The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team. The team plays their home games in San Francisco, California, while the club's headquarters and practice facility are located in Santa Clara, California.The 49ers began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC merged into the older league. The San Franscisco 49ers currently shares the record for most Super Bowl victories with the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The San Francisco 49ers were the first major league professional sports franchise to be based in San Francisco, and one of the first professional sports teams based on the West Coast of the United States. Currently, the club is the city's only home grown sports franchise. The San Francisco 49ers entered professional football in 1946 as a member of the All-America Football Conference. In 1957 the San Francisco 49ers would enjoy their first sustained success. After losing the opening game of the season the San Francisco 49ers won their next three games against the Rams, Bears and Packers before returning home to Kezar Stadium for a game against the Chicago Bears. In 1961, primarily using the shotgun the San Francisco 49ers got off to a fast 4-1 start, including two shutouts in back-to-back weeks. The San Francisco 49ers started out the 1970 season 7-1-1, their only loss a one-point defeat to Atlanta. The San Francisco 49ers run at the top of the NFC West ended in 1973 with the 49ers falling to a 5-9 record, their worst since 1969. When the 1986 season began, the San Fransisco 49ers were off and running with a 31-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on opening day, but the win was costly as Joe Montana injured his back and was out for 2 months, Jeff Kemp became the starting quarterback as the San Francisco 49ers went 4-3-1 in September and October. Tragedy struck the San Fransisco 49ers on August 20, 2005, when OL Thomas Herrion died immediately following a pre-season loss to the Denver Broncos. Coach Mike Nolan had just finished addressing the players in the locker room when Herrion collapsed. He was taken to a local Denver hospital, where he died several hours later. An autopsy revealed that Herrion died of a heart disease, which had not been previously diagnosed. In the 2006 NFL Draft, the San Fransisco 49ers used their first pick on Maryland TE Vernon Davis.