49ers: Top 30 moments in San Francisco franchise history

San Francisco 49ers: Top 30 all-time moments in franchise history

SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 10: (L-R) Former San Francisco 49er players Steve Young, Jerry Rice and Joe Montana stand with a Super Bowl trophy during a public memorial service for former 49ers coach Bill Walsh August 10, 2007 at Monster Park in San Francisco, California. NFL Hall of Famer Bill Walsh, who was known by many as 'The Genius' for leading the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl championships, died last week at the age of 75 after a long battle with leukemia. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) /

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The selection of quarterback Joe Montana in 1979 forever changed the franchise. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 9: 49ers Draft Joe Montana in 1979

The 49ers didn’t have a first-round draft pick in the 1979 NFL draft. That pick, per Mike Wilkening of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk, was part of the disastrous package that brought an aging, ineffective running back O.J. Simpson to San Francisco the previous season.

The 49ers of the late 70s were a scuffling bunch. But Round 3 of the 1979 draft would forever change the franchise’s history.

San Francisco selected quarterback Joe Montana out of Notre Dame. Montana wasn’t the highest-touted quarterback to go — QBs Jack Thompson, Phil Simms and Steve Fuller all went earlier.

But the subsequent history speaks for itself.

“There have been, and will be, much better arms and legs and much better bodies on quarterbacks in the NFL,” said former 49er teammate Randy Cross via Larry Schwartz of ESPN. “But if you have to win a game or score a touchdown or win a championship, the only guy to get is Joe Montana.”

And the 49ers did.