1952 San Francisco 49ers season

1952 San Francisco 49ers season
Head coach	Buck Shaw
Home field	Kezar Stadium
Results
Record	7–5–0
Division place	3rd National Football Conference
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Uniform

The 1952 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's third season in the NFL and seventh season overall; they were coming off a 7–4–1 record in 1951.

The 49ers started the season by winning each of their first five games by at least 2 touchdowns, and had visions of playing in their first ever NFL Championship game. However, the 49ers lost five of their final 7 games to finish the year at 7–5–0, and in 3rd place in the NFC.

Y. A. Tittle emerged as the starting quarterback, as he havda completion rate of 51.0% along with 11 TDs and 1,407 yards. Frankie Albert also had some action, completing 55.0% of his passes, along with 8 TDs and 964 yards.

Joe Perry rushed for a team high 725 yards and 8 TDs, while Hugh McElhenny had 684 yards on 98 attempts (7.0 yards/carry), along with 6 rushing TDs, while he caught 26 passes for 367 yards and earned another 3 TDs. Gordie Soltau led the club with 55 receptions for 774 yards, and 7 TDs.

Offseason

NFL Draft

See also: 1952 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	9	Hugh McElhenny	Halfback	Washington
2	22	Bob Toneff	Tackle	Notre Dame
3	27	Gene Shannon	Halfback	Houston
3	33	Billy Tidwell	Halfback	Texas A&M
4	46	Marion Campbell	Tackle	Georgia
5	57	Pat O'Donahue	End	Wisconsin
6	70	Jim Beasley	Center	Tulsa
7	81	Don Robison	Halfback	California
8	94	Jerry Smith	Tackle	Wisconsin
9	105	Glen Christian	Halfback	Idaho
10	118	Carl West	Fullback	Mississippi
11	129	J. D. Kimmel	Tackle	Houston/Army
12	142	Fred Snyder	End	Loyola
13	153	Rudy Yeager	Tackle	LSU
14	166	Frank Simons	End	Nebraska

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
15	177	Haldo Norman	End	Gustavus Adolphus
16	190	Bob Meyers	Halfback	Stanford
17	201	Al Baldock	End	USC
18	214	Bill Carey	End	Michigan State
20	238	Jess Yates	End	LSU
21	249	Gene Offield	End	Hardin–Simmons
22	262	Jim Cozad	Tackle	Santa Clara
23	273	Bill Glazier	End	Arizona
24	286	Ralph Kreuger	Tackle	California
25	297	Henry (Bud) Laughlin	Fullback	Kansas
26	310	Dick Kane	Guard	Cincinnati
27	321	Waldo Schaaf	Tackle	Oklahoma A&M
28	334	Joe Palumbo	Guard	Virginia
29	345	Chuck Mosher	End	Colorado
30	358	Dick Patrick	Center	Oregon

Regular season

Schedule

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Attendance
1	September 28	Detroit Lions	3–17	San Francisco 49ers	1–0–0	52,750
2	October 4	San Francisco 49ers	37–14	Dallas Texans	2–0–0	12,566
3	October 12	San Francisco 49ers	28–0	Detroit Lions	3–0–0	42,842
4	October 19	San Francisco 49ers	40–16	Chicago Bears	4–0–0	46,338
5	October 26	Dallas Texans	21–48	San Francisco 49ers	5–0–0	26,887
6	November 2	Chicago Bears	20–17	San Francisco 49ers	5–1–0	58,255
7	November 9	San Francisco 49ers	14–23	New York Giants	5–2–0	54,230
8	November 16	San Francisco 49ers	23–17	Washington Redskins	6–2–0	30,863
9	November 23	San Francisco 49ers	9–35	Los Angeles Rams	6–3–0	64,450
10	November 30	Los Angeles Rams	34–21	San Francisco 49ers	6–4–0	49,420
11	December 7	Pittsburgh Steelers	24–7	San Francisco 49ers	6–5–0	13,886
12	December 14	Green Bay Packers	14–24	San Francisco 49ers	7–5–0	17,579

Standings

NFL National Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Detroit Lions	9	3	0	.750	7–3	344	192	W3
Los Angeles Rams	9	3	0	.750	8–2	349	234	W8
San Francisco 49ers	7	5	0	.583	6–3	285	221	W1
Green Bay Packers	6	6	0	.500	3–6	295	312	L3
Chicago Bears	5	7	0	.417	4–6	245	326	W1
Dallas Texans	1	11	0	.083	1–9	182	427	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Pro Bowl

San Francisco's players selected for the Pro Bowl:

Player	Position
Hardy Brown	Linebacker
Ed Henke	Defensive Line
Bill Johnson	Offensive Line
Hugh McElhenny	Running Back
Leo Nomellini	Defensive Line
Joe Perry	Running Back
Gordie Soltau	Wide Receiver

References

• SHRP Sports
• Pro Football Reference