12 days until 49ers kickoff: Who wore it best? Who wears it now?

The San Francisco 49ers kick off the 2015 NFL regular season on Monday Night Football, on September 14. That game. means San Francisco is now a mere 12 days away from kicking off its 2015 regular season. In the spirit of that approaching date, I thought I would steal this idea from our Oakland Raiders site.

Who wore it best: QB John Brodie (1957-1973)

We have reached the penultimate retired jersey in our countdown to the start of the 49ers 2015 season. And no, the picture does not mean the jersey was retired for Trent Dilfer. We'll get to that in a second.

John Brodie is far and away the most notable player to wear No. 12 in 49ers history. The team drafted him with the third overall pick of the 1957 NFL Draft. He went on to play a team-record 17 years with the 49ers. He ranks second all-time with 31,548 passing yards, and third with 214 touchdown passes. He earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods, and was voted All Pro in 1970, when he took home NFL MVP honors.

Brodie remains out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but with Super Bowl 50 set for the Bay Area, a push is on to get him in. This is not a new thing, but there is hope a renewed effort can get Brodie over the top. This is actually where Trent Dilfer comes into the picture. When he briefly joined the 49ers, Brodie's jersey had already been retired. Dilfer and Brodie are close friends, and Dilfer wore the number (with Brodie's permission) in hopes of getting more recognition for Brodie.