1953 San Francisco 49ers season

American football team season November 2013 March 2026 San Francisco 49ers 1953 9–3 2nd NFL Western Tony Morabito Louis Spadia Buck Shaw Kezar Stadium Did not qualify 49ers seasons thumb|The uniform during the season The 1953 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League and their 8th overall. They were coming off a 7–5 record in 1952. The 49ers played consistent football all season long, never losing consecutive games throughout the season en route to a franchise-best 9–3 record. However, the 49ers lost both their games against the Detroit Lions, who finished the season 10–2 to win the Western Conference and earn a spot in the NFL Championship game. Offensively, San Francisco was led by quarterback Y. A. Tittle, who threw for 2,121 yards and 20 TDs while completing 57.5% of his passes. Running back Joe Perry had another great season, rushing for 1,018 yards along with 10 TDs, while Hugh McElhenny rushed for 503 yards and 3 TDs, and caught 30 passes for 474 yards and 6 TDs. Wide receiver Billy Wilson caught a team-high 51 passes for 840 yards and 10 TDs. Offseason NFL draft 1953 NFL draft 1953 San Francisco 49ers 1 1 Harry Babcock End Georgia Bonus lottery pick yes 1 10 Tom Stolhandske Linebacker Texas signed with Edmonton Eskimos (WIFU); played with 49ers in 1955. 2 21 George Morris Center Georgia Tech played with 49ers in 1956. 3 32 Bob St. Clair Tackle Tulsa yes yes yes 4 47 Ed Fullerton Defensive back Maryland 5 58 Hal Miller Tackle Georgia Tech yes 7 83 Paul Carr Defensive back Houston yes 8 94 Doug Hogland Guard Oregon State yes 9 105 Hal Ledyard Quarterback Chattanooga yes 10 119 Pete Brown Center Georgia Tech yes 11 130 Al Charlton Back Washington State 12 141 Carson (Red) Leach Guard Duke 13 155 Bill Earley Back Washington 14 166 Tom Fletcher Back Arizona State 15 177 Charley Genthner Tackle Texas 16 191 Fred Durig End Bowling Green 17 202 Hugh Latham Tackle San Diego State 18 213 Stan Wacholz End San Jose State 19 227 King DuClos Tackle UTEP 20 238 Ray Huizinga Tackle Northwestern 21 249 Ken Bahnsen Fullback North Texas State yes 22 263 Laverne Robbins Guard Midwestern State 23 274 Travis Hunt Tackle Alabama 24 285 Ed Morgan Back Tennessee 25 299 Ernie Stockert End UCLA 26 310 Harley Cooper Back Arizona State 27 321 Ralph McLeod End LSU 28 335 Tom Novikoff Back Oregon 29 346 Don Stillwell End USC Source:https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/1953_draft.htm 1953 San Francisco 49ers Draftees Pro Football Reference February 19, 2024 Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 15 Fort Ord W 42–7 1–0 Charles C. Hughes Stadium 2 August 23 Cleveland Browns L 7–20 1–1 Kezar Stadium 3 August 30 Washington Redskins L 7–20 1–2 Kezar Stadium 4 September 3 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–35 1–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 5 September 7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles W 31–28 2–3 Alamo Stadium 6 September 13 Chicago Cardinals T 14–14 2–3–1 Kezar Stadium 7 September 17 at New York Giants L 21–28 2–4–1 Polo Groundshttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1953nflsf.html#gsc.tab=0 1953 San Francisco 49ers (NFL) Scores, Roster, Stats, Coaches, Draft Pro Football Archives June 5, 2026 Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 27 Philadelphia Eagles W 31–21 1–0 Kezar Stadium 25,000 Recap 2 October 4 Los Angeles Rams W 31–30 2–0 Kezar Stadium 41,446 Recap 3 October 11 at Detroit Lions L 21–24 2–1 Briggs Stadium 56,080 Recap 4 October 18 at Chicago Bears W 35–28 3–1 Wrigley Field 36,909 Recap 5 October 25 Detroit Lions L 10–14 3–2 Kezar Stadium 52,300 Recap 6 November 1 Chicago Bears W 24–14 4–2 Kezar Stadium 26,308 Recap 7 November 8 at Los Angeles Rams W 31–27 5–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 85,856 Recap 8 November 15 at Cleveland Browns L 21–23 5–3 Cleveland Stadium 80,698 Recap 9 November 22 at Green Bay Packers W 37–7 6–3 Milwaukee County Stadium 16,378 Recap 10 November 29 at Baltimore Colts W 38–21 7–3 Memorial Stadium 26,005 Recap 11 December 6 Green Bay Packers W 48–14 8–3 Kezar Stadium 31,337 Recap 12 December 13 Baltimore Colts W 45–14 9–3 Kezar Stadium 23,932 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers 1953 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary September 8, 1946 Eagles 7 0 7 7 49ers 14 3 7 7 Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California 25,000 Boxscore First quarter Joe Arenas 18 yard pass from Y. A. Tittle (Gordie Soltau kick). 49ers 7–0. Adrian Burk 1 yard run (Bobby Walston kick). Tied 7–7. Y. A. Tittle 1 yard run (Gordie Soltau kick). 49ers 14–7. Second quarter Gordie Soltau 39 yard field goal. 49ers 17–7. Third quarter Billy Wilson 39 yard pass from Y. A. Tittle (Gordie Soltau kick) 49ers 24–7. Bobby Walston 3 yard pass from Adrian Burk (Walston kick). 49ers 24–14. Fourth quarter Billy Wilson 37 yard pass from Y. A. Tittle (Gordie Soltau kick). 49ers 31–14. Pete Pihos 10 yard pass from Bobby Thomason (Al Pollard kick). 49ers 31–24. Top passers PHI – SF – Top rushers PHI – SF – Top receivers PHI – SF – https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/195309270sfo.htm Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers - September 27th, 1953 Pro-Football-Reference.com Standings Personnel Roster 1953 San Francisco 49ers roster Quarterbacks 12 Hal Ledyard 15 Jim Powers American football P 14 Y. A. Tittle Running backs 22 Joe Arenas CB 39 Hugh McElhenny 49 Jim Monachino 34 Joe Perry American football 44 Pete Schabarum Receivers 88 Harry Babcock American football y 82 Gordy Soltau K 84 Billy Wilson wide receiver Offensive linemen 63 Bruno Banducci G 67 Nick Feher G 64 Doug Hogland y T 53 Bill Johnson center C 77 Hal Miller American football y T 69 Jerry Smith American football, born 1930 G 79 Bob St. Clair y T Defensive linemen 75 Al Carapella DT 83 Clay Matthews Sr. DE 62 Art Michalik y MG 73 Leo Nomellini DT 87 Charley Powell DE 89 Bob Van Doren y DE Linebackers 33 Hardy Brown MLB 56 Pete Brown American football y MLB/C 66 Don Burke American football OLB/MG 54 Jack Manley y OLB 36 John Morton y no OLB Defensive backs 23 Rex Berry CB 45 Fred Bruney y S 48 Billy Mixon y no CB/RB 42 Lowell Wagner CB Reserve lists -- Bill Jessup WR (Military) -- Bob Toneff T/DT (Military) rookies in italics Pro Bowl San Francisco's players selected for the Pro Bowl: Player PositionBill Johnson Offensive lineHugh McElhenny Running backArt Michalik LinebackerLeo Nomellini Defensive lineJoe Perry Running backGordie Soltau Wide receiverY. A. Tittle Quarterback References External links 1953 49ers on Pro Football Reference SHRP Sports Category:San Francisco 49ers seasons San Francisco 49ers Category:1953 in sports in California Category:1950s in San Francisco Category:Long stubs with short prose