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1954 San Francisco 49ers season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1954 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerTony Morabito
General managerLouis Spadia
Head coachBuck Shaw
Home fieldKezar Stadium
Results
Record7–4–1
Division place3rd NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1954 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League and their 9th overall. The team was coming off a 9–3 record in 1953, finishing one game behind the Detroit Lions for a spot in the championship game.

The 49ers got off to a strong start, beginning the season with a 4–0–1 record, as they were trying to finish on top of the conference for the first time in team history. The Niners lost their next 2 games against the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams by close scores, but they still found themselves in the playoff race as no team was running away with the conference. The 4–2–1 Niners had a huge game against the 5–1–0 Detroit Lions, which was a must-win game for San Francisco. But the Lions had other ideas, demolishing the 49ers 48–7, leaving them with a 4–3–1 record. San Francisco finished the season with 3 wins in their final 4 games, ending up in 3rd place with a 7–4–1 record.

Offensively, Y. A. Tittle had another strong season, throwing for 2,205 yards and 9 touchdowns, while completing 57.6% of his passes. Billy Wilson led the club with 60 receptions and 830 yards and 5 touchdowns. San Francisco's ground attack was overwhelming. Joe Perry rushed for an NFL-high 1,049 yards, and John Johnson rushed for 681 yards (2nd highest total in the NFL) and a team-high 9 touchdowns. Hugh McElhenny led the team with 8.0 yards per carry until he separated his shoulder on October 31 against the Chicago Bears.

Joe Perry (FB), Bruno Banducci (G) and Leo Nomellini (DT) made the Associated Press All-Pro team. Hugh McElhenny (HB), Billy Wilson (E), and Bob St. Clair (T) made the second squad.

Offseason

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NFL draft

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1954 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 11 Bernie Faloney  Back Maryland signed with Edmonton Eskimos (WIFU)
2 23 Leo Rucka  Linebacker Rice played with 49ers in 1956.
3 35 Steve Korcheck  Center George Washington decided to play professional baseball.
4 47 Charlie Boxold  Back Kansas
5 55 Bob Hantla  Guard Maryland
5 59 Frank Mincevich  Guard South Carolina
6 71 Floyd Sagely  Defensive back Arkansas
7 83 Sid Youngelman  Defensive tackle Alabama played with 49ers in 1955.
9 107 Ted Connolly *  Guard Tulsa
11 131 John Skocko  End USC
12 143 Hal Easterwood  Center Mississippi State returned to play at MSU.
13 155 Morgan Williams  Guard TCU
14 167 Sammy Williams  Back California
15 171 Ed Gossage  Tackle Georgia Tech
15 179 Sam Palumbo  Guard Notre Dame returned to Notre Dame
16 191 Bobby Fiveash  Back Florida State
17 203 Carl Kautz  Tackle Texas Tech
18 215 Morris Kay  End Kansas
19 227 Bob Edmiston  Tackle Temple
20 239 Frank Dipietro  Back Georgia
21 251 Howard Alsup  Tackle Middle Tennessee
22 263 Ralph Reynolds  Back North Texas State
23 275 LeRoy Fenstemaker  Back Rice
24 287 Jerry Daniels  Tackle Tennessee Tech
25 299 John Platt  Back Elon
26 311 Pete Bello  Center Pasadena CC
27 323 Gayford Baker  Guard Omaha
28 335 Bob Garbrecht  Back Rice
29 347 Ted Dunn  Back Murray State
30 359 Don Folks  End Houston
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career
Source:[1]

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 26 Washington Redskins W 41–7 1–0 Kezar Stadium 32,085 Recap
2 October 3 at Los Angeles Rams T 24–24 1–0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 79,208 Recap
3 October 10 at Green Bay Packers W 23–17 2–0–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 15,571 Recap
4 October 17 at Chicago Bears W 31–24 3–0–1 Wrigley Field 42,935 Recap
5 October 24 Detroit Lions W 37–31 4–0–1 Kezar Stadium 58,891 Recap
6 October 31 Chicago Bears L 27–31 4–1–1 Kezar Stadium 49,833 Recap
7 November 7 Los Angeles Rams L 34–42 4–2–1 Kezar Stadium 58,758 Recap
8 November 14 at Detroit Lions L 7–48 4–3–1 Briggs Stadium 58,431 Recap
9 November 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–3 5–3–1 Forbes Field 37,001 Recap
10 November 28 at Baltimore Colts L 13–17 5–4–1 Memorial Stadium 23,875 Recap
11 December 5 Green Bay Packers W 35–0 6–4–1 Kezar Stadium 32,012 Recap
12 December 11 Baltimore Colts W 10–7 7–4–1 Kezar Stadium 25,456 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Detroit Lions 9 2 1 .818 8–2 337 189 W1
Chicago Bears 8 4 0 .667 7–3 301 279 W4
San Francisco 49ers 7 4 1 .636 5–4–1 313 251 W2
Los Angeles Rams 6 5 1 .545 4–5–1 314 285 W1
Green Bay Packers 4 8 0 .333 3–7 234 251 L4
Baltimore Colts 3 9 0 .250 2–8 131 279 L1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

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  1. ^ "1954 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2024.