The franchise's most successful season to date, it was considered to be "the birth of a dynasty",[1] when the 49ers began a decade of dominance over much of the NFL.

Third-year quarterback Joe Montana began the 1981 season as the starter, and produced two fourth-quarter comeback victories.

On March 23, 2007, NFL Network aired America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, the 1981 San Francisco 49ers, with team commentary from Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott and Randy Cross, and narrated by Gene Hackman.

A turning point for the franchise was the drafting of safety Ronnie Lott from the University of Southern California, later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The 1981 San Francisco 49ers season held training camp at Red Morten Park in Redwood City, California.

Walsh took the highly unusual step of overhauling his entire secondary with rookies and untested players, bringing on board Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson and giving Dwight Hicks a prominent role.

Giants' linebacker Lawrence Taylor was the only other rookie from the 1981 NFL draft to achieve this unanimous selection to the First Team All-Pro unit.

First-year starting quarterback Joe Montana led the 49ers to victory in his debut playoff game, completing 20 of 31 passes for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception.

[38] at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California Individual stats The 49ers were making their third appearance in the NFC Championship Game.

The play, remembered in 49er lore as "Red Right Tight—Sprint Right Option" had called for both the primary receiver, Solomon, and Dwight Clark to line up on the right.

A photograph of the catch, with Clark at the height of his leap and Everson Walls reaching out to try to block the ball, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week.