# 1952 San Francisco 49ers season

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 rushed for a team-high 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

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 9 | Hugh McElhenny | Halfback | Washington |
| 2 | 22 | Bob Toneff | Tackle | Notre Dame |
| 3 | 27 | Gene Shannon | Halfback | Houston |
| 3 | 33 | Billy Tidwell | Halfback | Texas A&M |
| 4 | 46 | Marion Campbell | Tackle | Georgia |
| 5 | 57 | Pat O'Donahue | End | Wisconsin |
| 6 | 70 | Jim Beasley | Center | Tulsa |
| 7 | 81 | Don Robison | Halfback | California |
| 8 | 94 | Jerry Smith | Tackle | Wisconsin |
| 9 | 105 | Glen Christian | Halfback | Idaho |
| 10 | 118 | Carl West | Fullback | Mississippi |
| 11 | 129 | J. D. Kimmel | Tackle | Houston/Army |
| 12 | 142 | Fred Snyder | End | Loyola |
| 13 | 153 | Rudy Yeager | Tackle | LSU |
| 14 | 166 | Frank Simons | End | Nebraska |
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 15 | 177 | Haldo Norman | End | Gustavus Adolphus |
| 16 | 190 | Bob Meyers | Halfback | Stanford |
| 17 | 201 | Al Baldock | End | USC |
| 18 | 214 | Bill Carey | End | Michigan State |
| 20 | 238 | Jess Yates | End | LSU |
| 21 | 249 | Gene Offield | End | Hardin–Simmons |
| 22 | 262 | Jim Cozad | Tackle | Santa Clara |
| 23 | 273 | Bill Glazier | End | Arizona |
| 24 | 286 | Ralph Kreuger | Tackle | California |
| 25 | 297 | Henry (Bud) Laughlin | Fullback | Kansas |
| 26 | 310 | Dick Kane | Guard | Cincinnati |
| 27 | 321 | Waldo Schaaf | Tackle | Oklahoma A&M |
| 28 | 334 | Joe Palumbo | Guard | Virginia |
| 29 | 345 | Chuck Mosher | End | Colorado |
| 30 | 358 | Dick Patrick | Center | Oregon |

## 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 | 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 | at Cleveland Browns | W 35–31 | 6–0 | Rubber Bowl | 30,119 |
| 7 | September 19 | at San Jose Packers | W 76–0 | 7–0 | Spartan Stadium | 6,839 |

## 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

NFL National Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Detroit Lions | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 7–3 | 344 | 192 | W3 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 8–2 | 349 | 234 | W8 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–3 | 285 | 221 | W1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 3–6 | 295 | 312 | L3 |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–6 | 245 | 326 | W1 |
| Dallas Texans | 1 | 11 | 0 | .083 | 1–9 | 182 | 427 | L2 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

## Pro Bowl

San Francisco's players selected for the Pro Bowl:
| Player | Position |
| Hardy Brown | Linebacker |
| Ed Henke | Defensive line |
| Bill Johnson | Offensive line |
| Hugh McElhenny | Running back |
| Leo Nomellini | Defensive line |
| Joe Perry | Running back |
| Gordie Soltau | Wide receiver |