1954 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1954 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League and their 9th overall. The team was coming off a 9–3 record in 1953, finishing one game behind the Detroit Lions for a spot in the championship game.

1954 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Tony Morabito
General manager	Louis Spadia
Head coach	Buck Shaw
Home field	Kezar Stadium
Results
Record	7–4–1
Division place	3rd NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 49ers got off to a strong start, beginning the season with a 4–0–1 record, as they were trying to finish on top of the conference for the first time in team history. The Niners lost their next 2 games against the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams by close scores, but they still found themselves in the playoff race as no team was running away with the conference. The 4–2–1 Niners had a huge game against the 5–1–0 Detroit Lions, which was a must-win game for San Francisco. But the Lions had other ideas, demolishing the 49ers 48–7, leaving them with a 4–3–1 record. San Francisco finished the season with 3 wins in their final 4 games, ending up in 3rd place with a 7–4–1 record.

Offensively, Y. A. Tittle had another strong season, throwing for 2,205 yards and 9 touchdowns, while completing 57.6% of his passes. Billy Wilson led the club with 60 receptions and 830 yards and 5 touchdowns. San Francisco's ground attack was overwhelming. Joe Perry rushed for an NFL-high 1,049 yards, and John Johnson rushed for 681 yards (2nd highest total in the NFL) and a team-high 9 touchdowns. Hugh McElhenny led the team with 8.0 yards per carry until he separated his shoulder on October 31 against the Chicago Bears.

Joe Perry (FB), Bruno Banducci (G) and Leo Nomellini (DT) made the Associated Press All-Pro team. Hugh McElhenny (HB), Billy Wilson (E), and Bob St. Clair (T) made the second squad.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1954 NFL draft

1954 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	11	Bernie Faloney	Back	Maryland	signed with Edmonton Eskimos (WIFU)
2	23	Leo Rucka	Linebacker	Rice	played with 49ers in 1956.
3	35	Steve Korcheck	Center	George Washington	decided to play professional baseball.
4	47	Charlie Boxold	Back	Kansas
5	55	Bob Hantla	Guard	Maryland
5	59	Frank Mincevich	Guard	South Carolina
6	71	Floyd Sagely	Defensive back	Arkansas
7	83	Sid Youngelman	Defensive tackle	Alabama	played with 49ers in 1955.
9	107	Ted Connolly *	Guard	Tulsa
11	131	John Skocko	End	USC
12	143	Hal Easterwood	Center	Mississippi State	returned to play at MSU.
13	155	Morgan Williams	Guard	TCU
14	167	Sammy Williams	Back	California
15	171	Ed Gossage	Tackle	Georgia Tech
15	179	Sam Palumbo	Guard	Notre Dame	returned to Notre Dame
16	191	Bobby Fiveash	Back	Florida State
17	203	Carl Kautz	Tackle	Texas Tech
18	215	Morris Kay	End	Kansas
19	227	Bob Edmiston	Tackle	Temple
20	239	Frank Dipietro	Back	Georgia
21	251	Howard Alsup	Tackle	Middle Tennessee
22	263	Ralph Reynolds	Back	North Texas State
23	275	LeRoy Fenstemaker	Back	Rice
24	287	Jerry Daniels	Tackle	Tennessee Tech
25	299	John Platt	Back	Elon
26	311	Pete Bello	Center	Pasadena CC
27	323	Gayford Baker	Guard	Omaha
28	335	Bob Garbrecht	Back	Rice
29	347	Ted Dunn	Back	Murray State
30	359	Don Folks	End	Houston
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source:

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 26	Washington Redskins	W 41–7	1–0	Kezar Stadium	32,085	Recap
2	October 3	at Los Angeles Rams	T 24–24	1–0–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	79,208	Recap
3	October 10	at Green Bay Packers	W 23–17	2–0–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	15,571	Recap
4	October 17	at Chicago Bears	W 31–24	3–0–1	Wrigley Field	42,935	Recap
5	October 24	Detroit Lions	W 37–31	4–0–1	Kezar Stadium	58,891	Recap
6	October 31	Chicago Bears	L 27–31	4–1–1	Kezar Stadium	49,833	Recap
7	November 7	Los Angeles Rams	L 34–42	4–2–1	Kezar Stadium	58,758	Recap
8	November 14	at Detroit Lions	L 7–48	4–3–1	Briggs Stadium	58,431	Recap
9	November 20	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–3	5–3–1	Forbes Field	37,001	Recap
10	November 28	at Baltimore Colts	L 13–17	5–4–1	Memorial Stadium	23,875	Recap
11	December 5	Green Bay Packers	W 35–0	6–4–1	Kezar Stadium	32,012	Recap
12	December 11	Baltimore Colts	W 10–7	7–4–1	Kezar Stadium	25,456	Recap'
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Detroit Lions	9	2	1	.818	8–2	337	189	W1
Chicago Bears	8	4	0	.667	7–3	301	279	W4
San Francisco 49ers	7	4	1	.636	5–4–1	313	251	W2
Los Angeles Rams	6	5	1	.545	4–5–1	314	285	W1
Green Bay Packers	4	8	0	.333	3–7	234	251	L4
Baltimore Colts	3	9	0	.250	2–8	131	279	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Eastern Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	9	3	0	.750	8–2	336	162	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	7	4	1	.636	7–3	284	230	W1
New York Giants	7	5	0	.583	7–3	293	184	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	7	0	.417	4–6	219	263	L2
Washington Redskins	3	9	0	.250	2–8	207	432	W1
Chicago Cardinals	2	10	0	.167	2–8	183	347	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.