1952 San Francisco 49ers season

American football team season November 2013 March 2026 San Francisco 49ers 1952 7–5 3rd NFL National Tony Morabito Louis Spadia Buck Shaw Kezar Stadium Did not qualify 49ers seasons 7 RB Hugh McElhenny RB Joe Perry WR Gordy Soltau C Bill Johnson DE Ed Henke DT Leo Nomellini LB Hardy Brown The 1952 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 3rd season in the National Football League and their 7th overall. They were coming off a 7–4–1 record in 1951. The 49ers won their first five games by at least two touchdowns and had visions of playing in their first-ever NFL Championship Game. However, they lost five of their final seven games to finish at 7–5, third place in the six-team National Conference (which became the Western Conference in 1953). Y. A. Tittle emerged as the starting quarterback, as he had a completion rate of 51.0% along with eleven touchdowns and 1,407 yards. Frankie Albert also had some action, completing 55.0% of his passes, along with eight TDs and 964 yards. Joe Perry ran for 725 yards and eight TDs, while rookie Hugh McElhenny had 684 yards on 98 attempts (7.0 yards/carry), along with six rushing TDs, while he caught 26 passes for 367 yards and earned another three touchdowns. Gordie Soltau led the club with 55 receptions for 774 yards and seven TDs. Offseason NFL draft 1952 NFL draft 1952 San Francisco 49ers 1 9 Hugh McElhenny HB Washington yes yes 2 22 Bob Toneff T Notre Dame yes 3 27 Gene Shannon HB Houston 3 33 Billy Tidwell HB Texas A&M 4 46 Marion Campbell T Georgia yes 5 57 Pat O'Donahue E Wisconsin 6 70 Jim Beasley C Tulsa 7 81 Don Robison HB California 8 94 Jerry Smith T Wisconsin 9 105 Glen Christian HB Idaho 10 118 Carl West FB Ole Miss 11 129 J. D. Kimmel T Houston 12 142 Fred Snyder E Loyola (CA) 13 153 Rudy Yeager T LSU 14 166 Frank Simons E Nebraska 15 177 Haldo Norman E Gustavus Adolphus 16 190 Bob Meyers HB Stanford 17 201 Al Baldock E USC 18 214 Bill Carey E Michigan State 20 238 Jess Yates E LSU 21 249 Gene Offield E Hardin–Simmons 22 262 Jim Cozad T Santa Clara 23 273 Bill Glazier E Arizona 24 286 Ralph Kreuger T California 25 297 Henry (Bud) Laughlin FB Kansas 26 310 Dick Kane G Cincinnati 27 321 Waldo Schaaf T Oklahoma A&M 28 334 Joe Palumbo G Virginia 29 345 Chuck Mosher E Colorado 30 358 Dick Patrick C Oregon Source:https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/1952_draft.htm 1952 San Francisco 49ers Draftees Pro Football Reference October 25, 2025 Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 10 San Francisco Broncos W 79–0 1–0 Kezar Stadium 8,700 2 August 17 Washington Redskins W 35–0 2–0 Kezar Stadium 35,234 3 August 24 Chicago Cardinals W 38–14 3–0 Kezar Stadium 34,901 4 September 3, 1952 at Los Angeles Rams W 17–7 4–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 67,799 5 September 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 29–14 5–0 Forbes Field 21,759 6 September 13, 1952 at Cleveland Browns W 35–31 6–0 Rubber Bowl 30,119 7 September 19, 1952 at San Jose Packers W 76–0 7–0 Spartan Stadium 6,839https://www.profootballarchives.com/1952nflsf.html 1952 San Francisco 49ers (NFL) Pro Football Archives December 19, 2023 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 28 Detroit Lions W 17–3 1–0 Kezar Stadium 52,750 Recap 2 October 4 at Dallas Texans W 37–14 2–0 Cotton Bowl 12,566 Recap 3 October 12 at Detroit Lions W 28–0 3–0 Briggs Stadium 42,842 Recap 4 October 19 at Chicago Bears W 40–16 4–0 Wrigley Field 46,338 Recap 5 October 26 Dallas Texans W 48–21 5–0 Kezar Stadium 26,887 Recap 6 November 2 Chicago Bears L 17–20 5–1 Kezar Stadium 58,255 Recap 7 November 9 at New York Giants L 14–23 5–2 Polo Grounds 54,230 Recap 8 November 16 at Washington Redskins W 23–17 6–2 Griffith Stadium 30,863 Recap 9 November 23 at Los Angeles Rams L 9–35 6–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,450 Recap 10 November 30 Los Angeles Rams L 21–34 6–4 Kezar Stadium 49,420 Recap 11 December 7 Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–24 6–5 Kezar Stadium 13,886 Recap 12 December 14 Green Bay Packers W 24–14 7–5 Kezar Stadium 17,579 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. Standings Personnel Roster 1953 San Francisco 49ers roster Quarterbacks 13 Frankie Albert P 14 Y. A. Tittle Running backs 38 Ben Aldridge defensive back 22 Joe Arenas 39 Hugh McElhenny y 34 Joe Perry American football 45 Johnny Strzykalski 25 Bob White halfback Receivers 24 J. R. Boone 82 Gordy Soltau K 84 Billy Wilson wide receiver Offensive linemen 63 Bruno Banducci G 67 Nick Feher G 53 Bill Johnson center C 73 Leo Nomellini T/DT 69 Jerry Smith American football, born 1930 y G 62 Bob Toneff y T/DT 52 Pete Wismann C/LB Defensive linemen 76 Don Campora DT 75 Al Carapella DT/MG/DE 72 Ray Collins American football DT 89 Ed Henke DE/WR 68 Bob Momsen MG 83 Pat O'Donahue y DE 87 Charley Powell y DE Linebackers 33 Hardy Brown MLB 32 Don Burke American football OLB/MG 15 Jim Powers American football OLB/QB Defensive backs 23 Rex Berry CB 43 Jim Cason S 28 Sam Cathcart S/CB 42 Lowell Wagner CB/WR Reserve lists 54 Gail Bruce DE (IR) 7px 64 Visco Grgich MG (IR) 7px 85 Bill Jessup WR (Military) -- Clay Matthews Sr. T (Military) -- Jim Monachino RB (Military) -- Haldo Norman y no WR (IR) 7px -- Pete Schabarum RB (Military) 36 Norm Standlee RB (IR) 7px rookies in italics Pro Bowl San Francisco's players selected for the Pro Bowl: Player PositionHardy Brown LinebackerEd Henke Defensive endBill Johnson CenterHugh McElhenny Running backLeo Nomellini Defensive tackleJoe Perry Running backGordie Soltau Wide receiver References External links 1952 49ers on Pro Football Reference SHRP Sports San Francisco 49ers Category:San Francisco 49ers seasons San Francisco 49ers Category:Long stubs with short prose Category:1950s in San Francisco