The SAN Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in the SAN Francisco Bay Area. The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC merged with the NFL. The team is named after the prospectors who arrived in Northern California during the 1849 Gold Rush. The 49ers have won five Super Bowl championships, with the first Super Bowl win coming in 1981.