The 49ers didn’t win any Super Bowls in the 1970s. In fact they lost 22 games more than they won. But for much of the decade they had a stout defensive line. Cedrick Hardman, a fearsome defensive end who died last week at 70, was the best of the bunch.
A 6-foot-3, 255-pound pass rusher supreme, Hardman was selected by the 49ers with the ninth overall pick in the 1970 draft. He played 10 seasons with San Francisco, appearing in 139 regular season games and missing only five. Sacks? He had a sack full of them. How many is unknown. The NFL did not start officially tabulating the statistic until 1982.
The 49ers’ frenzied pass rushers became known as the Gold Rush. Their finest hour came on a Monday night game in 1976 against the rival Rams.
It was an interesting matchup. The 49ers were 3-1 under new head coach Monte Clark, while the Rams, three-time defending division champions, were 3-0-1. The 49ers were coming off a game in which they had seven sacks. Rams quarterback James Harris was coming off a game in which he threw for 446 yards. The hyperbolic “Monday Night Football” crew — Howard Cosell, Alex Karras and Frank Gifford — were front and center in the Los Angeles Coliseum that night.
The game began with the Gold Rush — Hardman, Tommy Hart, Cleveland Elam and Jimmy Webb — stuffing the Rams’ rushing attack. When the Rams attempted to pass, their linemen were flagged for one holding call after another.
“They called Tom Mack for holding twice, Rich Saul once and me once,” Rams offensive tackle John Williams said after the game. “You certainly can’t play recklessly after those kinds of penalties. You can’t pass when they know you’re going to pass.”
It was scoreless at halftime. The 49ers rang up 16 points in the first 5:56 of the third quarter, with Jim Plunkett throwing touchdown passes to Willie McGee and Tom Mitchell. Kicker Steve Mike-Mayer (later to be tagged Steve Miss-a-Mile) nailed an 18-yard field goal. And that was it for the scoring.
Like it not, the Rams had to play catch-up. The Gold Rush went wild, routing the L.A. pass blockers. Said Mack, “It looked like a jail break.”
Coming into the game, the 49ers had won just three of the previous 16 games against the Rams. This night, they pitched a 16-0 shutout. They also amassed 10 sacks against a Rams offense that had allowed just two in their first four games. It was said to be a 49ers record.
Hart had six. Three times he forced Harris to fumble. At one point Harris was dumped on three consecutive snaps, by Webb, Hart and Hardman.
When it was over, Harris kept repeating, “It was all my fault.”
The often overlooked Hart unburdened himself. “It’s tough to play as long as I have and not get any recognition,” he said. “Do you know I’ve never made any all-star teams? Not a one.”
He made the Pro Bowl in 1976. A lot of interesting things happened after that game. A Bay Area sports editor asked readers to suggest names for the 49ers front four (the Gold Rush moniker was commonly used, but not official). Among the responses:
Sackville West
The Grand Sackers
Sack Rats
Gold Rushers
Four Hangmen
Crunch Bunch
Trench Connection
Junkyard Dogs
Beef Eaters
Cedrick’s Hardmen
Turf Thumpers
Merchants of Menace
We’ll give Hardman the last word on the best game the Gold Rush ever had.
“It’s just one game,” he said. “People will have forgotten this game in a couple days.”
Wanna bet?
