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.
1951 San Francisco 49ers season | |
---|---|
Owner | Tony Morabito |
General manager | John Blackinger |
Head coach | Buck Shaw |
Home field | Kezar Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 7–4–1 |
Division place | T–2nd NFL National |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
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.
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] |}
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 |
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. |
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Browns | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
49ers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Eagles | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 7 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 28 |
Steelers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Bears | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
at Wrigley Field, Chicago
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rams | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
49ers | 10 | 28 | 0 | 6 | 44 |
at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 0 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
Rams | 10 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yanks | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
49ers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 19 |
at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 7 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
49ers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Yanks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York City
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
Lions | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Packers | 3 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
49ers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lions | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
49ers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
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.
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 |