.

• The white letters making up the team’s home city’s initials were changed from a dull white to a
  brighter
  shade, making the letters stand out better even at a distance.
• Similarly, the black and gold colors used were more saturated, making them more distinct and
  helped make
  them stand out better when outlining the logo design.

4- Text-Based San Francisco 49ers Logos

Text-based logos or wordmark logos are a necessary part of every NFL team’s branding. Image-based
logos are a
great way to help fans identify a franchise. However, wordmark logos are a great tool when the
purpose is to
help new people recognize or identify the team imagery with the name.

Wordmark logos can be used alone or used alongside the team logo, based on the scenario. Many NFL
teams use
wordmark logos to get their imagery out to new prospective fans. Let’s have a look at the text-based
49ers
logos that have been used over the years.

4.1- 1972-2004 (The Iconic 49ers Symbol)

The first wordmark logo was released in 1972 and featured the deep red characters spelling out the
team’s
nickname. The characters were outlined in red, with a white bar separating the main body of the
characters’
outline.

An alternate version was also created that featured a metallic gold color instead of the deep red. It
signified the California gold rush and allowed an option to print on darker mediums without losing
impact.

The font was a custom design and featured intricate serifs, which made the design quite elaborate.
The result
was a highly stylized wordmark logo that represented the old-world aesthetic of the team’s name.

4.2- 2005-2008 (The Aesthetic of the 2000s)

The 2005 redesign of the wordmark logo was done to upgrade the design per modern graphic design trends to make it more relevant to that era’s fans.

The new wordmark logo now featured the team nickname in bright white with thin gold and black outline
over a
rectangular maroon background. The script for the logo was quite simple – a bold serif font used to
write
the team’s name, with the rest of the name after the letters 49 written in a
slightly
smaller size. Except for the 49, the rest of the logo featured a metallic gold bar
as an
underline.

Another iteration was also created, similar in design to the one described above, with minor changes.
This
version featured the white characters now colored a deep red over a white background.

This wordmark logo was quite different from the previous wordmark iterations, which made it better
suited to
the design appeal of the mid-2000s.

4.3- 2009-Present Day (The 2009 San Francisco 49ers New Logo)

The 2009 redesign kept the design mostly the same, with minor changes to the shades of the colors
used.

The previous two designs were still used, the only change being the shade of red now changed to a
bright
crimson. Additionally, the lines of the logo were made cleaner and more precise, adding to its
overall
visual appeal

A third version was added to the lineup. This version featured the same design, albeit it removed all
shades
of red from the logo. The only color now was the black and gold outline of the characters and the
gold bar
underneath the characters.

5- Commemorative San Francisco 49ers Logos

Commemorative logos are a great way to celebrate significant achievements or milestones. They have
been used
in sports for quite some time. Even the National Football League created a new commemorative logo
for its
100^th anniversary, which was part of all player uniforms and the game balls during the
2019
season.

Many franchises hire an external logo design service to help them create commemorative logos that
effectively
portray the essence of the achieved milestone.

5.1- 40 Years as a Team – 1986

The logo also featured the iconic Golden Gate Bridge going through the zero from the 40.

This design was a great way to commemorate four decades in the league and signify their roots in the
San
Francisco area.

5.2- 50 Years as a Team – 1996

The bottom two quadrants feature the team’s initials in the bottom left and the team’s timeline in
the bottom
right.

All in all, it is a fitting yet classic way to commemorate half a century in the sport.

5.3- 60 Seasons Playing Football – 2006

the NFL championship rings, below which was a bold white 60 with a black outline. A black fluttering
banner
below the 60 featured the year the team was formed and the anniversary year.

It is their most visually bold commemorative logo to date.

5.4- 70 Years Playing Football – 2016

The larger quadrants below featured the number of years the team has been active in the league, with
the word
YEARS written in white on a thin gold bar below the number of the commemorative anniversary.

Unlike the 50^th anniversary logo, which used brighter and deeper colors, the colors used
in this
version were lighter and more subdued.

6- A Comparison Between the Old and the New 49ers Logo Design

The San Francisco Forty-Niners’ current logo has become an iconic image since it has been used for
more than
fifty years. The shape of the logo is iconic, featuring an elongated oval that is excellent at
signifying
the relationship between the logo and football game.

The team’s area’s initials are centered in the logo’s middle, making them highly visible. And the
gold and
black lines encircling the logo are a great accent to the overall design.

The font for the logo was custom-designed, with each letter drawn carefully by hand. Based on the
vintage
typographic style, the characters featured blocky serifs and a bold character weight, making the
font
visible easily, even at a distance.

This logo is iconic and is a design that generations of 49ers fans identify with the team. But it
does not do
the name of the San Francisco Forty-Niners justice. The current logo does not relate to the image
the
franchise founders had for the team, which was to pay homage to the gold rush prospectors from 1849.

In that respect, the vintage 49ers logo from 1946 captured the essence and concept behind the team’s
name.
The drunk gold digger jumped around and fired their pistols, randomly capturing the theme of the
gold rush
era perfectly.

So while the new logo does work well with the team’s current vibe, the first logo was the one that
captured
the true essence behind the team’s name. Nevertheless, the logo is iconic and has been able to rally
a large
fan following known as the “Niner Nation.”

Frequently Asked Questions

In The End

The story behind the evolution of the San Francisco 49ers logo image is quite vast.

Over the years, the team has shown itself to be one of the best teams in the NFL. It is the third
most
valuable NFL team and the twelfth most valuable athletics team in the world. Their dedication to
excellence
drives them to greatness, signifying the never-ending hardiness of the people who popularized the
San
Francisco area during the gold rush.

With such a historically significant name as the Forty-Niners, the San Francisco football team has
proved
themselves capable of rising to the challenge and proving themselves worthy of that legacy. Other
NFL team
logos are also worth exploring such as Chicago Bears Logo and LA Rams
Logo.

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