1973 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1973 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 24th season in the National Football League and their 28th overall. They began the season hoping to improve on their previous years' output of 8–5–1, and looking to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. However, the team finished 5–9 ^[1] and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in four years. After the season, quarterback John Brodie retired after 17 years in the NFL, all with the 49ers.^[2]

1973 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Josephine Morabito Jane Morabito
General manager	Louis Spadia
Head coach	Dick Nolan
Home stadium	Candlestick Park
Results
Record	5–9
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	C Forrest Blue G Woody Peoples TE Ted Kwalick OLB Dave Wilcox P Tom Wittum
← 1972 49ers seasons 1974 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1973 NFL draft

1973 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	18	Mike Holmes	Wide receiver	Texas Southern	played with the 49ers beginning in 1974
2	41	Willie Harper	Linebacker	Nebraska
5	112	Mike Fulk	Linebacker	Indiana
5	122	Ed Beverly	Wide receiver	Arizona State
6	149	Arthur Moore	Nose tackle	Tulsa
7	174	John Mitchell	Linebacker	Alabama
8	201	Dave Atkins	Running back	UTEP
9	226	Roger Praetorius	Running back	Syracuse
10	253	Charlie Hunt	Linebacker	Florida State
11	278	Tom Dahlberg	Running back	Gustavus Adolphus
12	305	Larry Pettus	Tackle	Tennessee State
13	330	Alan Kelso	Center	Washington
14	357	Dennis Morrison	Quarterback	Kansas State	played with the 49ers in 1974
15	382	Mike Bettiga	Wide receiver	Humboldt State	played with the 49ers in 1974
16	409	Mike Oven	Tight end	Georgia Tech
17	434	Bob Erickson	Guard	North Dakota State
Made roster

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1973 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office Team Owner(s) - Josephine Morabito & Jane Morabito General manager / Team President – Louis Spadia Personnel Scout - Dick Gallagher Head coaches Head coach - Dick Nolan Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator - Jim Shofner Quarterbacks / Wide Receivers – Jim Shofner Offensive Backs – Doug Scovil Offensive Line / Blocking – Dick Stanfel

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Ed Beard Defensive Backfield / Secondary – Don Heinrich Special teams coaches Special Teams – Ed Beard & Chet Franklin

Roster

1973 San Francisco 49ers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 John Brodie 10 Dennis Morrison 19 Joe Reed 11 Steve Spurrier Running backs (RB) 29 Dave Atkins 42 Doug Cunningham 33 Randy Jackson 24 Jimmy Thomas 22 Vic Washington 40 Ken Willard Wide receivers (WR) 46 Danny Abramowicz 80 Mike Bettiga 81 Ed Beverly 17 John Isenbarger 18 Gene Washington Tight ends (TE) 82 Ted Kwalick 88 Dick Witcher

Offensive linemen (OL) 79 Cas Banaszek T 77 Jean Barrett T 65 Randy Beisler G 75 Forrest Blue C 63 Ed Hardy G 69 Woody Peoples G 76 Len Rohde T 67 John Watson G Defensive linemen (DL) 72 Bill Belk DE 86 Cedrick Hardman DE 53 Tommy Hart DE 74 Stan Hindman DT 56 Bob Hoskins DT 70 Charlie Krueger DT 78 Rolf Krueger DT

Linebackers (LB) 59 Willie Harper OLB 61 Charlie Hunt OLB 57 Frank Nunley MLB 84 Dave Olerich OLB 58 Jim Sniadecki MLB 52 Skip Vanderbundt OLB 64 Dave Wilcox OLB Defensive backs (DB) 43 Windlan Hall FS 37 Jimmy Johnson CB 49 Ralph McGill CB/S 32 Mel Phillips SS 38 Mike Simpson FS 44 Bruce Taylor CB Special teams (ST) 30 Bruce Gossett K 13 Tom Wittum P

Reserve 83 Terry Beasley WR (IR) 55 Mike Fulk LB (IR) 20 Mike Holmes CB/S (IR) 35 Larry Schreiber RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	July 28	vs. New England Patriots	W 20–7	1–0	Fawcett Stadium	19,685
2	August 6	at Cleveland Browns	W 27–16	2–0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	65,707
3	August 11	vs. New York Jets	L 14–34	2–1	Tampa Stadium	46,477
4	August 19	San Diego Chargers	W 19–7	3–1	Candlestick Park	54,977
5	August 26	Denver Broncos	W 43–7	4–1	Candlestick Park	59,097
6	September 1	at Oakland Raiders	L 17–23	4–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,612
7	September 7	at Los Angeles Rams	L 10–38	4–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,687

^[3]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 16	at Miami Dolphins	L 13–21	0–1	Miami Orange Bowl	68,275
2	September 23	at Denver Broncos	W 36–34	1–1	Mile High Stadium	50,966
3	September 30	Los Angeles Rams	L 20–40	1–2	Candlestick Park	57,487
4	October 7	at Atlanta Falcons	W 13–9	2–2	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	51,107
5	October 14	Minnesota Vikings	L 13–17	2–3	Candlestick Park	56,438
6	October 21	New Orleans Saints	W 40–0	3–3	Candlestick Park	52,881
7	October 28	Atlanta Falcons	L 3–17	3–4	Candlestick Park	56,825
8	November 4	at Detroit Lions	L 20–30	3–5	Tiger Stadium	49,531
9	November 11	at Washington Redskins	L 9–33	3–6	RFK Stadium	54,381
10	November 18	at Los Angeles Rams	L 13–31	3–7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	78,358
11	November 26	Green Bay Packers	W 20–6	4–7	Candlestick Park	49,244
12	December 2	Philadelphia Eagles	W 38–28	5–7	Candlestick Park	51,155
13	December 9	at New Orleans Saints	L 10–16	5–8	Tulane Stadium	62,490
14	December 15	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–37	5–9	Candlestick Park	52,252
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2: at Denver Broncos

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• 49ers	0	20	10	6	36
Broncos	10	3	7	14	34

• Date: September 23
• Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
• Game start: 2:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 66 °F (18.9 °C), wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)

Scoring summary

1		DEN	Jerry Simmons 18 yard pass from Charley Johnson (Jim Turner kick)	Broncos 7–0
1		DEN	Jim Turner 34 yard field goal	Broncos 10–0
2		DEN	Jim Turner 28 yard field goal	Broncos 13–0
2		SF	Bruce Gossett 22 yard field goal	Broncos 13–3
2		SF	Jimmy Thomas 5 yard run (Bruce Gossett kick)	Broncos 13–10
2		SF	John Brodie 1 yard run (Bruce Gossett kick)	49ers 17–13
2		SF	Bruce Gossett 39 yard field goal	49ers 20–13
3		SF	Bruce Gossett 14 yard field goal	49ers 23–13
3		SF	Vic Washington 1 yard run (Bruce Gossett kick)	49ers 30–13
3		DEN	Floyd Little 1 yard run (Jim Turner kick)	49ers 30–20
4		SF	Bruce Gossett 46 yard field goal	49ers 33–20
4		DEN	Gene Washington 19 yard pass from Charley Johnson (Jim Turner kick)	49ers 33–27
4		DEN	Floyd Little 1 yard run (Jim Turner kick)	Broncos 34–33
4		SF	Bruce Gossett 39 yard field goal	49ers 36–34

^[4]

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Rams	12	2	0	.857	5–1	9–2	388	178	W6
Atlanta Falcons	9	5	0	.643	4–2	7–4	318	224	W1
San Francisco 49ers	5	9	0	.357	2–4	4–7	262	319	L2
New Orleans Saints	5	9	0	.357	1–5	4–7	163	312	L1