1957 San Francisco 49ers season

American football team season November 2013 March 2026 San-Francisco-49ers-mediaguide-1957.jpg San Francisco 49ers 1957 8–4 T–1st NFL Western Tony Morabito Louis Spadia Frankie Albert Kezar Stadium Lost Conference Playoff(vs. Lions) 27–31 49ers seasons The 1957 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's eighth season in the NFL. Coming off a 5–6–1 record in 1956, the 49ers tied for the best record in the Western Conference at 8–4. Organizational history San Francisco continued their late-season success from the previous year, and won five of their first six games, and were in first place in the West midway through the season. The Niners then lost three straight on the road to drop to 5–4, but then won the final three games to close out the season at 8–4, their best season since 1953. The 49ers tied with the Detroit Lions at the top of the Western Conference, and split their two regular-season games in November, with the home teams winning. This forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Kezar Stadium on December 22. The winner would host the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Browns for the NFL championship the following week. The 49ers built a 24–7 lead at halftime, and extended it to twenty points in the third quarter. Detroit's hall of fame quarterback Bobby Layne had been lost for the season two weeks earlier,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a8VRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8GoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6964%2C1289531 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press Lions lose Layne but win, 20-7 December 9, 1957 26 and backup Tobin Rote lead the Lions' rally, scoring 24 unanswered points in the second half to win, 31–27, which ended the 49ers' season.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d8VRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8GoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7216%2C3734897 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press Lions thrilling rally wins playoff, 31-27 20 Eight weeks earlier on October 27, 49ers' owner Tony Morabito, age 47, suffered a heart attack in the press box at Kezar during the second quarter of the game against the Chicago Bears.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qvkjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aiUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4285%2C4017788 Milwaukee Journal Associated Press Morabito dies of heart attack October 28, 1957 12, part 2 He died shortly after arriving at Mary's Help Hospital on Guerrero Street.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=McMwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zWoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3016%2C4245204 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press Morabito, 49ers, dies October 28, 1957 26 The team was notified of his death at halftime, and with tears in their eyes, they went back out and won a come-from-behind victory.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1132924/index.htm Tony Morabito, The Autocrat Of The San Francisco 49ers, Ran His Team With A Belligerent Disdain For Outsiders. But He Loved His Team, And Last Week He Died As He Would Have Wished—watching Them Take The Division Lead Sports Illustrated Art Rosenbaum November 4, 1957 July 14, 2011 March 2, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120302205808/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1132924/index.htm dead Quarterback Y. A. Tittle had another strong season for the 49ers, completing 63.1% of his passes for 2,157 yards and 13 TD's. He also rushed for 6 TD's. End Billy Wilson led the club with 52 receptions for 757 yards, along with a team high 6 TD's. Running back Hugh McElhenny led in rushing with 478 yards on 102 attempts. The 1957 season was the first in 49er franchise history in which the team broke even financially.Glenn Dickey, The San Francisco 49ers: The First Fifty Years. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing, 1995; p. 25. Offseason NFL draft 1957 NFL draft 1957 San Francisco 49ers 1 3 John Brodie Quarterback Stanford yes yes 2 15 Abe Woodson Defensive back Illinois yes began play with 49ers in 1958 4 39 Jimmy Ridlon Defensive back Syracuse yes 4 46 Mike Sandusky Guard Maryland yes 5 57 Karl Rubke Linebacker USC yes 6 62 Bill Rhodes Back Western State (CO) 6 68 Jim Hunter Back Missouri 7 80 Fred Dugan End Dayton began play with 49ers in 1958. 8 92 Ernie Pitts End Denver signed with Winnipeg Blue Bombers (WIFU) 9 104 Charlie Brueckman Linebacker Pittsburgh 10 116 Jerry Hurst End Middle Tennessee 11 128 Tommy Davis Kicker LSU yes began play with 49ers in 1959. 12 140 Fred Sington Tackle Alabama 13 152 Charley Mackey End Arizona State 14 164 Ron Warzeka Defensive tackle Montana State 15 176 Earl Kaiser Back Houston 16 188 Vic Kristopaitis Back Dayton signed with Toronto Argonauts (IFRU) 17 200 Dave Kuhn Center Kentucky 18 212 Dick Guy Guard Ohio State 19 224 Gene Babb Linebacker Austin yes 20 236 Sid DeLoatch Guard Duke 21 248 Fred Wilcox Back Tulane 22 260 Paul Tripp Tackle Idaho State 23 272 John Thomas Guard Pacific yes began play with 49ers in 1958. 24 284 John Ladner End Wake Forest 25 296 Ray Meyer Back Lamar Tech 26 308 Tom Topping Tackle Duke returned to Duke 27 320 Don Vicic Back Ohio State signed with BC Lions (WIFU) 28 332 Bill Curtis Back TCU 29 344 Vern Hallbeck Back TCU 30 355 George Parks Back Lamar Tech no Source:https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/1957_draft.htm 1957 San Francisco 49ers Draftees Pro Football Reference February 24, 2024 Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 18 New York Giants W 24–15 1–0 Kezar Stadium 2 August 25 Washington RedskinsW 27–20 2–0 Kezar Stadium 3 September 1 Cleveland Browns W 21–17 3–0 Kezar Stadium 4 September 7 vs. Chicago Cardinals W 27–21 4–0 Husky Stadium 5 September 13 at Los Angeles Rams L 27–58 4–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 6 September 22 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 5–1 Kezar Stadiumhttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1957nflsf.html#gsc.tab=0 1957 San Francisco 49ers (NFL) Scores, Roster, Stats, Coaches, Draft Pro Football Archives June 6, 2026 Regular season Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 29 Chicago Cardinals L 10–20 0–1 Kezar Stadium 35,743 Recap 2 October 6 Los Angeles Rams W 23–20 1–1 Kezar Stadium 59,637 Recap 3 October 13 at Chicago Bears W 21–17 2–1 Wrigley Field 45,310 Recap 4 October 20 at Green Bay Packers W 24–14 3–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 18,919 Recap 5 October 27 Chicago Bears W 21–17 4–1 Kezar Stadium 56,693 Recap 6 November 3 Detroit Lions W 35–31 5–1 Kezar Stadium 59,702 Recap 7 November 10 at Los Angeles Rams L 24–37 5–2 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 102,368 Recap 8 November 17 at Detroit Lions L 10–31 5–3 Briggs Stadium 56,915 Recap 9 November 24 at Baltimore Colts L 21–27 5–4 Memorial Stadium 50,073 Recap 10 December 1 at New York Giants W 27–17 6–4 Yankee Stadium 54,121 Recap 11 December 8 Baltimore Colts W 17–13 7–4 Kezar Stadium 59,950 Recap 12 December 15 Green Bay Packers W 27–20 8–4 Kezar Stadium 59,100 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. Standings thumb|right|260px|Program for the November 10 game in Los Angeles to meet the rival Rams. Western Conference Playoff 1957 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources Western Conference December 22 Detroit Lions L 27–31 0–1 Kezar Stadium 60,118 https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/195712220sfo.htm Divisional Round - Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers - December 22nd, 1957 Pro Football Reference August 4, 2025 Personnel Staff / Coaches 1957 San Francisco 49ers Team Owner - Tony Morabito General manager – Louis Spadia Head coach - Frankie Albert Chief of Offense / Offensive Coordinator - Red Hickey Offensive Line – Bill Johnson Defensive Assistant – Phil Bengtson * None - N/A Roster 1957 San Francisco 49ers roster Quarterbacks 12 John Brodie y 14 Y. A. Tittle Running backs 22 Joe Arenas 32 Gene Babb y 35 running back Larry Barnes y P/LB 39 Hugh McElhenny 34 American football Joe Perry Receivers 88 Clyde Conner 85 Bill Jessup P 27 R. C. Owens y 82 Gordy Soltau K 84 Billy Wilson wide receiver Offensive linemen 77 Bruce Bosley G/T/DE 64 Ted Connolly G 78 Bobby Cross T 70 Tom Dahms T 76 John Gonzaga T/G/DT 53 Frank Morze y C 68 Lou Palatella G 79 Bob St. Clair T Defensive linemen 75 Ed Henke DE 72 Bill Herchman DT 73 Leo NomelliniDT 74 Bob Toneff DE Linebackers 52 Karl Rubke y MLB 54 Marv Matuszak OLB/MLB 55 Matt Hazeltine OLB 87 Charley Powell OLB/DE Defensive backs 57 Paul Carr American football CB/LB 47 Dicky Moegle S/RB 42 Jimmy Ridlon y CB/S 24 J. D. Smith fullback, born 1932 CB 20 Bill Stits CB 40 Julian Spence S 44 Val Joe Walker S Reserve lists 40 Bob Holladay S (IR) 7px rookies in italics Source: References 30em SHRP Sports Database Football Category:San Francisco 49ers seasons San Francisco 49ers Category:1957 in sports in California Category:1950s in San Francisco