Ira Miller, Chronicle Staff Writer

In recent years, we've heard the phrase "end of an era" so often when it came to the 49ers that it started to lose its meaning. But, and you can bank on this: The departure of Jerry Rice really is the end of the era.

Rice was the 49ers' only star who bridged both the 1980s and the '90s. He was there in 1988, when he was Super Bowl MVP of the 49ers' third championship season. And he was there in 1994, when he broke the NFL's record for scoring touchdowns early in the 49ers' fifth championship season.

Joe Montana's last year as a starter for the 49ers was 1990. Ronnie Lott's last year with the team was 1990. Roger Craig's last year was 1990. Steve Young's first year as a starter was 1991. Bryant Young arrived in 1994.

When Rice arrived in 1985, it was far from clear the 49ers would become one of the great dynasties in sports -- or, for that matter, that he would play a leading role. Through much of his rookie year, Rice was known mostly for the passes he dropped. But once he started holding onto them, the early problems became just a distant memory and a minor footnote to his career.

Over a 10-year period from 1986 through 1995, Rice scored 169 touchdowns in 174 games, including the postseason. It won't be long before the numbers compiled by pass receivers begin to lose all meaning, but it's unlikely we'll soon see anyone approach Rice's combination of longevity and productivity.

It is difficult to compare players from different eras because the style of the game has changed. Don Hutson, the Green Bay great from the 1930s and '40s, many of whose receiving records Rice broke, played at a time when the passing game was less sophisticated and defenses had more latitude within the rules to attack both quarterbacks and receivers.

Still, most people believe Rice could have thrived in any era, and, in fact, a real argument is to be made for the case of Rice as the best player at any position in NFL history, not just the best receiver. That's an argument best saved for another day, but surely, that would be Rice's legacy if he had achieved his records in say, New York, the nation's media capital, rather than on the Left Coast.

Rice had great natural ability, but, also, no one worked harder at his craft. He was only the third wide receiver chosen in the 1985 draft, because many scouts believed he was not fast enough. Yet, Bill Walsh, who made a trade to draft Rice for the 49ers, looked at how Rice played in college, not how he ran for scouts. Rice was fast enough that he did not get caught from behind.

The story has been told and retold of how Rice learned to catch while growing up in rural Mississippi: His father, a bricklayer, threw bricks to him on construction projects during the summer, and Rice had to catch them because if they fell and broke, he would have to pay for them. But most remarkable was the way Rice continued to work even after he became a huge star.

His offseason conditioning program was the stuff of legend. He would spend hours running along the hills on the Peninsula. Other NFL players used to come to spend time working out with him in the spring. Rice treated his body like a finely tuned machine. One year he decided he needed to get stronger, so he worked on adding weight and muscle. Another year he decided he needed to lose weight to get faster, so he did that. Rice never felt comfortable; he always prepared like a rookie trying to make the team.

That work ethic carried over to the practice field. Rice ran out every pass pattern down the field. When he was not actively involved in a drill, he often stood on the sidelines playing catch. When the left-handed Young succeeded the right-handed Montana at quarterback, Rice made a regular routine of having Ted Walsh, a left-handed equipment man, throw him passes on the sideline at practice so he could get used to a left-handed spin on the ball.

Remarkably, Rice remained relatively injury-free. He had some nagging injuries through the years that slowed him for a game or two or three, but he always lined up on Sunday.

In his first dozen years in the NFL, he did not miss a single game because of injury, a streak that ended after the opening game of his 13th season, in 1997. At that time, the severe knee injury he sustained was considered possibly career-threatening because of its nature and Rice's age, but he didn't even miss the entire season, returning in December, prematurely as it turned out, because he wrecked the knee again.

Through the years, Rice also earned a reputation both as somewhat aloof from teammates, and selfish, neither of which is an unusual trait for superstars. Few teammates ever became really close to Rice, who frequently called for more passes to be thrown his way to solve whatever ailed the 49ers at any moment. Although that might have branded him as selfish, his record also tells us it was usually not a bad idea.

With Rice gone from the 49ers, the only memories from the '80s that remain are the Vince Lombardi trophies that sit in the lobby of the team's headquarters at Santa Clara. His departure is the final sign the '80s finally are over for the 49ers. Remember those years fondly, but this really is a new era.