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Faithful Flashbacks #67: San Francisco’s First Franchise Win

In honor of the San Francisco 49ers celebrating their 80th anniversary, Sactown Sports is kicking off a countdown of the 80 greatest moments in the franchise’s illustrious history in reverse order called “Faithful Flashbacks.”

From Super Bowl-winning plays to overperforming teams that had minimal expectations, there’s plenty to choose from the team with five titles under its belt.

The voting was conducted by a handful of the Sactown Sports’ staffers before results were compiled into a full list that will count down to the 49ers’ 2026 NFL regular season debut against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on September 10th.

Faithful Flashbacks -- San Francisco 49ers 80 Best Moments

Before the Super Bowls, before Candlestick Park became home, before Bill Walsh and Joe Montana changed the franchise forever, came the 49ers’ first franchise win.

That came on Sept. 15, 1946, against the Miami Seahawks at Kezar Stadium.

San Francisco was in its first season in the All-America Football Conference, years before the 49ers became an NFL team. After opening their regular-season one week earlier with a loss to the New York Yankees, the 49ers were still searching for the first official win in team history.

In Week 2, the 49ers beat the Miami Seahawks 21-14, giving the franchise its first regular-season victory. Fullback Dick Renfro carried the scoring load, rushing for all three San Francisco touchdowns in what became one of the earliest standout performances in team history.

The setting also says a lot about where the franchise was at the time.

Only 17,500 fans were on hand at Kezar Stadium, watching two AAFC teams that were still trying to establish themselves. The Miami Seahawks were not connected to the modern Seattle Seahawks, but were instead a short-lived AAFC franchise that lasted only one season before folding and being replaced by the Baltimore Colts.

For San Francisco, the win was the first real step in what eventually became one of the more prestigious franchises in the league.

The 49ers finished their first season 9-5, quickly showing that they could be one of the stronger teams in the new league. A few years later, they would join the NFL as part of the AAFC-NFL merger, setting the stage for everything that came after.

For No. 67 on our ‘Faithful Flashbacks’ countdown, this moment belongs because every franchise has to start somewhere.

Long before the 49ers became one of the NFL’s defining organizations, their first win was the kickstart moment of it all.