Joe Staley, 5 others who deserved a Super Bowl ring with 49ers

No. 1: Running Back Frank Gore, who cared solely about winning

There’s the old story about the 49ers’ leading all-time rusher, running back Frank Gore, when he broke the franchise record previously held by former running back Joe Perry.

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While being recognized for his achievement and congratulated by his teammates, all Gore wanted to do was win the game.

Like Alex Smith, Joe Staley and Patrick Willis, Gore spent a good chunk of his time in San Francisco with some awfully bad Niners teams. And yet while there wasn’t much to cheer about the team during his early years, Gore always provided highlight-reel plays and quickly emerged as one of the greatest fan favorites in franchise history.

He’s still that way today.

Of course, there’s that goal-line moment during Super Bowl XLVII when Gore could have been given the ball with the 49ers trailing the Ravens. It’s one of the great “what if?” moments in franchise history, and the outcome of the game could have been totally different if Gore was the featured guy, not Michael Crabtree.

And while Gore could still have a chance to secure a Super Bowl somewhere else before he decides to retire, if he ever decides to retire, it would have been so much sweeter if San Francisco was able to secure him one instead.