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Record: 13-3-0, Finished 1st in NFC West Division
NFL Season Summary
1981 Super Bowl Champions
Scored 357 points (22.3/g), 7th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 250 points (15.6/g), 2nd.
Differential of 107 points (6.7/g), 3rd.
Expected W-L: 11.2-4.8.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +23 (1.4/g), 1st.
Coached by Bill Walsh (13-3-0)
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1981 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Joe Montana* | 25 | 2 | 16 | 311 for 488, 3,565 yards, 19 td, 12 int, & 25 rushes for 95 yards and 2 td | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 82nd pick / 1979 |
| RB | Ricky Patton | 27 | 3 | 15 | 152 rushes for 543 yards, 4 td, & 27 catches for 195 yards and 1 td | Atlanta Falcons / 10th / 257th pick / 1978 |
| RB | Johnny Davis | 25 | 3 | 5 | 94 rushes for 297 yards, 7 td, & 3 catches for -1 yards and 0 td | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 2nd / 30th pick / 1978 |
| FB | Earl Cooper | 24 | 1 | 11 | 98 rushes for 330 yards, 1 td, & 51 catches for 477 yards and 0 td | San Francisco 49ers / 1st / 13th pick / 1980 |
| WR | Dwight Clark* | 24 | 2 | 16 | 85 catches for 1,105 yards, 4 td, & 3 rushes for 32 yards and 0 td | San Francisco 49ers / 10th / 249th pick / 1979 |
| WR | Freddie Solomon | 28 | 6 | 15 | 59 catches for 969 yards, 8 td, & 9 rushes for 43 yards and 0 td | Miami Dolphins / 2nd / 36th pick / 1975 |
| TE | Charle Young | 30 | 8 | 16 | 37 catches for 400 yards, 5 td | Philadelphia Eagles / 1st / 6th pick / 1973 |
| LT | Dan Audick | 27 | 4 | 16 | 2 fumbles recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 106th pick / 1977 |
| LG | John Ayers | 28 | 4 | 16 | San Francisco 49ers / 8th / 223rd pick / 1976 |
|
| C | Fred Quillan | 25 | 3 | 16 | San Francisco 49ers / 7th / 175th pick / 1978 |
|
| RG | Randy Cross* | 27 | 5 | 16 | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1976 |
|
| RT | Keith Fahnhorst | 29 | 7 | 16 | 2 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 35th pick / 1974 |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Jim Stuckey | 23 | 1 | 15 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 1st / 20th pick / 1980 |
| NT | Archie Reese | 25 | 3 | 16 | San Francisco 49ers / 5th / 127th pick / 1978 |
|
| RDE | Dwaine Board | 25 | 2 | 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 137th pick / 1979 |
|
| RDE | Lawrence Pillers | 29 | 5 | 6 | New York Jets / 11th / 296th pick / 1976 |
|
| LOLB | Willie Harper | 31 | 8 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 41st pick / 1973 |
| LILB | Dan Bunz | 26 | 3 | 8 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 1st / 24th pick / 1978 |
| RILB | Jack Reynolds | 34 | 11 | 16 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 22nd pick / 1970 |
| RILB | Craig Puki | 24 | 1 | 6 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1980 |
| ROLB | Keena Turner | 23 | 1 | 14 | 1 interception, 3 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 39th pick / 1980 |
| LCB | Ronnie Lott*+ | 22 | Rook | 16 | 7 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 1st / 8th pick / 1981 |
| RCB | Eric Wright | 22 | Rook | 16 | 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 40th pick / 1981 |
| SS | Carlton Williamson | 23 | Rook | 16 | 4 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 65th pick / 1981 |
| FS | Dwight Hicks* | 25 | 2 | 16 | 9 interceptions, 4 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 6th / 150th pick / 1978 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Ray Wersching | 31 | 8 | 0 | 17 of 23 field goals & 30 of 30 extra points | |
| P | Jim Miller | 24 | 1 | 0 | 93 punts for a 41.5 average, 0 blocked | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 65th pick / 1980 |
| PR | Freddie Solomon | 28 | 6 | 15 | 29 punt returns for a 6.0 average and 0 td | Miami Dolphins / 2nd / 36th pick / 1975 |
| KR | Amos Lawrence | 23 | Rook | 0 | 17 kick returns for a 25.7 average and 1 td | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 103rd pick / 1981 |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Audick | 27 | T-G | 16 | 16 | 252 | 6-3 | Hawaii | 11/15/1954 | 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 106th pick / 1977 |
| John Ayers | 28 | G-T | 16 | 16 | 258 | 6-5 | Texas,West Texas A&M | 4/14/1953 | 4 | San Francisco 49ers / 8th / 223rd pick / 1976 |
| Matt Bahr | 25 | K | 4 | 0 | 175 | 5-10 | Penn State | 7/6/1956 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 6th / 165th pick / 1979 |
| Guy Benjamin | 26 | QB | 4 | 0 | 210 | 6-4 | Stanford | 6/27/1955 | 3 | Miami Dolphins / 2nd / 51st pick / 1978 |
| Dwaine Board | 25 | DE | 16 | 11 | 248 | 6-5 | North Carolina A&T | 11/29/1956 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 137th pick / 1979 |
| Matt Bouza | 23 | WR | 1 | 0 | 211 | 6-3 | California | 4/8/1958 | Rook | |
| Dan Bunz | 26 | LB | 14 | 8 | 226 | 6-4 | California-Riverside,Long Beach State | 10/7/1955 | 3 | San Francisco 49ers / 1st / 24th pick / 1978 |
| John Choma | 26 | G-C-T | 14 | 0 | 261 | 6-5 | Virginia | 2/9/1955 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 135th pick / 1978 |
| Ricky Churchman | 23 | DB | 3 | 0 | 195 | 6-1 | Texas | 3/14/1958 | 1 | San Francisco 49ers / 4th / 84th pick / 1980 |
| Dwight Clark* | 24 | WR | 16 | 16 | 212 | 6-4 | Clemson | 1/8/1957 | 2 | San Francisco 49ers / 10th / 249th pick / 1979 |
| Earl Cooper | 24 | RB-TE | 16 | 11 | 227 | 6-2 | Rice | 9/17/1957 | 1 | San Francisco 49ers / 1st / 13th pick / 1980 |
| Randy Cross* | 27 | G-C | 16 | 16 | 259 | 6-3 | UCLA | 4/25/1954 | 5 | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1976 |
| Johnny Davis | 25 | RB | 16 | 5 | 235 | 6-1 | Alabama | 7/17/1956 | 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 2nd / 30th pick / 1978 |
| Fred Dean*+ | 29 | DE | 11 | 2 | 230 | 6-3 | Louisiana Tech | 2/24/1952 | 6 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1975 |
| Walt Downing | 25 | G-C | 16 | 0 | 259 | 6-3 | Michigan | 6/11/1956 | 3 | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 47th pick / 1978 |
| Walt Easley | 24 | RB | 12 | 1 | 226 | 6-2 | West Virginia | 9/8/1957 | Rook | |
| Lenvil Elliott | 30 | RB | 4 | 0 | 205 | 6-0 | Truman State | 9/2/1951 | 8 | Cincinnati Bengals / 10th / 249th pick / 1973 |
| Keith Fahnhorst | 29 | T | 16 | 16 | 273 | 6-6 | Minnesota | 2/6/1952 | 7 | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 35th pick / 1974 |
| Rick Gervais | 22 | DB | 8 | 0 | 190 | 5-11 | Stanford | 11/4/1959 | Rook | |
| Willie Harper | 31 | LB | 16 | 16 | 215 | 6-2 | Nebraska | 7/30/1950 | 8 | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 41st pick / 1973 |
| John Harty | 23 | NT-DE | 14 | 0 | 260 | 6-4 | Iowa | 12/17/1958 | Rook | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 36th pick / 1981 |
| Dwight Hicks* | 25 | DB | 16 | 16 | 190 | 6-1 | Michigan | 4/5/1956 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 6th / 150th pick / 1978 |
| Paul Hofer | 29 | RB | 12 | 0 | 195 | 6-0 | Mississippi | 5/13/1952 | 5 | San Francisco 49ers / 11th / 305th pick / 1976 |
| Arrington Jones | 22 | RB | 1 | 0 | 225 | 6-0 | Winston-Salem State | 12/16/1959 | Rook | San Francisco 49ers / 5th / 122nd pick / 1981 |
| Allan Kennedy | 23 | T | 2 | 0 | 273 | 6-7 | Washington State | 1/8/1958 | Rook | Washington Redskins / 10th / 267th pick / 1981 |
| Pete Kugler | 22 | NT-DE | 13 | 0 | 255 | 6-4 | Penn State | 8/9/1959 | Rook | San Francisco 49ers / 6th / 147th pick / 1981 |
| Amos Lawrence | 23 | RB | 13 | 0 | 181 | 5-11 | North Carolina | 1/9/1958 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 103rd pick / 1981 |
| Bobby Leopold | 24 | LB | 16 | 2 | 215 | 6-1 | Notre Dame | 10/18/1957 | 1 | San Francisco 49ers / 8th / 210th pick / 1980 |
| Jim Looney | 24 | LB | 1 | 0 | 225 | 6-0 | Purdue | 8/18/1957 | Rook | |
| Ronnie Lott*+ | 22 | DB | 16 | 16 | 203 | 6-0 | USC | 5/8/1959 | Rook | San Francisco 49ers / 1st / 8th pick / 1981 |
| Saladin Martin | 25 | DB | 15 | 0 | 180 | 6-0 | San Diego State | 1/17/1956 | 1 | |
| Milt McColl | 22 | LB | 16 | 0 | 248 | 6-6 | Stanford | 8/28/1959 | Rook | |
| Jim Miller | 24 | P | 16 | 0 | 183 | 5-11 | Mississippi | 7/5/1957 | 1 | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 65th pick / 1980 |
| Joe Montana* | 25 | QB | 16 | 16 | 200 | 6-2 | Notre Dame | 6/11/1956 | 2 | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 82nd pick / 1979 |
| Ricky Patton | 27 | RB | 16 | 15 | 190 | 5-11 | Ferris State,Jackson State,Michigan | 4/6/1954 | 3 | Atlanta Falcons / 10th / 257th pick / 1978 |
| Brian Peets | 25 | TE | 5 | 0 | 225 | 6-4 | Pacific | 7/15/1956 | 3 | |
| Lawrence Pillers | 29 | DE-DT-NT | 14 | 6 | 255 | 6-4 | Alcorn State | 11/4/1952 | 5 | New York Jets / 11th / 296th pick / 1976 |
| Craig Puki | 24 | LB | 16 | 6 | 231 | 6-1 | Tennessee | 1/18/1957 | 1 | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1980 |
| Fred Quillan | 25 | C | 16 | 16 | 261 | 6-5 | Oregon | 1/27/1956 | 3 | San Francisco 49ers / 7th / 175th pick / 1978 |
| Eason Ramson | 25 | TE | 11 | 0 | 232 | 6-2 | Washington State | 4/30/1956 | 3 | Green Bay Packers / 12th / 312th pick / 1978 |
| Archie Reese | 25 | DE-NT-DT | 16 | 16 | 267 | 6-3 | Clemson | 2/4/1956 | 3 | San Francisco 49ers / 5th / 127th pick / 1978 |
| Jack Reynolds | 34 | LB | 16 | 16 | 232 | 6-1 | Tennessee | 11/22/1947 | 11 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 22nd pick / 1970 |
| Bill Ring | 25 | RB | 12 | 0 | 208 | 5-10 | BYU | 12/13/1956 | Rook | |
| Mike Shumann | 26 | WR | 13 | 1 | 178 | 6-1 | Florida State | 10/13/1955 | 3 | |
| Freddie Solomon | 28 | WR-QB-RB | 15 | 15 | 185 | 5-11 | Tampa | 1/11/1953 | 6 | Miami Dolphins / 2nd / 36th pick / 1975 |
| Jim Stuckey | 23 | DE | 15 | 15 | 251 | 6-4 | Clemson | 6/21/1958 | 1 | San Francisco 49ers / 1st / 20th pick / 1980 |
| Terry Tautolo | 27 | LB | 5 | 0 | 232 | 6-2 | UCLA | 8/30/1954 | 5 | Philadelphia Eagles / 13th / 353rd pick / 1976 |
| Lynn Thomas | 22 | DB | 15 | 0 | 181 | 5-11 | Pittsburgh | 7/9/1959 | Rook | San Francisco 49ers / 5th / 121st pick / 1981 |
| Keena Turner | 23 | LB | 16 | 14 | 219 | 6-2 | Purdue | 10/22/1958 | 1 | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 39th pick / 1980 |
| Ray Wersching | 31 | K | 12 | 0 | 213 | 5-11 | California | 8/21/1950 | 8 | |
| Carlton Williamson | 23 | DB | 16 | 16 | 204 | 6-0 | Pittsburgh | 6/12/1958 | Rook | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 65th pick / 1981 |
| Mike Wilson | 23 | WR | 16 | 0 | 213 | 6-3 | Washington State | 12/19/1958 | Rook | Dallas Cowboys / 9th / 246th pick / 1981 |
| Eric Wright | 22 | DB | 16 | 16 | 183 | 6-1 | Missouri | 4/18/1959 | Rook | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 40th pick / 1981 |
| Charle Young | 30 | TE | 16 | 16 | 234 | 6-4 | USC | 2/5/1951 | 8 | Philadelphia Eagles / 1st / 6th pick / 1973 |
| Team Total | 25.4 | 16 | 222.1 | 6-2.0 | 2.6 |