grace tucker, cincinnati enquirer
·1 min read
This weekend's Super Bowl 58 will be a solemn one for Bengals fans as two of Cincinnati's biggest rivals – the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs – faceoff in the NFL's annual championship game.
Some might recognize the "Chiefs" name as an homage to Kansas City's former mayor H. Roe Bartle, or for its ongoing controversy surrounding its association with Native American imagery and culture.
But what is the backstory behind the "49ers" name? Here's what we know.
In short: the name is an homage to the California gold rush.
According to the team's website, Allen E. Sorrell – a partner alongside team owner Tony Morabito – suggested the name "49ers" after the miners who rushed the West for gold in 1849.
The term "49er" was around way before the advent of the football team as a way to describe the thousands of people who flocked to California from the East Coast during the gold rush.
The original team logo depicted San Francisco's wild beginnings, with a goldminer firing a pair of pistols. The logo was taken from a design seen on the side of railway freight cars.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why are the San Francisco 49ers called the 49ers? What to know
