1951 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerTony Morabito
General managerJohn Blackinger
Head coachBuck Shaw
Home fieldKezar Stadium
Results
Record7–4–1
Division placeT–2nd NFL National
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1951 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League and their 6th overall. The team was coming off a 3–9 record in 1950.

The 49ers won their first ever NFL road game on October 14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, after losing their first 7 in the league. The Niners were in playoff contention all year long, finishing 7–4–1, just a half game out of first place in the National Conference. Their biggest win of the season was a 44–17 victory over their California rivals, the Los Angeles Rams.

Frankie Albert and Y. A. Tittle split time at quarterback, with Albert throwing for 1,116 yards, while Tittle led the club with 8 TDs and completed 55.3% of his passes. Joe Perry once again led the team in rushing with 677 yards and 3 TDs, and wide receiver Gordie Soltau led the club with 59 catches for 826 yards and 7 TDs.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1951 NFL draft
1951 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 3 Y. A. Tittle * †  Quarterback LSU Former Baltimore Colts player
2 17 Pete Schabarum  Halfback California
3 28 Bill Mixon  Halfback Georgia began play with 49ers in 1953.
5 53 Dick Steere  Guard Drake
5 54 Al Carapella *  Tackle Miami (FL)
6 64 Bishop Strickland  Halfback South Carolina
7 75 Dick Forbes  End St. Ambrose
8 89 Joe Arenas  Halfback Omaha
9 100 Bruce Van Alstyne  End Stanford
10 112 Nick Feher  Guard Georgia
11 126 Bill Jessup  End USC
12 137 Jim Monachino  Halfback Stanford
13 148 Dick Harvin  End Georgia Tech
14 162 Rex Berry  Defensive back BYU
15 173 Dave Sparks  Guard South Carolina
16 184 Bob White  Halfback Stanford
17 198 Art Michalik  Guard St. Ambrose
18 209 Jim Murphy  Tackle Xavier
19 220 John Phillips  Halfback Southern Miss
20 234 Al Tate  Tackle Illinois
21 245 Hardy Brown *  Back Tulsa previously played for the Washington Redskins
22 256 Dwight Winslow  Back Boise J.C.
23 270 Wally Brunswald  Back Gustavus Adolphus
24 281 Tom Kingsford  Quarterback Montana
25 292 Mike Peterson  End Denver
26 306 Keith Carpenter  Tackle San Jose State
27 317 Ray Lung  Guard Oregon
28 328 Jack Rohan  Back Loras
29 342 S. P. Garnett  Tackle Kansas
30 353 Jerry Faske  Back Iowa
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source:[1] |}

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 19 Washington Redskins W 45–14 1–0 Kezar Stadium 27,280
2 August 26 Chicago Bears L 7–24 1–1 Kezar Stadium 38,836
3 September 7 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–7 2–1 Archbold Stadium 18,000
4 September 12 vs. Green Bay Packers W 20–0 3–1 Parade Stadium 19,021
5 September 23 vs. Chicago Cardinals W 37–17 4–1 Creighton Stadium 10,000

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 30 Cleveland Browns W 24–10 1–0 Kezar Stadium 48,263 Recap
2 October 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 14–21 1–1 Shibe Park 23,827 Recap
3 October 14 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–24 2–1 Forbes Field 27,124 Recap
4 October 21 at Chicago Bears L 7–13 2–2 Wrigley Field 42,296 Recap
5 October 28 Los Angeles Rams W 44–17 3–2 Kezar Stadium 49,538 Recap
6 November 4 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–23 3–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 54,346 Recap
7 November 11 New York Yanks W 19–14 4–3 Kezar Stadium 25,538 Recap
8 November 18 Chicago Cardinals L 21–27 4–4 Kezar Stadium 19,658 Recap
9 November 25 at New York Yanks T 10–10 4–4–1 Yankee Stadium 10,184 Recap
10 December 2 at Detroit Lions W 20–10 5–4–1 Briggs Stadium 46,467 Recap
11 December 9 Green Bay Packers W 31–19 6–4–1 Kezar Stadium 15,121 Recap
12 December 16 Detroit Lions W 21–17 7–4–1 Kezar Stadium 27,276 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 1: Cleveland Browns at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 7 0 3010
49ers 7 3 7724

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

Game information

Week 2: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 2: San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 7 0 0714
Eagles 7 0 7721

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia

Game information

Week 3: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 3: San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 7 0 21028
Steelers 0 10 01424

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh

Game information

Week 4: at Chicago Bears

Week 4: San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 0 0 077
Bears 6 0 7013

at Wrigley Field, Chicago

Game information

Week 5: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 5: Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 3 7 7017
49ers 10 28 0644

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

Game information

Week 6: at Los Angeles Rams

Week 6: San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 0 7 6316
Rams 10 3 01023

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

Game information

Week 7: vs. New York Yanks

Week 7: New York Yanks at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Yanks 0 14 0014
49ers 7 0 3919

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

Game information

Week 8: vs. Chicago Cardinals

Week 8: Chicago Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 17 3027
49ers 7 0 7721

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

Game information

Week 9: at New York Yanks

Week 9: San Francisco 49ers at New York Yanks – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 7 3 0010
Yanks 0 0 01010

at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York City

Game information

Week 10: at Detroit Lions

Week 10: San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 6 0 7720
Lions 0 3 7010

at Briggs Stadium, Detroit

Game information

Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 11: Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 3 10 6019
49ers 3 7 71431

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

Game information

Week 12: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 12: Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 3 7 7017
49ers 0 14 0721

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

Game information

Standings

NFL National Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams 8 4 0 .667 7–2 392 261 W1
San Francisco 49ers 7 4 1 .636 5–2–1 255 205 W3
Detroit Lions 7 4 1 .636 5–4–1 336 259 L1
Chicago Bears 7 5 0 .583 6–2 286 282 L1
Green Bay Packers 3 9 0 .250 1–8 254 375 L7
New York Yanks 1 9 2 .100 1–7–2 241 382 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
Jim Cason Defensive back
Ray Collins Defensive line
Leo Nomellini Defensive line
Gordie Soltau Wide receiver

References

  1. ^ "1951 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  2. ^ "1951 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l San Francisco 49ers 2008 Media Guide. San Francisco 49ers. p. 269.

External links

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers seasons
1951 NFL season
Categories